Impossible to reinstall python-opensync which made unusable my packageinstallation tools

[Cassian Braconnier]

Hi,
Recently, I decided to install a package for
python-opensync
on my Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty).

This package was here :
http://www.progweb.com/modules/blackberry/opensync/
(I was said later that this package was for Debian SID)

This was a very bad idea : it completely broke Synaptic, and made it
impossible to install any (other, non python) package with apt-get or
dpkg commands.

Any attempt to remove or reinstall python-opensync with dpkg or apt-get
commands, used with various 'force' options, gave no result, for instance :

=============
root@tux-laptop# dpkg -P --force-remove-reinstreq python-opensync

dpkg - avertissement, problème contourné à cause de --force :
Le paquet est dans un état incohérent - vous devriez
le réinstaller avant d'essayer de le supprimer.
(Lecture de la base de données... 236922 fichiers et répertoires déjà
installés.)
Suppression de python-opensync ...
Usage: update-python-modules [-v] [-c] package_directory [...]
update-python-modules [-v] [-c] package.dirs [...]
update-python-modules [-v] [-a|-f|-p]

update-python-modules: error:
/usr/share/python-support/python-opensync.public is not a directory
dpkg : erreur de traitement de python-opensync (--purge) :
le sous-processus pre-removal script a retourné une erreur de sortie
d'état 2
Usage: update-python-modules [-v] [-c] package_directory [...]
update-python-modules [-v] [-c] package.dirs [...]
update-python-modules [-v] [-a|-f|-p]

update-python-modules: error:
/usr/share/python-support/python-opensync.public is not a directory
dpkg : erreur lors du nettoyage :
le sous-processus post-installation script a retourné une erreur de
sortie d'état 2
Des erreurs ont été rencontrées pendant l'exécution :
python-opensync

====================


The pre and post removal scripts are respectively :

/var/lib/dpkg/info/python-opensync.prerm :


=================

#!/bin/sh
set -e
# Automatically added by dh_pysupport
if which update-python-modules >/dev/null 2>&1; then
update-python-modules -c python-opensync.public
fi
# End automatically added section

=========================


/var/lib/dpkg/info/python-opensync.postinst :


==================

#!/bin/sh
set -e
# Automatically added by dh_pysupport
if which update-python-modules >/dev/null 2>&1; then
update-python-modules python-opensync.public
fi
# End automatically added section

==========================

For the time being I cannot install anything using dpkg or apt-get (nor
synaptic) : I get an error message saying
that "python-opensync should be reinstalled but that its archive is
unavailable", and as I said, any attempt to reinstall python-opensync fails.

So far I could not get any useful advice on the french ubuntu users
forum, it is the reason why, though I am in no way a python-guy,
I turned to this list.

Thank you for any advice.
Idoin

 

[Ulrich Eckhardt]

[...] completely broke Synaptic, and made it impossible to install any
(other, non python) package with apt-get or dpkg commands.

This is not a Python error and it doesn't actually belong here.

So far I could not get any useful advice on the french ubuntu users
forum, it is the reason why, though I am in no way a python-guy,
I turned to this list.

Fire up an IRC client, connect to freenode and join the channel #ubuntu,
#debian or #debian-fr, there you should be able to find people who can help
you.

Otherwise, it seems that the package is in a half-installed state and that
it fails to configure. What you can do is remove the content of the failing
post-installation script and then retry configuring it. Obviously it might
cause the package itself to break, but it shouldn't affect the whole
package management system.

Uli