Long story short, some discoveries caused me to conduct an audit of symlinks for the entire 11.4 system I am using. I found what appear to be hundreds of broken links. I am trying to track down the causes.
It appears I found dozens associated with Konqueror. Examples:
In '/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/konq-plugins' for file 'common' the linked to item '/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/konq-plugins/../common' does NOT exist!
In '/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/konq-plugins/babel' for file 'common' the linked to item '/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/konq-plugins/babel/../common' does NOT exist!
In '/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/konq-plugins/crashes' for file 'common' the linked to item '/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/konq-plugins/crashes/../common' does NOT exist!
That use of common is a common theme.
There are places in the system, where, although it may seem like something of a kludge, there is an intentional odd use of a symlink, such as /boot pointing to itself.
So before I reported as a bug, I wanted to ask, does anyone know of any intentional reason for the repeated use of common pointing to something that doesn’t exist, in this situation???
You say that the one you show above related to Konqueror is just an example. When it wasn’t just an example or when you just want to try to get grips with this pehnomenon through this example, why not go to the KDE forums at: Index page • KDE Community Forums ?
My understanding is that openSUSE is not built by just collecting a bunch of RPM’s into an ISO, without any modifications to anything inside the RPM’s. My understanding is that even when something originates elsewhere, such as kde.org, in some cases, modifications are made. So when I’m using Konqueror which I obtained as part of openSUSE 11.4, AFAIC, the first question is, “was it modified for use with openSUSE?”. If YES, then in a situation such as this, my next question would be, “did the modifications result in the problem?”. If NO, then the next step would be to look on kde.org.
We need much more details. KDE version, from which repo. What was installed, uninstalled? On my laptop, I don’t find the example you provided. And yes, I replaced “ca” by “nl”.
Is this an updated system and this directories maybe are leftovers from
the past? When I look on my 11.4 system looking for the pattern
share/doc/HTML/de/konq-plugins
(or any other languge instead of de) it finds only the directories for
the kde3 parts I have installed (in /opt/kde3) but nothing for kde4.
–
PC: oS 11.4 x86_64 | Intel Core i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.6.0 |
GeForce GT 420
Eee PC 1201n: oS 12.1 x86_64 | Intel Atom 330@1.60GHz | 3GB | KDE 4.8.1
| nVidia ION
eCAFE 800: oS 12.1 i586 | AMD Geode LX 800@500MHz | 512MB | KDE 3.5.10 |
xf86-video-geode
openSUSE 11.4 downloaded ISO of final release. Checksum matched. Burned DVD, verified burn. Originally installed last year, “new install” not “upgrade”.
For updates to KDE, I use Yast2 “online update” from standard repositories.
KDE version:
rpm -qi kdebase4-4.6.0-6.10.1.x86_64
Name : kdebase4 Relocations: (not relocatable)
Version : 4.6.0 Vendor: openSUSE
Release : 6.10.1 Build Date: Wed Oct 19 14:36:43 2011
Install Date: Sun Oct 30 02:11:33 2011 Build Host: build25
Group : System/GUI/KDE Source RPM: kdebase4-4.6.0-6.10.1.src.rpm
Size : 540751 License: GPLv2+
Signature : RSA/8, Wed Oct 19 14:39:43 2011, Key ID b88b2fd43dbdc284
Packager : openSUSE:Submitting bug reports - openSUSE
URL : KDE - Experience Freedom!
Summary : The Base KDE Apps
Description :
This package contains the basic applications for a K Desktop
Environment workspace.
Distribution: openSUSE 11.4
Am 05.04.2012 00:26, schrieb toes:
> # rpm -q --whatprovides /usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/konq-plugins
> konqueror-plugins-lang-4.3.1-11.14.2.noarch
>
This rpm seems to be obsolete, even if you do the software search at software.opensuse.org it does no longer exist (while it is still of
course in the repo).
That’s now a wild guess but I think it just was not properly uninstalled
by the update it obsoleted it.
I can no longer check this (but I checked before the upgrade that only
konqueror-plugins was installed the corresponding -lang was shown as not
installed while I had 4.6 on 11.4 I just upgraded now to 4.8.2).
To be sure, can you run a
zypper verify
?
–
PC: oS 11.4 x86_64 | Intel Core i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.8.2 |
GeForce GT 420
Eee PC 1201n: oS 12.1 x86_64 | Intel Atom 330@1.60GHz | 3GB | KDE 4.8.2
| nVidia ION
eCAFE 800: oS 12.1 i586 | AMD Geode LX 800@500MHz | 512MB | KDE 3.5.10 |
xf86-video-geode
I wouldn’t have discovered this if the software search hadn’t been suggested, so thanks!
The package:
konqueror-plugins-lang-4.6.1-4.3.noarch
exists, but has seemingly been indexed for the search as a debug package. It essentially contains only a README that states that no translations are available.
On 2012-04-05 12:29, Martin Helm wrote:
> What about uninstalling konqueror-plugins-lang?
> The translations seem to be now in the generic kde translation packages.
konqueror-plugins-lang is installed properly in 11.4, it is part of the
system. It is not a leftover from a previous install. The OP is using 11.4,
not 12.1.
It has broken links, yes. Sometimes links are created in one package to
things that are installed in another package - and that package is not
installed, and then the links are broken.
The link above points to “/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/common”, which would
be installed in package kde4-l10n-ca-4.6.0-5.3.noarch.rpm - ie, the link is
valid when you install that language pack.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)
Am 05.04.2012 12:58, schrieb Carlos E. R.:
> On 2012-04-05 12:29, Martin Helm wrote:
>> What about uninstalling konqueror-plugins-lang?
>> The translations seem to be now in the generic kde translation packages.
>
> konqueror-plugins-lang is installed properly in 11.4, it is part of the
> system. It is not a leftover from a previous install. The OP is using 11.4,
> not 12.1.
>
I hope you have read that all my own checking was done for 11.4 and my
answers as well.
The package konqueror-plugins-lang as such (as it existed when 11.4 was
released) does no longer exist in its original form for 11.4.
> It has broken links, yes. Sometimes links are created in one package to
> things that are installed in another package - and that package is not
> installed, and then the links are broken.
>
>
>
> The link above points to “/usr/share/doc/kde/HTML/ca/common”, which would
> be installed in package kde4-l10n-ca-4.6.0-5.3.noarch.rpm - ie, the link is
> valid when you install that language pack.
>
Of course you need the kde4-l10n* package, but only that, the symlinks
are obviously useless now.
On 2012-04-05 13:33, Martin Helm wrote:
> Am 05.04.2012 12:58, schrieb Carlos E. R.:
>> On 2012-04-05 12:29, Martin Helm wrote:
>>> What about uninstalling konqueror-plugins-lang?
>>> The translations seem to be now in the generic kde translation packages.
>>
>> konqueror-plugins-lang is installed properly in 11.4, it is part of the
>> system. It is not a leftover from a previous install. The OP is using 11.4,
>> not 12.1.
>>
> I hope you have read that all my own checking was done for 11.4 and my
> answers as well.
Yes, I did.
But some of the answers posted seem point to 12.1
> The package konqueror-plugins-lang as such (as it existed when 11.4 was
> released) does no longer exist in its original form for 11.4.
It certainly does exist, as I have it installed, and yast shows it in
black. From the oss repo. If it has been removed from the oss repo, that is
a bug, the OSS repo is supposed to be immutable.
Am 05.04.2012 14:48, schrieb Carlos E. R.:
> Someone removed it from the OSS repo, which many people do not
>update, and
> forgot to trigger the uninstall.
No look at the previous post it is a debug package in the search (not
removed, but I also said previously that it is NOT removed and still in
the repo my wording “dropped” which I used later was misleading, but no
longer appears in software search on the web, but only as debug package).
>
> And it is “fixed”! :-/
>
–
PC: oS 11.4 x86_64 | Intel Core i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.8.2 |
GeForce GT 420
Eee PC 1201n: oS 12.1 x86_64 | Intel Atom 330@1.60GHz | 3GB | KDE 4.8.2
| nVidia ION
eCAFE 800: oS 12.1 i586 | AMD Geode LX 800@500MHz | 512MB | KDE 3.5.10 |
xf86-video-geode
On 2012-04-05 15:46, Martin Helm wrote:
> Am 05.04.2012 14:48, schrieb Carlos E. R.:
>> Someone removed it from the OSS repo, which many people do not
>> update, and forgot to trigger the uninstall.
>
> No look at the previous post it is a debug package in the search (not
> removed, but I also said previously that it is NOT removed and still in
> the repo my wording “dropped” which I used later was misleading, but no
> longer appears in software search on the web, but only as debug package).
Ah, I see, a debug package… why debug?
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)
Am 05.04.2012 16:08, schrieb Carlos E. R.:
> Ah, I see, a debug package… why debug?
>
And that is what I interpreted as “dropped for normal use”. Rethinking
that whole thing it is more and more a mystery to me. I cannot find any
change in the spec file for 11.4 according to that and no mention of
anything related cahnging the status of this -lang package in the
packages change list (src rpm on the OBS standard for 11.4
konqueror-plugins which generates konqueror-plugins-lang).
At this point I think only one of the openSUSE developers can explain
what is behind that.
I stop speculating at that point since I moved my three KDE4 machines
yesterday (11.4 and 12.1) to KDE 4.8.2 where this does no longer exist
at all.
–
PC: oS 11.4 x86_64 | Intel Core i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.8.2 |
GeForce GT 420
Eee PC 1201n: oS 12.1 x86_64 | Intel Atom 330@1.60GHz | 3GB | KDE 4.8.2
| nVidia ION
eCAFE 800: oS 12.1 i586 | AMD Geode LX 800@500MHz | 512MB | KDE 3.5.10 |
xf86-video-geode
On 2012-04-05 16:20, Martin Helm wrote:
> Am 05.04.2012 16:08, schrieb Carlos E. R.:
>> Ah, I see, a debug package… why debug?
>>
> And that is what I interpreted as “dropped for normal use”.
Ah! :-}
> Rethinking
> that whole thing it is more and more a mystery to me. I cannot find any
> change in the spec file for 11.4 according to that and no mention of
> anything related cahnging the status of this -lang package in the
> packages change list (src rpm on the OBS standard for 11.4
> konqueror-plugins which generates konqueror-plugins-lang).
> At this point I think only one of the openSUSE developers can explain
> what is behind that.
The point is probably moot by now…
> I stop speculating at that point since I moved my three KDE4 machines
> yesterday (11.4 and 12.1) to KDE 4.8.2 where this does no longer exist
> at all.
Indeed, I have updated to kde 4.7 stable a few hours ago, and the package
has disappeared from the installation.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 “Celadon” at Telcontar)