update-apt-xapian-index behaviour (on natty and ?)

[Emmanuel Thomas-Maurin]

I've noticed that update-apt-xapian-index was able to run with high priority at any time. Why? It should only be able to either run with a *lower* priority or it should ask the user before starting. I don't think this only happens on natty. Of course there are fixes but this default behaviour should definitively be changed.

[Emmanuel Thomas-Maurin (manu-tm)]

And it seems this default behaviour has been there for ages and reported many times. So something should be done at last.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Sam_ (and-sam)]

Workaround for Oneiric and Precise, removed apt-xapian-index, no issues yet without the package.

[Emmanuel Thomas-Maurin (manu-tm)]

Removing the package also removes quick search feature in synaptic. Maybe it would be better to remove all cron jobs created by the package when it installs.

[Emmanuel Thomas-Maurin (manu-tm)]

Hmm, and as I said previously, it has been there for ages: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt-xapian-index/+bug/655831

[Anoop (dr-adshah)]

I had this problem in 11.10. I uninstalled apt-xapian-index and experienced no problems until I upgraded to 12.04 when it installed itself again. I think it should not be installed as default (or if installed, should only be switched 'on' by the user, e.g. by an option in Synaptic Package Manager).

[Emmanuel Thomas-Maurin (manu-tm)]

I agree. The workaround of removing the package is far from perfect as many users don't know what's going wrong when their computer starts to hang because of apt-xapian-index. It's almost impossible to open a terminal and launch 'top' or whatever until indexing completes. And for an unexperienced user, it's very difficult to identify which process and package are involved.

[Robert C. Sheets (rcsheets)]

I am experiencing this on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, but shouldn't bug #363695 be reopened rather than discussing everything all over again in this new bug?

[Emmanuel Thomas-Maurin (manu-tm)]

Of course, feel free to reopen it or make this one a duplicate. Anyways, it looks like it will never get fixed.