libgail-3-0 dependencies cause a complete downgrade/uninstall of various packages

[Enrico]

Hi,

i have a fresh 22.04-LTS install on my new Huawei laptop, i tried and reviewed some mail clients and came to the conclusion to choose "evolution" as my new client, but my problem is i can't install "evolution" because some of his dependencies have to strong constrains, one of them is "libgail-3-0" which has "libgtk-3-0 (= 3.24.33-1ubuntu1)" as dependency, which causes a downgrade/uninstall of some required packages, look at this console output:

---------- %< ---------------
root@ebony:~# apt-get install evolution
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 libgail-3-0 : Depends: libgtk-3-0 (= 3.24.33-1ubuntu1) but 3.24.33-1ubuntu2 is to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

root@ebony:~# apt-get install evolution libgtk-3-0=3.24.33-1ubuntu1
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
  apg gir1.2-accountsservice-1.0 gir1.2-adw-1 gir1.2-clutter-1.0 gir1.2-cogl-1.0 gir1.2-coglpango-1.0 gir1.2-dbusmenu-glib-0.4 gir1.2-dee-1.0 gir1.2-gck-1 gir1.2-gcr-3 gir1.2-gdata-0.0
  gir1.2-gdm-1.0 gir1.2-geoclue-2.0 gir1.2-gnomebluetooth-3.0 gir1.2-graphene-1.0 gir1.2-gsound-1.0 gir1.2-gtk-4.0 gir1.2-gweather-3.0 gir1.2-json-1.0 gir1.2-nautilus-3.0 gir1.2-nm-1.0
  gir1.2-nma-1.0 gir1.2-rsvg-2.0 gir1.2-unity-7.0 gir1.2-upowerglib-1.0 gkbd-capplet gnome-bluetooth-3-common gnome-control-center-faces gnome-online-accounts gstreamer1.0-pipewire
  libcolord-gtk1 libfreerdp-server2-2 libgnome-bluetooth-3.0-13 libgnomekbd-common libgnomekbd8 libgsound0 libgupnp-av-1.0-3 libgupnp-dlna-2.0-4 libmediaart-2.0-0 librygel-core-2.6-2
  librygel-db-2.6-2 librygel-renderer-2.6-2 librygel-server-2.6-2 libsoup-3.0-0 libsoup-3.0-common libtext-engine-0.1-0 libvncserver1 libxklavier16 mobile-broadband-provider-info
  network-manager-gnome policykit-1-gnome python3-certifi python3-chardet python3-debconf python3-debian python3-idna python3-macaroonbakery python3-nacl python3-nautilus python3-protobuf
  python3-pymacaroons python3-requests python3-rfc3339 python3-tz python3-urllib3 rygel sshfs switcheroo-control update-notifier-common xwayland
Use 'apt autoremove' to remove them.
The following additional packages will be installed:
  bogofilter bogofilter-bdb bogofilter-common evolution-common evolution-plugin-bogofilter evolution-plugin-pstimport evolution-plugins libchamplain-0.12-0 libchamplain-gtk-0.12-0
  libcmark0.30.2 libevolution libgail-3-0 libgnome-autoar-gtk-0-0 libpst4 libytnef0 notification-daemon policykit-1-gnome
Suggested packages:
  db5.3-util doc-base evolution-ews evolution-plugins-experimental
Recommended packages:
  libgtk-3-bin
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  chrome-gnome-shell gdm3 gir1.2-mutter-10 gnome-control-center gnome-remote-desktop gnome-shell gnome-shell-extension-appindicator gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons-ng
  gnome-shell-extension-gsconnect gnome-shell-extension-gsconnect-browsers gnome-shell-extension-manager gnome-shell-extension-ubuntu-dock libgtk-3-bin libmutter-10-0 ubuntu-desktop
  ubuntu-desktop-minimal ubuntu-release-upgrader-gtk ubuntu-session update-manager update-notifier
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  bogofilter bogofilter-bdb bogofilter-common evolution evolution-common evolution-plugin-bogofilter evolution-plugin-pstimport evolution-plugins libchamplain-0.12-0 libchamplain-gtk-0.12-0
  libcmark0.30.2 libevolution libgail-3-0 libgnome-autoar-gtk-0-0 libpst4 libytnef0 notification-daemon policykit-1-gnome
The following packages will be DOWNGRADED:
  libgtk-3-0
0 upgraded, 18 newly installed, 1 downgraded, 20 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 8.602 kB of archives.
After this operation, 16,0 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] N
Abort.

---------- %< ----------------

as you can see, this will downgrade and therefore destroy my entire setup.

I'm not sure if i should send a email to the package maintainer directly or better file a bug here (i decided to try the later one).

those packages are involved:

---------- %< ----------------
root@ebony:~# apt-cache policy evolution libgail-3-0 libgtk-3-0
evolution:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.44.0-1
  Version table:
     3.44.0-1 500
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 Packages
libgail-3-0:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.24.33-1ubuntu1
  Version table:
     3.24.33-1ubuntu1 500
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/main amd64 Packages
libgtk-3-0:
  Installed: 3.24.33-1ubuntu2
  Candidate: 3.24.33-1ubuntu2
  Version table:
 *** 3.24.33-1ubuntu2 100
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     3.24.33-1ubuntu1 500
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/main amd64 Packages
---------- %< ----------------

my system/setup:

---------- %< ----------------
root@ebony:~# inxi -b
System:
  Host: ebony Kernel: 5.15.0-47-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: GNOME 42.4
    Distro: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: HUAWEI product: KLVL-WXX9 v: M1010
    serial: YAVBB21831800177
  Mobo: HUAWEI model: KLVL-WXX9-PCB-B1 v: M1010 serial: BBGZ64218T000634
    UEFI: HUAWEI v: 2.03 date: 08/09/2021
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 55.3 Wh (99.5%) condition: 55.6/54.9 Wh (101.2%)
CPU:
  Info: 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 4800H with Radeon Graphics [MT MCP] speed (MHz):
    avg: 1400 min/max: 1400/2900
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Renoir driver: amdgpu v: kernel
  Device-2: Cheng Uei Precision Industry (Foxlink) HD Camera type: USB
    driver: uvcvideo
  Display: server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.3 driver: X: loaded: amdgpu,ati
    unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon,vesa gpu: amdgpu
    resolution: 2160x1440~60Hz
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD RENOIR (LLVM 13.0.1 DRM 3.42 5.15.0-47-generic)
    v: 4.6 Mesa 22.0.5
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8822CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
    driver: rtw_8822ce
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 476.94 GiB used: 19.36 GiB (4.1%)
Info:
  Processes: 379 Uptime: 23h 42m Memory: 15 GiB used: 4 GiB (26.6%)
  Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.13

---------- %< ----------------

i hope that constrain can be removed without any issues, in the meanwhile i use our cloud client for emails.

Best regards
Enrico

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 22.04
Package: libgail-3-0 (not installed)
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.15.0-47.51-generic 5.15.46
Uname: Linux 5.15.0-47-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu82.1
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Mon Sep 5 18:22:44 2022
InstallationDate: Installed on 2022-09-03 (2 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish" - Release amd64 (20220809.1)
SourcePackage: gtk+3.0
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for your bug report. What's the output of

$ apt policy libgail-3-0 libgtk-3-0

it sounds like one package is coming from update but the other one not available, which could be because a source is disable or due to apt doing selective updates

[Enrico (tatatsu)]

Hi Sebastien,

as i reported before, ...

---------- %< ----------------
root@ebony:~# apt-cache policy evolution libgail-3-0 libgtk-3-0
evolution:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.44.0-1
  Version table:
     3.44.0-1 500
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 Packages
libgail-3-0:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.24.33-1ubuntu1
  Version table:
     3.24.33-1ubuntu1 500
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/main amd64 Packages
libgtk-3-0:
  Installed: 3.24.33-1ubuntu2
  Candidate: 3.24.33-1ubuntu2
  Version table:
 *** 3.24.33-1ubuntu2 100
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     3.24.33-1ubuntu1 500
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/main amd64 Packages
---------- %< ----------------

Both packages came from the Ubuntu main repositories, but during my installation and upgrade process apt/dpkg decided to install libgtk-3-0 (3.24.33-1ubuntu2) but, libgail-3-0 needs version (3.24.33-1ubuntu1 <-- look at the end it has a "1") of libgtk-3-0, that's the root of all my issues.

From my point of view, it looks like libgail-3-0 has a strong constrain on version libgtk-3-0 (3.24.33-1ubuntu1), look at the following output...

---------- %< ----------------
root@ebony:~# apt-cache show libgail-3-0
Package: libgail-3-0
...
Depends: at-spi2-core, libatk1.0-0 (>= 2.35.1), libc6 (>= 2.4), libglib2.0-0 (>= 2.57.2), libgtk-3-0 (= 3.24.33-1ubuntu1), libpango-1.0-0 (>= 1.44.0)
Filename: pool/main/g/gtk+3.0/libgail-3-0_3.24.33-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb
...
---------- %< ----------------

i hope this makes it clear now, if u have further question, just ask, i'm available the entire week 16x7 ;-) .

Best regards
Enrico

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

the issue is that you installed libgtk-3-0 from jammy-updates but that source it's enabled anymore (or apt is phasing the update and not proposing it to you)

check if jammy-updates is enabled (either in software-properties or by editing the /etc/apt/sources.list configuration directly)

otherwise you should be able to download the newer libgail version from https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gtk+3.0/3.24.33-1ubuntu2/+build/23743631 or to downgrade by using
$ sudo apt install libgtk-3-0=3.24.33-1ubuntu1 libgtk-3-bin=3.24.33-1ubuntu1 libgtk-3-common=3.24.33-1ubuntu1 (you might need to add some extra gtk binaries to that list depending of what is installed on your system)

[Enrico (tatatsu)]

No jammy-updates repo isn't available or configured.

if i try a downgrade as you mentioned, then i have to reinstall my entire desktop, is this really the only/final solution?

[Enrico (tatatsu)]

I also looked at my apt cache and my installed versions...

---------- %< ----------------
root@ebony:/var/cache/apt/archives# ll | grep gtk
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 216418 Jul 13 02:30 gir1.2-gtk-4.0_4.6.6+ds-0ubuntu1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 31346 Aug 15 14:23 gir1.2-javascriptcoregtk-4.0_2.36.6-0ubuntu0.22.04.1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30880 Mär 24 17:57 libdbusmenu-gtk4_16.04.1+18.10.20180917-0ubuntu8_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3334266 Mär 24 19:44 libgtk-3-doc_3.24.33-1ubuntu1_all.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2864536 Jul 13 02:30 libgtk-4-1_4.6.6+ds-0ubuntu1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2869302 Jul 13 02:30 libgtk-4-bin_4.6.6+ds-0ubuntu1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 661682 Jul 13 02:30 libgtk-4-common_4.6.6+ds-0ubuntu1_all.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6675300 Aug 15 14:23 libjavascriptcoregtk-4.0-18_2.36.6-0ubuntu0.22.04.1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 16366740 Aug 15 14:23 libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37_2.36.6-0ubuntu0.22.04.1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 130226 Jul 2 02:19 qt5-gtk-platformtheme_5.15.3+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 65236 Jul 26 15:13 software-properties-gtk_0.99.22.3_all.deb
---------- %< ----------------

and here all "gtk-3" related versions...

---------- %< ----------------
root@ebony:/var/cache/apt/archives# dpkg -l | grep gtk-3
ii gir1.2-gtk-3.0:amd64 3.24.33-1ubuntu2 amd64 GTK graphical user interface library -- gir bindings
ii libgtk-3-0:amd64 3.24.33-1ubuntu2 amd64 GTK graphical user interface library
ii libgtk-3-bin 3.24.33-1ubuntu2 amd64 programs for the GTK graphical user interface library
ii libgtk-3-common 3.24.33-1ubuntu2 all common files for the GTK graphical user interface library
ii libgtk-3-doc 3.24.33-1ubuntu1 all documentation for the GTK graphical user interface library
ii libspice-client-gtk-3.0-5:amd64 0.39-3ubuntu1 amd64 GTK3 widget for SPICE clients (runtime library)
---------- %< ----------------

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

the easiest option is to the enable 'updates' (it's in the 3rd tab of software-properties by picking 'security and recommended' updates in the first selector. You had it installed at some point and your gtk is coming from there which creates the issue. As said before, if it's uninstalling things you might need to add more binaries to the apt cmd, like gir1.2-gtk-3.0=3.24.33-1ubuntu1

[Enrico (tatatsu)]

so should ubuntu-updates then be used or not, i mean i want a system with less/no bugs if possible!?

and i choose the LTS version for that specific purpose, because i use my laptop for work.

[Enrico (tatatsu)]

BTW it worked now, i'm able to install evolution without any hasle.

Tyvm
Sebastien

[Enrico (tatatsu)]

Sorry if i caused to much trouble.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

-updates is recommended and enabled by default, those are stable serie bugfixes, I'm unsure why it got disabled on your installation. Closing the bug since that was not a problem in the package