[erlang-questions] "erlang-src" package upgrade breaks "syntax_tools" and rebar builds

[Roger Lipscombe]

(reposting to the list)

On 1 February 2014 11:41, Sergei Golovan <sgolovan@REDACTED> wrote:
> You can run apt-cache policy erlang-src and see which version is
> installed and from where it came. Could you show  the output of
> apt-cache policy erlang-src
> apt-cache policy erlang-syntax-tools
> apt-cache policy erlang-base (or erlang-base-hipe, whichever is installed)

All of them report "http://packages.erlang-solutions.com/debian/
raring/contrib amd64 Packages" for 1:16.b.whatever; and Ubuntu raring
for 1:15.b.1; I've got 1:16.b.3 installed of everything (except
erlang-src, which I removed; see below).

Thanks for pointing out apt-cache policy; didn't know about that command.

>> 3. Can I simply delete the offending, newer, directory?
>
> You definitely can.

I ran "dpkg -r erlang-src", which fixed the problem, at least until
apt-get decides to "repair" it.

> Erlang Solutions build one monolithic package, so I don't think that
> you've installed it.

Erlang Solutions build both. From
https://www.erlang-solutions.com/downloads/download-erlang-otp:

"The esl-erlang package is a file containg the complete installation:
it includes the Erlang/OTP platform and all of its applications. The
erlang package is a frontend to a number of smaller packages.
Currently we support both erlang and esl-erlang."

I've just done another "apt-get update; apt-get upgrade", and there's
a whole heap of new packages (1:16.b.3-3), which appear to have fixed
the problem; so it looks like I got caught mid-push, or the version
number got messed up earlier.

Either way, it all seems good now.

Thanks,
Roger.

On 1 February 2014 11:41, Sergei Golovan <sgolovan@REDACTED> wrote:
> Hi Roger,
>
> On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 6:23 PM, Roger Lipscombe <roger@REDACTED> wrote:
>> This morning, I let apt-get upgrade install a new "erlang-src"
>> package. This has broken rebar. Specifically, I get the error message:
>>
>> ERROR: compile failed while processing /home/roger/Source/rebar/rebar:
>> {'EXIT',{undef,[{epp_dodger,parse_file,["src/rebar_core.erl"],[]},
>>                 {rebar_erlc_compiler,compile_priority,1,
>>                                      [{file,"src/rebar_erlc_compiler.erl"},
>>                                       {line,470}]},
>>
>> That is: rebar fails to compile other things, but (here) is also seen
>> failing to compile itself.
>>
>> Upon investigation, I discover that I have both
>> "/usr/lib/erlang/lib/syntax_tools-1.6.12" and
>> "/usr/lib/erlang/lib/syntax_tools-1.6.13". The "-1.6.12" directory
>> contains "ebin", but no "src", and the "-1.6.13" directory contains
>> "src", but no "ebin".
>>
>> It would appear that my installation is using the newer one, and
>> failing to find the .beam files.
>
> Yes, code search really looking only for a directory under
> /usr/lib/erlang/lib and doesn't try to look inside, so if you install
> erlang broken into small packages, they must be consistent (though
> their dependencies should make it just work).
>
>>
>> So, some questions:
>>
>> 1. How do I (on Linux Mint 15, so basically Ubuntu) figure out which
>> APT repository the .deb file came from? This so that I can lay blame
>> appropriately.
>
> You can run apt-cache policy erlang-src and see which version is
> installed and from where it came. Could you show  the output of
> apt-cache policy erlang-src
> apt-cache policy erlang-syntax-tools
> apt-cache policy erlang-base (or erlang-base-hipe, whichever is installed)
>
>> 2. I'd like to roll back the "erlang-src" package that broke this, but
>> it appears to have the same version number as the previous one both
>> are "1:16.b.3". Any idea how I do this?
>
> In fact, syntax-tools 1.6.13 appeared only in Erlang R16B03-1
> (1:16.b.3.1-something in Debian-Ubuntu-Mint notation). The problem is
> that this version exists only in Debian stable, and hasn't come into
> Ubuntu and Mint yet, so I'm curious which repository you're using. And
> erlang-src 1:16.b.3.1-* should not be able to install with the earlier
> erlang-syntax-tools (1:16.b.3-*). So, I'm curious how could it happen.
>
>> 3. Can I simply delete the offending, newer, directory?
>
> You definitely can.
>
>> 4. If not, how do I get the binaries for "-1.6.13"?
>
> I guess, from the repository where you got erlang-src. Though, let's
> see the output from apt-cache policy first.
>
>> 5. Or: how do I compile the source to do that myself?
>>
>> My feeling is that Erlang Solutions have repackaged "erlang-src", and
>> somehow bumped the version number so that it got upgraded (not that I
>> can tell the difference), but that, for some reason, I'm not seeing
>> the corresponding "erlang-syntax-tools" upgrade, which would contain
>> the "ebin" directory.
>
> Erlang Solutions build one monolithic package, so I don't think that
> you've installed it.
>
> Cheers!
> --
> Sergei Golovan