Re: Bug#1133247: libini-config-dev has an undeclared file conflict on /usr/include/ref_array.h

Simon Josefsson <[email protected]> Mon, 25 May 2026 16:25:54 +0200

Newsgroups	gmane.linux.debian.devel.general
Message-ID	<[email protected]>

Helmut Grohne <[email protected]> writes in <https://bugs.debian.org/1133247>:

> libini-config-dev has an undeclared file conflict. This may result in an
> unpack error from dpkg.
>
> The file /usr/include/ref_array.h is contained in the packages
>  * libini-config-dev/0.7.0-1 as present in forky|unstable
>  * libref-array-dev/0.6.2-3 as present in trixie

I have made the above kind of mistake embarassingly often lately.  A
cross-package file conflict seems like a simple problem that our QA
tooling should have cought for me earlier than waiting for reports.

I would prefer a Salsa pipeline job to detect these file conflicts.
Second to that, a lintian check.  Third, some testing migration blocking
check that ends up visible in the PTS.  Maybe the third really ought to
be implemented anyway.

But how to implement such a check?

Helmut, is your code to detect this situation available somewhere?  I
guess it involves an online check at some Debian service that knows
about all files shipped by all (current) packages?  Your (excellent) bug
reports about these findings suggests it is all automated somehow.

/Simon

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