bug#20836: 25.0.50; package.el doesn't delete old versions anymore

[Tassilo Horn]

Artur Malabarba <bruce.connor.am@gmail.com> writes:

>> marked as external.
>
> Actually, I was talking about the most recent version.  Is the most
> recent installed version displayed as "external" instead of
> "installed"? (I'm guesing probably not, or you would have said
> something).

I actually don't look at the packages on upgrades.  I just do
list-packages, U, x, y and be done.

Ok, but there are upgradeable packages available again: cider and helm.
They show up both as "new".

Now I upgraded them with U and x while debug-on-error was t.  No error
occurred but still I now have

  drwxr-xr-x  2 horn horn 4,0K 17. Jun 07:38 cider-20150616.1226
  drwxr-xr-x  2 horn horn 4,0K 17. Jun 21:01 cider-20150617.753
  ...
  drwxr-xr-x  2 horn horn 4,0K 16. Jun 18:48 helm-20150616.539
  drwxr-xr-x  2 horn horn 4,0K 17. Jun 21:01 helm-20150617.545

in ~/.emacs.d/elpa/.  Oh, and in the *Packages* buffer's bottom I have

  cider              20150616.1226 obsolete              Clojure Interactive 
Development Environment that Rocks
  helm               20150616.539  obsolete              Helm is an Emacs 
incremental and narrowing framework

>> I haven't always checked but last time I did, the packages of old
>> versions were indeed displayed at the bottom as obsolete.
>
> Ok, this is a strong indicator that some error happens during deletion
> or installation, and so the upgrade is halted before deletion happens.
> Check out your Messages buffer next time.

As said, no errors during install and delete.  Or at least I haven't
been put into the debugger with debug-on-error and neither has something
with "error" in it been printed in *Messages*.  So unless there's
nothing in package.el handling or ignoring the error...

> Even if you've already deleted the old directories, I think you can
> trigger an upgrade by doing the following:
>
> 1. Go into the file “~/.emacs.d/elpa/helm-2015NNNN.NNNN/helm-pkg.el”,
> and decrease the version number in there.
>
> 2. Rename the actual directory “~/.emacs.d/elpa/helm-2015NNNN.NNNN/”
> according to the new version number.
>
> 3. Restart Emacs.

Ah, good to know.

Bye,
Tassilo