Bug#61989: unclear error message for bad directory for apt configuration
Package: base
Version: unknown
In the apt configuration step of installation, for the use-local-
filesystem mode, if a bad directory name is entered, the error
message is unclear.
The error message says that the specified directory does not
contain a subdirectory named "dists".
Reporting that the specified directory does not exist at all
would be clearer and more helpful.
(By the way, does installation give you a choice of which
distribution to use (if more than one is present)?)
(Also, if "dists" is required in the pathname, can that be
documented somewhere that can be seen when mirroring a
distribution?
In general, it would seem that mirroring the directory above
the main/contrib/etc. directories would be sufficient.
However, if you do just that, then apt or dpkg can't install
things, because the filename entries in Packages files refer
to the directory above the level of main/contrib/etc.
(That's a bad design right there; is there any way to get
that fixed?)
Including the next level of directory solves that apt/dpkg
problem, but then apt configuration during installation fails
because there's no dists directory above.
If making a local mirror requires more than having a directory
containing the main/contrib/etc. parts, the requirements should
be noted somewhere. No, I'm not sure where. Maybe in installation
instructions? Maybe a note in the FTP directories mentioning
what's required?)
Daniel
--
Daniel Barclay
Digital Focus
Daniel.Barclay@digitalfocus.com
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