Package: dpkg Severity: wishlist When dpkg notices that a conffile has changed, it could rather helpfully offer the option of using the merge command.
The command-line dpkg would use is merge <conffile>.dpkg-new <conffile>.dpkg-dist <conffile> Which, in merge speak, means Check (linewise) for differences between <conffile>.dpkg-dist and <conffile>. Apply such differences to <conffile>.dpkg-new. Dpkg could then use merge's exit code to find out whether there were any conflicts, and recommend that the user check the file if there were - or better still, launch $VISUAL for the user to do it themselves. This won't work with all config files, but would definitely enhance dpkg's usability. The maintainer may wish to merge this bug with #1921. #1921 claims that dpkg doesn't keep the whole config file around - but when I was correcting by hand, I found a <conffile>.dpkg-dist which did exactly this, so I don't quite know the details here. Jules Bean /----------------+-------------------------------+---------------------\ | Jelibean aka | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | 6 Evelyn Rd | | Jules aka | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Richmond, Surrey | | Julian Bean | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | TW9 2TF *UK* | +----------------+-------------------------------+---------------------+ | War doesn't demonstrate who's right... just who's left. | | When privacy is outlawed... only the outlaws have privacy. | \----------------------------------------------------------------------/
