On Sun, 2026-03-22 at 20:46 +0100, Guillem Jover wrote: > Hi! > > On Sun, 2026-03-22 at 16:13:28 +0000, Oron Peled wrote: > > Package: libdpkg-perl > > Version: 1.22.22 > > Severity: normal > > > * What led up to the situation? > > - In "trixie" trying to use "Dpkg::Version::version_compare" fails > > I assume this is meant in the context of "sort version_compare @versions". > > > - The error was very clear: > > "Use of uninitialized value $a in string at > > /usr/share/perl5/Dpkg/Version.pm > > line 271, <> line 266." > > Ack.
Thank a lot for the quick response. > > * The root cause is in commit (appeared before version 1.22.12): > > "a9b22de4db4d42417c4cac74e7e537f48284e731 perl: Remove function > > prototypes" > > > > * Removing prototype of a sort function affects its semantics. > > From "sort" documentation in perlfunc man page: > > "If the subroutine's prototype is "($$)", the elements to be compared > > are passed by reference in @_, as for a normal subroutine." > > > > * But the existing code still expect parameters in @_ > > (which is empty after prototype removal) > > > > * Minimal fix: re-add the missing prototype to that function > > I've done this (using the signatures syntax so that the code can then > still be switched to use full sub signatures), with the attached change, > and included a matching change for Dpkg::Deps, where I noticed that it > always had that same problem (so not a regression). I'll add some unit > tests and queue these for the next dpkg upload (1.23.x), and I'll mark > the Dpkg::Version change for a stable update (1.22.x) fix. The stable update is really useful (as most of our build infrastructure already migrated to "trixie" but will stay they in the next 1.5 years) > > * Alternative fix: use $a and $b directly and don't assign them from @_ > > This would mean you cannot call this with parameters, which would > break way more code I think (at least from within dpkg itself), and > turns into a way more surprising API. +1 > > * My temporary workaround: wrote a small wrapper that pass $a and $b as > > explicit > > parameters > > Thanks for the report and investigation! Thank you again, (meanwhile my workaround keep stuff here ticking) > Regards, > Guillem -- Oron Peled
