"Dialog frontend will not work on a dumb terminal"

[Derek Broughton]

Scott (angrykeyboarder) wrote:

> Derek Broughton spake thusly on 235326680 ::
>> Frank McCormick wrote:
>> 
>>> On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:46:49 -0700
>>> "Scott (angrykeyboarder)" <geekboy at angrykeyboarder.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm not sure when I first started seeing this response in Synaptic's
>>>> terminal window, but I think it was in edgy. I'm running Feisty now.
>>>> It's not always been this way.
>>>>
>>>> Dialog frontend will not work on a dumb terminal - falling back to
>>>> readline"
>>>    I started seeing this in Debian Sid on my machine about a week
>>> ago...right after a Synaptic upgrade.
>>> But it doesn't seem to affect installing or removing packages.
>> 
>> It's just the way that the underlying software (debconf?) tries to talk
>> to the interactive user.
> 
> The default setting is Dialog and when Dialog encounters the "dumb
> terminal" in Synaptic (which didn't used to be the case) if falls back
> to readline.

I thought that's what I said...
> 
>> There's no real need to be sending that message
> 
> Yes there is, because you're being told that your not going to get
> Dialog (which in my case I'd been expecting).
> 
No, there isn't.  It's not _necessary_, because it still works.  I didn't
say it should be removed, just that it isn't actually _needed_.

Over 10 years of watching various apt front-ends update my Debian-based
systems, I've seen those messages come & go.  Next update it may decide you
can get a full Dialog front-end.

> Precisely. But this is new behavior and it's annoying. :)

It's not new, it's probably regressed.  As I say, I've seen it often enough
before.  Not of course a reason to hold off on the bug report :-)
-- 
derek