equivs-build: fatal error occurred while parsing debian/changelog

[Tong Sun]

There is no debian/changelog file involved when using equivs-build, so would the "fatal error occurred while parsing debian/changelog" error be a bug?

Here are the details:

$ cat ttf-ubuntu-font-family
Package: ttf-ubuntu-font-family
Architecture: all
Version: 91:0.83-2
Multi-Arch: foreign
Priority: optional
Section: universe/oldlibs
Source: fonts-ubuntu (0.83-2)
Origin: Ubuntu
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <email address hidden>
Original-Maintainer: Debian Fonts Task Force <email address hidden>
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Installed-Size: 40
Depends: fonts-ubuntu
Homepage: https://design.ubuntu.com/font/
Description: sans-serif font set from Ubuntu (transitional package) (equ-dummy)
Task: kubuntu-desktop, kubuntu-full, lubuntu-live-share, core-share, lubuntu-gtk-core, lubuntu-desktop-share, lubuntu-core, lubuntu-live, lubuntu-qt-core, lubuntu-live-qt, lubuntu-live-gtk

$ equivs-build ttf-ubuntu-font-family
dh_testdir
dh_testroot
dh_prep
dh_testdir
dh_testroot
dh_install
dh_installdocs
dh_installchangelogs
dh_installchangelogs: warning: debian/changelog(l2): found end of file where expected first heading
dh_installchangelogs: error: fatal error occurred while parsing debian/changelog
debian/rules:20: recipe for target 'binary-indep' failed
make: *** [binary-indep] Error 255
Error in the build process: exit status 2

$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Release: 18.04

$ apt-cache policy equivs
equivs:
  Installed: 2.1.0
  Candidate: 2.1.0
  Version table:
 *** 2.1.0 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

[era (era)]

This indicates an error in your input file. I'm guessing the parenthesized number in the Source: field is what causes the parse error, but I'm not in a place where I can check this.

equivs-build uses the data in your input file to populate a number of templates which are required in all Debian packages. Sometimes errors are passed through and cause one of the build toolchain utilities to fail with an error. Perhaps see also upstream bug https://bugs.debian.org/219188

[Tong Sun (suntong001)]

Thanks for the comment.

The input file is almost identical to that of the original package. I checked https://bugs.debian.org/219188, and found that it only talks about the warning of can't parse dependency, not this fatal error on debian/changelog. Moreover, the package has been created in that case, but not in this one.

[era (era)]

https://bugs.debian.org/251673 is a closer example for this particular symptom but they are all essentially the same issue (https://bugs.debian.org/247974 too).