Bug#1077764: Ruling request on os-release specification implementation

Hi Wouter,

On Sat, 3 Aug 2024 20:07:14 +0200 Wouter Verhelst <[email protected]> wrote:
> In the nbd autopkgtest, I need to do a debootstrap of "whatever we are
> currently running". That code starts off with "parse os-release", and
> then falls back to a horrible horrible perl script that parses
> apt-cache policy output if os-release looks like testing or unstable,
> because the autopkgtest needs to test the version that we're running,
> not "always unstable", and this is just a pain. If os-release were to
> distinguish "unstable" from "testing", then I would be able to get rid
> of that perl script (and good riddance)

If I read correctly then what you describe here you fell in the trap 
that helmut mentioned earlier (but maybe you realized and implemented it 
correctly). You should run in the same environment that is prepared as 
your testbed. If you debootstrap a different environment, you're not 
testing what the testing migration wants you to test. Maybe you have 
assessed this and it can't be relevant for nbd, I don't know, but it's 
tricky for sure. IIRC I have filed bugs about this in the past (at least 
I discussed it extensively with helmut in Heidelberg last year) because 
the result can be (and has been IIRC) a wrong assignment of regression. 
What the test should ensure is that it tests the same combination that 
apt would provide to it, ideally by not fiddling. os-release doesn't 
help in the most important use case of autopkgtest, because it's not 
made to tell what apt would install if asked.

Paul

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