Entry 60 error, software updater failed; can't find file /etc/apt/sources.list

[Gene Heskett]

On Sunday 05 August 2018 08:29:19 Colin Law wrote:

> On 5 August 2018 at 12:14, Gene Heskett <gheskett at shentel.net> wrote:
> > On Sunday 05 August 2018 03:56:36 Colin Law wrote:
> > > On 4 August 2018 at 22:50, Gene Heskett <gheskett at shentel.net> 
wrote:
> > > > ...
> > > > If gedit was used on that file before, all bets are off and it
> > > > may contain most anything but a valid sources.list now. I've had
> > > > that happen too many times Colin, and nuked gedit from all my
> > > > systems going on about 2 years ago now.  Neither nano, nor geany
> > > > (needs X) has ever trashed a file. 60 lines is in fact a
> > > > possibility, but the usual install is less than 20, and this
> > > > user is not a "power" user, so 60 lines also raised a red flag
> > > > for me.
> > >
> > > I have never had any problems with gedit, though one must never
> > > use it with sudo of course, being a graphical app.  The default
> > > sources.list on 18.04 has 51 lines so where your 'less than 20'
> > > comes from I don't know.  The guy followed some duff instructions
> > > on how to install something I believe and that is how it got
> > > messed up.
> > >
> > > Colin
> >
> > Well, TBT, I am used to debian now, and the typical sources.list is
> > shorter.
> >
> > But I'll stand by my comments on gedit. We have, quite often after
> > we have made a very basic .hal file to configure a cnc machine, but
> > the fawncier stuffs we have to add by hand, and the 3rd time it took
> > a 700 LOC file and made 1700 lines of nonsensical trash that would
> > not parse in the interpretor was the back breaker for me, it likes
> > to pick up 30 lines of random code that didn't start or end with a
> > linefeed, and insert it midline at random earlier locations in the
> > code, random numbers of times. Regenerating 700 LOC entirely from
> > memory is painfull enough and it appeared I had better find a new
> > editor, which in my case was geany. Which has so far behaved itself
> > perfectly. If gedit hasn't bitten you yet, feel blessed.
>
> I trust you submitted a bug report.

Should have been a ?, yes, but it wasn't printable, I was plenty upset at 
the time and gave it a piece of my mind. Never got a reply or any other 
indication it was actually filed, and haven't checked. Once I am done 
with a product, I'm done. But that doesn't mean I won't attempt to 
advise other users of my experience.

In the case of the last file it trashed, it took about a week to rewrite 
it for satisfactory operation of a small metal lathe I had converted to 
be run by linuxcnc.  A week I spent entirely too much time on, 
occasionally referencing a previous but out of date printout and 
discussing with myself, the authors family tree. I now kill a tree 
everytime I make a mod to those files just in case. 

A lesson a friendly intern gave me when I was 17 or 18, 65 years ago & 
having symptoms of an ulcer, "if you can do something about a bad 
situation, bust your ass and do it. But if you can't fix it, do not 
loose any sleep over it". So I didn't, and my ulcer symptoms were gone 
in a week. Good advice I think...

And a small penance for having outlived all my enemies but one, me!

Take care, Colin. These lists need helpfull people like you, and I thank 
you.

-- 
Cheers, Gene Heskett
--
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>