[arch-general] [ Pacman -Syu ] Creating temporary files..., error: command failed to execute correctly

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Eli,

> >     atop: '/var/log/atop/dummy_after' modification time mismatch
> >                                           (expected 2019-02-06 20:40:14)
> >     atop: '/var/log/atop/dummy_before' modification time mismatch
> >                                           (expected 2019-02-06 20:40:14)
> > 
> > The modification-time mismatch above suggests the package's mtree
> > needs to allow for the mtime to vary.
>
> Well, it would depend on the file, these ones seem to be logfiles.
> I wonder why they exist in the package at all, if that is the case?

I think they may be hooks on logrotate(8)'s actions?

    https://github.com/Atoptool/atop/blob/master/psaccs_atop
    https://github.com/Atoptool/atop/blob/master/psaccu_atop

> Well, no, pacman will delete the old version and install the new
> version every time you update or reinstall a package, and in the
> process it totally ignores the on-disk modification time, permission
> bits, and previous contents.

Ah, got it.

> Directories are a bit unusual in that multiple packages can own them,
> after all, so different packages might "legitimately" have different
> ideas about what permissions a directory should have. These need to be
> resolved on a higher level than simply "pick the first one pacman
> extracts".

So does this look like a packaging problem?  (I'm a bit behind with
packages having downgraded 200-odd due to an Nvidia issue so this might
now be fixed;  it's the diagnosis I'm more interested in getting right.)

    $ sudo -i paccheck --quiet --file-properties --require-mtree systemd
    systemd: '/var/log/journal' GID mismatch (expected 984/unknown group)
    $
    $ ls -ld /var/log/journal
    drwxr-sr-x+ 4 root systemd-journal 4096 Feb 13  2016 /var/log/journal
    $
    $ zcat /var/lib/pacman/local/systemd-242.29-1/mtree |
    > grep '^\./var/log/journal '
    ./var/log/journal time=1557520137.0 mode=2755 gid=984 type=dir
    $
    $ grep ^systemd-journal: /etc/group
    systemd-journal:x:190:
    $ grep 984 /etc/group
    $ 

> > Do the packaging tools provide a means of checking that the proposed
> > mtree differs for existing items to the previous one?  That would
> > help packagers realise upstream have made a change.
>
> Well, no. How would you even be able to determine this in the first
> place?

I'm assuming the mtree is created during packaging from the directory
tree that's being put into the package file.  If the mtree for the
previous release of the package was available then a diff could show
directories that had changed group, etc., due to upstream.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.