Bug: dpkg - update-alternatives broken dCore 5.0rc3

[cpoakes]

The debian utility update-alternatives from package dpkg is broken.  In the following usage:

 $ update-alternatives --all
update-alternatives: error: cannot scan directory `/var/lib/dpkg/alternatives': No such file or directory

It cannot be invoked to establish and configure /etc/alternatives.  And the following script employing update-alternatives breaks imagemagick:

$ /usr/local/postinst/imagemagick configure
update-alternatives: error: cannot scan directory `/var/lib/dpkg/alternatives': No such file or directory

The postinst script cited above is called in the tce.installed/imagemagick script.  All imagemagick executables (eg. convert, mogrify, identify) are managed with update-alternatives; when it breaks, the normal command names are not created. 

Is this just broken or is eliminating this data part of intentional size reductions?  I actually use /etc/alternative features "x-www-browser" and "x-terminal-emulator", but can support preserving or tossing this feature.   I note update-alternatives appears in 15 of the 289 /usr/local/postinst scripts on my machine; imagemagick is first but may not be last with serious side effects.

[Jason W]

I have noticed this too, and in wine had created the right package names with the tce.installed script.

Most Debian specific tools are going to be broken, and we are not using them in dCore.  And trying to make any part of it work is a slippery slope that requires something deeper that is Debian specific to be supported. 

Thanks for mentioning this, and I will adjust the startup script for imagemagick so it's package names are the usual.

[cpoakes]

Thanks.  If I break other Debianistic features, I won't report the problem unless a general adjustment is needed.

[Jason W]

Feel free to report anything, it is a balance between the Debian startup scripts and what we need to do with our own.  Thanks for your help.