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

[rikona]

On Sun, 5 Aug 2018 18:02:22 +0100
Colin Law <clanlaw at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 5 August 2018 at 17:26, Gene Heskett <gheskett at shentel.net> wrote:
> 
> > 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.
> >  
> 
> I can't help thinking that if this were a general problem with gedit
> then others would have noted it.

I don't know if it is a general problem but I've had gedit screw up
files on occasion too. Not very crucial ones like Gene, but enough to
not use it very much any more. My favorite is the antique kate and I
also use geany ( at his suggestion) and like it.

> You could put such files under git control and then commit them every
> time you make a significant change.  That is how I generally manage
> things. With a remote repo on a remote server there is automatically
> an offsite backup and an audit trail.
> 
> Colin