Package: dpkg Version: 1.15.3.1 Severity: wishlist Tags: patch Currently the code responsible for creating the files in /var/backups/dpkg.status.* is in /etc/cron.daily/standard, which belongs to the cron package.
I'd suggest this functionality be brought into the dpkg package and slightly better documented in the manpage. The attached patch should be all that's needed. I'm filling a simultaneous bug to cron to remove the code there, and marking it as blocked by this bug. Hope this helps spare another blind guy like myself who manages to bork the status file and doesn't know about the backups[0]. Cheers [0] http://costela.net/2009/08/restoring-a-wiped-out-dpkg-status-file/ -- Leo "costela" Antunes [insert a witty retort here]
diff -urN dpkg-1.15.3.1/debian/dpkg.cron.daily dpkg-1.15.3.1.new/debian/dpkg.cron.daily --- dpkg-1.15.3.1/debian/dpkg.cron.daily 1970-01-01 01:00:00.000000000 +0100 +++ dpkg-1.15.3.1.new/debian/dpkg.cron.daily 2009-08-14 00:43:10.000000000 +0200 @@ -0,0 +1,10 @@ +#!/bin/sh +# code originally taken from /etc/cron.daily/standard + +if cd /var/backups ; then + if ! cmp -s dpkg.status.0 /var/lib/dpkg/status ; then + cp -p /var/lib/dpkg/status dpkg.status + savelog -c 7 dpkg.status >/dev/null + fi +fi + diff -urN dpkg-1.15.3.1/debian/rules dpkg-1.15.3.1.new/debian/rules --- dpkg-1.15.3.1/debian/rules 2009-07-08 11:06:35.000000000 +0200 +++ dpkg-1.15.3.1.new/debian/rules 2009-08-14 00:39:09.000000000 +0200 @@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ dh_testdir -a dh_testroot -a dh_install --sourcedir=debian/tmp -a + dh_installcron -a dh_installlogrotate -a install -d debian/dpkg/sbin diff -urN dpkg-1.15.3.1/man/dpkg.1 dpkg-1.15.3.1.new/man/dpkg.1 --- dpkg-1.15.3.1/man/dpkg.1 2009-07-08 11:06:36.000000000 +0200 +++ dpkg-1.15.3.1.new/man/dpkg.1 2009-08-14 00:34:07.000000000 +0200 @@ -576,6 +576,9 @@ whether a package is marked for removing or not, whether it is installed or not, etc. See section \fBINFORMATION ABOUT PACKAGES\fP for more info. + +The status file is backed up daily in \fI/var/backups\fP in case of file +corruption. .P The following files are components of a binary package. See \fBdeb\fP(5) for more information about them:
