ark not working properly with gzipped files

[Harald Sitter]

Binary package hint: kdeutils

For kdeutils 4:4.1.2-0ubuntu5
<slangasek> apachelogger: why are there no bugs referenced in this kdeutils upload?
<apachelogger> slangasek: I didn't find one, ScottK however complained about gz files not being opened properly, I can explain the problem if you want
<slangasek> apachelogger: explain it in a bug and subscribe ubuntu-release, please

The patch kubuntu_03_add_ark_gzplugin.diff (as introduced in 4:4.1.2-0ubuntu4) was insufficient. Whenever ark opens a file it queries the KDE cache for KServices (applications/plugins/similar stuff) with the file's mimetype, in order to find the most appropriate backend for it. The way Ark queries the cache leads to a first hit result, in some cases this would be the libarchive backend (which is listing application/x-gzip, even though it doesn't support this mimetype at all). Now, in order to make Ark use the libgz backend (which can handle the affected mimetype), the application/x-gzip mimetype needs to be removed from the libarchive backend's desktop file.

Result of the change: Ark opens gzipped files properly

Danger: None. Libarchive doesn't process application/x-gzip properly in any case, forcing Ark to get libgz as a result for the backend query is only an improvement.

[Harald Sitter (apachelogger)]

Importance high because gzipped files are an essential part of Ubuntu/Debian development.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

accepted, thanks.