permissions problem

[rjasmin]

affects aptitude, apt-get and synaptic:

/var/lib/dpkg directory and main files should be set immutable (+i) on install, thereby preventing contents from being deleted and requiring a reinstall to fix. (we should be working on a copy anyways..)

Since you have to be sudo or root to make changes to packaging system(packages) it only makes sense that we limit the power of root in such a case not to destroy the packaging system by mistake.

Just 'being careful' isnt enough. We are required to be root to do anything with packages. We need keep from shooting self in foot.
backing up database/required files for proper operation each time packager is called is another option. How feasable, I do not know.

I am not only one to encounter this.

[Adam Conrad (adconrad)]

Making databses immutable makes them rather difficult to use. They are, however, backed up on every dpkg run to /var/lib/dpkg/$db-old, as well as backed up regularly to /var/backups.