Package: release-notes Severity: normal X-Debbugs-Cc: debbug.release-no...@sideload.33mail.com
One of the ways I got burnt in the Bullseye → Bookworm full-upgrade is documented here: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1070203 There was no signal given before, during, or after the upgrade warning that the non-debian python app “argostranslate” would be ruined. It was just a surprise the next time the app was needed that it no longer functioned. I’m not sure if the release notes could give any detailed guidance, but users should probably be instructed to minimally become aware of packages that are at risk. These existing sections are probably relevant: 4.2.6. Remove non-Debian packages 4.2.13. Check package status Perhaps users should probably be instructed to run: $ pip list $ pip3 list $ pipx list to at least become aware of non-Debian packages that might be impacted so they can be reminded to give some thought to it. IMO it’s sensible to save the lists from that output to a file and then refer to it post-upgrade to test these fragile apps so the nasty surprise of lost functionality does not manifest at the time that they need to use it, which is about the worst time to discover the loss. Rust also has its own package manager (cargo), as does emacs. I have no idea if they have the same special needs that pip does. I don’t think cargo gives a listing mechanism so perhaps nothing can be done there.
