Crash while upgrading kernel & stable releases

[Matt Zimmerman]

On Mon, Jun 20, 2005 at 11:34:56PM +0200, Markus Kolb wrote:

> Matt Zimmerman wrote on Mon, Jun 20, 2005 at 12:58:52 -0700:
> > I don't know what you mean; there is in fact exactly such a metapackage and
> > has been since before the first Ubuntu release.
> 
> No the metapackage doesn't do this:

The metapackage works perfectly well.

> Installed kernel: linux-X-686-release_version
> Metapackage_0 requires linux-X-686-release_version
> linux-X-686-release_version requires Metapackage_0
> 
> There is a new patched kernel.
> So new linux-X-686-fix1_version package.
> Metapackage is updated to new package version Metapackage_1
> 
> Metapackage_1 requires linux-X-686-fix1_version.
> Metapackage_1 suggests linux-X-686-release_version
> linux-X-686-fix1_version requires Metapackage_1
> 
> On update Metapackage_0 is updated with Metapackage_1 which requires
> linux-X-686-fix1_version which is installed parallel to old
> linux-X-686-release_version.
> 
> So you have two linux-kernel packages installed because of the update
> until you delete the old linux-X-686-release_version yourself.

This is exactly what we do when the kernel package name changes (e.g., ABI
change).  It works this way today, and always has.

The matter of how the metapackages work has nothing to do with installing
parallel revisions of the kernel with the same ABI.

> In your other mail it seems you don't know why anyone wants to have the
> old kernel available after the kernel update.

I don't know what gave you that impression, but I do know why you want this.
I am explaining the way it actually works today, and why.

> There are many possibilities where a kernel update isn't finished
> succesful. It need not to be bug or a crashed machine. Anyone switches
> off the computer during installation of the new package or the power
> is lost. 

That is not true.  The packaging system is very careful about this, and an
interrupted installation should not make the system unbootable.

If we are going to change the way the system works, it needs to be based on
hard facts, and not assumptions.

-- 
 - mdz