Aply cannot handle deb packages using control.tar.xz

[hosiet]

Detailed Description

Ever since the release of dpkg 1.19.0, dpkg-deb enables --uniform-compression by default. This means control.tar* file will be compressed using xz by default (to be more precise, using the same compression method as data.tar* file). This claims control.tar.xz file inside .deb file instead of control.tar.gz.

Currently aptly does not seem to support handling control.tar.xz inside .deb file.

Context

Using .deb packages built using dpkg (>= 1.19.0) will encounter this problem.

Currently it affects users of Debian Testing and Debian Unstable but we can expect more users affected by this bug due to downstream adaption of new dpkg.

Possible Implementation

Do not assume hardcoded control.tar.gz inside .deb files. Instead, we should do an intelligent analysis about the compression method used for control.tar.* and data.tar.*.

Your Environment

Debian Unstable, using dpkg 1.19.0.4.

[jlu5]

Confirming: this recently hit my builds too.

[guillemj]

Hmm, it seems I missed aptly when I was checking for other tools directly handling .deb packages for https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/Dpkg/DebSupport. Support for non-gzip compressed (or not compressed) control.tar is not recent (dpkg 1.17.6), so you might want to check the deb(5) man page and that wiki page for any other features currently not supported, and while you are at it, fill the aptly stub entry I've just added there! Thanks. :)

[smira]

@guillemj thanks for the pointers, I'll improve compatibility and fill the Wiki page!

[smira]

Reopening to track wiki updates

[travisgriggs]

I just ran into this... is it fixed in the 1.1.1 version? Or do I need to pull the nightly version?

[wwentland]

@travisgriggs It seems to be fixed in the nightly version, but still present in 1.1.1

[smira]

1.2.0 should have this fix (when it gets released)