[Bug 2003785] Re: apt source exact-source-package doesn't download the requested source package

[David Kalnischkies]

The idea is that a user will want to request the sources for a given
binary package – after all, that is the promise of GPL and co that you
can easily get the source for the binary you have installed. So for me
at least this binary-to-source mapping is very intuitive and I would be
very confused about your intuitive non-mapping.

Any way of handling can result in confusion every time a source and
binary package have the same name, but produce/include packages with
other names. A prime example used to be 'automake', but nowadays at
least that mess was cleaned up.

I don't think changing defaults would help here, especially not after ~25 years of operating in this way. I guess it might be more helpful to detect these collisions and have apt-get print/apt ask the user about it rather than assuming that one way or the other and an option to change it is intuitive for all users at all times.
Or, well, teach package maintainers that these collisions are a horrible idea. Preferably both. (Personally not going to work on either through in the foreseeable future.)

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2003785

Title:
  apt source exact-source-package doesn't download the requested source
  package

Status in apt package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  apt source exact-source-package doesn't download the right source
  package

  
  when specifying source package, i expect the exact source package to be downloaded.

  
  example:

  $ apt source linux-lowlatency => incorrectly downloads linux-meta-lowlatency
  $ apt source --only-source linux-lowlatency => is very counter intuitive but downloads linux-lowlatency source package

  Please default to downloading exact source package by default first,
  and offer binary->source resolution separately.

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