my rpm database exploded...but there's a bright side

[Paul Iadonisi]

  Well, that was fun.  NOT!  I don't know what happened, but on my FC2
desktop I was suddenly getting prompted by up2date about the GPG key
used to sign the latest update to gaim wasn't installed in the rpm
database.  No matter what I did, for some odd reason it wouldn't import
it.  I thought it was already there, anyhow.
  Hmm, then I discovered that I couldn't import *any* GPG keys.  So, I
figured my rpm db was b0rked and did a 'rpm --rebuilddb'.  It returned
with errors fairly quickly.  Ick.  So I made copies of all my db files
in /var/lib/rpm and sicced db_dump and db_load on each one of them. 
Move them in place, do a 'rpm -qa' and...only approx. 200 packages. 
*sob*  I know I had over 1600 installed since this was an 'everything'
install.
  So, rather than reinstall the entire system, I decided to use '--root
/tmppath --justdb' to install all of the rpms in an updated FC2 tree and
then fixed it up from there.  *THANK* you for /var/log/rpmpkg...it saved
my butt.
  But it dawned on me as I got closer and closer to getting everything
in the rpm database at it's proper version that I now had (among other
things) a rather comprehensive list of directories that probably should
be part of packages, but are not (like /usr/include/mozilla-1.7.2/*/). 
Probably the majority of these could be considered bugs.
  I guess what I'm saying is that I'm in a position to file a bunch of
packaging bugs (but I will check to see if they still exist in FC3T1
updated).  I'm not making any promises, as there's still a lot of manual
work to do, but what I'm asking is if I start submitting boatloads of
packaging bugs, is that going to be considered a good thing?  I presume
they won't be considered high priority, but that's okay.  I just don't
want to see all of them closed as WONTFIX.
  So, should I start bugzilla-ing?
-- 
-Paul Iadonisi
 Senior System Administrator
 Red Hat Certified Engineer / Local Linux Lobbyist
 Ever see a penguin fly?  --  Try Linux.
 GPL all the way: Sell services, don't lease secrets