Hi,
Below is my revised Web Site patch that explains workarounds for
problems during package updates.
Cheers,
Joachim
Documentation/ChangeLog addition:
2005-02-06 Joachim Schrod <jschrod(a)acm.org>
* packageGuide.content: Cannot use customize-variable to
change package-get-remote at start. Describe EFS problem with
Extended Passive Mode (solved in efs-1.33) and with
unsupported extended modes. Describe how to handle package
index verification if Norbert's key is not installed.
Install/ChangeLog addition:
2005-02-06 Joachim Schrod <jschrod(a)acm.org>
* index.content: Refer to packageGuide in case of EFS or GPG
problems.
XEmacs Web source patch:
Diff command: cvs -f -q diff -u
Files affected: Install/index.content Documentation/packageGuide.content
Index: Documentation/packageGuide.content
===================================================================
RCS file: /pack/xemacscvs/XEmacs/xemacsweb/Documentation/packageGuide.content,v
retrieving revision 1.29
diff -u -r1.29 packageGuide.content
--- Documentation/packageGuide.content 2004/12/10 00:25:47 1.29
+++ Documentation/packageGuide.content 2005/02/06 21:59:48
@@ -405,23 +405,106 @@
<strong>Tools->Packages->Add Download Site</strong> (or
<strong>Options->Manage Packages->Add Download
Site</strong>
for XEmacs 21.1) in the menubar or type
- <code>M-x customize-variable RET package-get-remote RET</code>
+ <code>M-x customize-group RET package-get RET</code> and
+ customize <code>package-get-remote</code>. (You cannot use
+ <code>customize-variable</code> as the variable is not known
+ before loading the package code.)
<br />
Alternatively, if you already have the packages on a local disk
then you can specify this directly by typing <code>M-x
pui-add-install-directory</code>. Please make sure you also have
a corresponding copy of the package index there.</li>
+
<li>Invoke <strong>Tools->Packages->List and
Install</strong>
(or <strong>Options->Manage Packages->List &
Install</strong>
for XEmacs 21.1) from the menubar or type
<code>M-x pui-list-packages RET</code>.
XEmacs will now first try to fetch a new version of
- the package index from the FTP site. Depending on whether you
- are using <strong>mailcrypt/PGP</strong>, you will get some question
- about keys to fetch or whether to use the index without
- verifying the signature. If the new index was different from the
- one already on disk, XEmacs will offer you to overwrite the old
- index.</li>
+ the package index from the FTP site.
+ <ul>
+ <li>If you get the error message <code>Error in process
+ filter: (ftp-error FTP Error: ... 229 Entering Extended
+ Passive Mode ...</code>, your efs is too old and the index
+ has <strong>not</strong> been updated, even though one is
+ shown. Fetch and install an efs update by hand, as explained
+ above. You don't need to worry about the currently installed
+ efs; just unpack the efs package in your
+ <code>xemacs-packages</code> directory.
+ <br />
+ Now you need to terminate and start XEmacs again, to use the
+ new code.</li>
+ <li>If you get the error message <code>Error in process
+ filter: (ftp-error FTP Error: ... 500 Unknown command
+ ...</code>, or any similar `500' error message, your index
+ has not been updated either. Then you need to use a
+ different XEmacs mirror: your ftp client sends extended
+ commands that the server doesn't understand and efs does not
+ handle the resulting error messages.
+ <br />
+ You need to terminate and restart XEmacs before you can
+ change a mirror.
+ </li>
+ <li>You might be asked if an old package index shall be
+ overwritten, or if an index shall be created in
+ <code>~/.xemacs</code>, maybe it will ask to create this
+ directory. You will also be asked if you want to load the
+ package database. Confirm all those questions.</li>
+ <li>When you have <strong>mailcrypt</strong> and GPG or PGP
+ installed, XEmacs will try to verify the downloaded package
+ index.
+ <ul>
+ <li>If you have GPG installed, you might get the error
+ message <code>Can't check signature: Public key
+ 82EDF2C1D1DD84CD not found</code>. (The key id might be
+ different.) Then you don't have the public key of the
+ person who signed the package index - at time of this
+ writing, Norbert Koch.
+ <br />
+ Enter the following command on the command line:
+ <pre>gpg --keyserver
hkp://wwwkeys.pgp.net --recv-key
82EDF2C1D1DD84CD</pre>
+ (Of course, you need to use the public key id
+ from XEmacs' error message in the gpg command.) You might
+ get a warning that the HKP interface is experimental -
+ don't worry, it works. Then comes the message that a
+ public key got imported.
+ <br />
+ If your command hangs, there might be several
+ possibilites. One of the key servers might not be
+ reachable; stop the command with Ctrl-C and issue it
+ again. If it still hangs, your firewall might forbid
+ outbound connections to the key servers. Then fetch <a
+
href="http://ftp.xemacs.org/pgp-keys/norbert_koch.asc">http:...;,
+ save it to a file, and call <code>gpg --import</code>
+ with that file.
+ <br />
+ Update your package index, use <strong>Packages ->
+ Update Package Index</strong> in the menubar or type
+ <code>M-x package-get-update-base RET</code>. This time
+ it'll finish with the message `<code>Updated package
+ database</code>'.</li>
+ <li>If you get the message `<code>The message was
+ corrupt</code>' and if you have the GPG key imported,
+ try again updating the package index, maybe again
+ another time. Sometimes, verification with GPG does not
+ succeed for unknown reasons.</li>
+ <li>If you have PGP installed, confirm the question that
+ keys shall be fetched.</li>
+ <li>If you still have problems with package index
+ verification, use Customize to turn it off. By menu,
+ that's <strong>Options -> Customize -> Emacs ->
+ Package Tools -> Package Get -> Require Signed
+ Base Updates</strong>. As command, type <code>M-x
+ customize-variable RET
+ package-get-require-signed-base-updates RET</code>.
+ But this should be the last resort, as verifying
+ downloads is an important security measure.</li>
+ <li>If you had any GPG or PGP problems, you have to
+ restart this task item; list and install the packages
+ again.</li>
+ </ul>
+ </li>
+ </ul>
+ </li>
<li>XEmacs will show you a buffer named <code>*Packages*</code>
with
an overview of available and installed packages, including a
Index: Install/index.content
===================================================================
RCS file: /pack/xemacscvs/XEmacs/xemacsweb/Install/index.content,v
retrieving revision 1.32
diff -u -r1.32 index.content
--- Install/index.content 2004/12/10 00:25:10 1.32
+++ Install/index.content 2005/02/06 21:59:49
@@ -237,9 +237,12 @@
List and Install</strong>. Or, if you are using an XEmacs
>= 21.4, you would choose: <strong>Tools -> Packages
-> List and Install</strong>. This will download the
- most recent package index (PGP errors may occur and can be
- ignored) and list the packages available for
- install. Instructions and key bindings for this buffer are at
+ most recent package index and list the packages available for
+ install. If you get EFS, PGP, or GPG errors (``<code>Can't check
+ signature...</code>''), refer to the description in the <a
+ href="<!-- _GP_ relPath(qq{Documentation/packageGuide.html})
+ -->">package guide</a> how to resolve them.
+ Instructions and key bindings for this buffer are at
the bottom; use the scroll bar to view them. If in doubt about a
particular package, it is generally safe to just install
it.</p></li>
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Joachim Schrod The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the
Roedermark, Germany one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!"
<jschrod(a)acm.org> (I found it!) but "That's funny..." [Isaac
Asimov]