mlocate package doesn't install /etc/updatedb.conf

[Myk Melez]

Binary package hint: mlocate

According to the list of files in the mlocate package <http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/i386/mlocate/filelist>, it provides /etc/updatedb.conf. But after I upgraded from Feisty to Hardy (8.04), updatedb stopped working, and eventually I figured out that it was because the mlocate package, which has replaced the previous implementation of locate, didn't replace the previous implementation's /etc/updatedb.conf file with its own, and it doesn't understand the old conf file:

myk@myk:~$ sudo updatedb
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:4: unknown variable `FINDOPTIONS'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:5: unknown variable `export'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:8: unknown variable `export'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:11: unknown variable `export'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:13: unknown variable `NETPATHS'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:14: unknown variable `export'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:16: unknown variable `LOCALUSER'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:17: unknown variable `export'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:20: unknown variable `NICE'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:21: unknown variable `export'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:24: unknown variable `IONICE_CLASS'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:25: unknown variable `export'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:27: unknown variable `IONICE_PRIORITY'
updatedb:/etc/updatedb.conf:28: unknown variable `export'

Even when I moved the old file out of the way and reinstalled mlocate, it still didn't install the file:

myk@myk:~$ sudo mv /etc/updatedb.conf /etc/updatedb.conf.old
myk@myk:~$ sudo apt-get --reinstall install mlocate
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 reinstalled, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/43.9kB of archives.
After this operation, 0B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
(Reading database ... 140566 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace mlocate 0.18-2ubuntu1 (using .../mlocate_0.18-2ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement mlocate ...
Setting up mlocate (0.18-2ubuntu1) ...

myk@myk:~$ ll /etc/updatedb.conf
ls: cannot access /etc/updatedb.conf: No such file or directory

If download the package, manually extract the file from it, and then install the file, updatedb runs fine.

[Myk Melez (myk-melez)]

Erm, minor correction: I actually upgraded from Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04).

[Steve (st3v3)]

Is this a VMware guest?

[Myk Melez (myk-melez)]

Yes, it's a VMware Fusion guest.

[Thomas Hotz (thotz-deactivatedaccount)]

Closing this bug because this Ubuntu version is EOL now.