Bug#1128325: dpkg-scanpackages --arch=amd64 should ignore "arch-all" packages

On Thu, 2026-02-19 at 10:12:56 +0100, Gioele Barabucci wrote:
> Control: tags -1 patch
> 
> On 19/02/26 03:47, Guillem Jover wrote:
> > > Could `--arch=foo` be modified to mean "strictly foo, without all"?
> > > Alternatively could a new option like `--arch-strict=foo` be
> > > introduced, if you believe that the old behavior should not change?
> > 
> > I don't think changing the semantics for --arch would be correct, as
> > this is how it has been documented, and how people have relied on this
> > option working. Instead I've added a new --no-implicit-arch option,
> > which removes the implicit addition of the arch-all packages, so then
> > you can run twice with --arch=foo and then --arch=all for example.

> If I am allowed to bikeshed a bit, as a user I'd find
> 
>     --no-implicit-arch-all
> 
> or
> 
>     --no-implicit-archs
> 
> more explicit and easier to spot when looking for that kind of
> change of semantics. (Inner dialogue: "no implicit arch? which arch
> is implicit?".)

I actually started with --no-arch-all, but then when I was testing
that, it started to look very odd or even confusing, for example with:

  $ dpkg-scanpackages --no-arch-all --arch=all .

And while --no-implicit-arch-all, at least makes clear it's about the
arch being implicit, it also seemed very long (so less ergonomic). I'm
not sure I see a difference with using the plural archs though. :)

Thanks,
Guillem