[Bug 225969] Merge Review: kernel

[Jarod Wilson]

On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 11:02:15AM -0400, Don Zickus wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 10:02:10AM -0400, Tom spot Callaway wrote:
> > On 10/26/2010 03:09 PM, Don Zickus wrote:
> > > On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 02:10:23PM -0400, Dave Jones wrote:
> > >>
> > >>  > kernel.x86_64: W: dangling-relative-symlink
> > >>  > /lib/modules/2.6.36-1.fc15.x86_64/build
> > >>  > ../../../usr/src/kernels/2.6.36-1.fc15.x86_64
> > >>  > 
> > >>  > (It seems odd that /lib/modules/2.6.36-1.fc15.x86_64/build is packaged in
> > >>  > kernel, but the symlink it points to is in kernel-devel. Is there a reason that
> > >>  > the /lib/modules/2.6.36-1.fc15.x86_64/build ownership isn't in kernel-devel?)
> > >>
> > >> We flip-flopped on this a few years ago. It used to be that way iirc, but I'm
> > >> not recalling the exact reasoning for why it changed.
> > > 
> > > I think the problem was the -devel package could be installed without a
> > > kernel package behind it making it awkward to install a symlink.  Even if
> > > you just dropped the symlink on the floor, installing the kernel later
> > > would never re-create the symlink leaving things broken.
> > > 
> > > IIRC, the dangling symlink was the lesser of two evils.
> > 
> > Well, all the real "meat" is in kernel-devel, except for the
> > /lib/modules/%{version}-%{release}.%{_arch}/build symlink which is in
> > kernel. My point was that it seems to make sense to just put that
> > symlink in kernel-devel as well, that way, you either have kernel-devel
> > installed (and have all the files and the symlink) or you don't.
> 
> Not that I feel like arguing to save dangling symlink, what happens in the
> case when you install kernel-devel-$KERNVER but there is no
> kernel-$KERNVER installed to match?  Does the rpm fail because
> /lib/modules/$KERNVER doesn't exist?  Or are we going to add a dependency
> to prevent that from happening?

kernel-{,foo-}devel would have to also provide /lib/modules/<kver>/.
Requiring matching kernels to be installed would be crazy. But I'm not
particularly wild about all kernel-devel packages putting down
/lib/modules/<kver>/ directories just to put symlinks in. Personally, I'd
just let the dangling symlinks be, but the proper thing is probably to
move them into the -devel bits and have those also own
/lib/modules/<kver>/ .

-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at redhat.com