package update-manager 1:0.93.18 failed to install/upgrade: ErrorMessage: SystemError in cache.commit(): E:Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

Here is the error:

Setting up djview4 (4.3-5) ...
Setting up djview (3.5.20-7ubuntu2) ...
ls: cannot access /usr/share/man/man1/djview3.*: No such file or directory
  --config <name> show alternatives for the <name> group and ask the
                           user to select which one to use.
  --set <name> <path> set <path> as alternative for <name>.
  --all call --config on all alternatives.
<link> is the symlink pointing to /etc/alternatives/<name>.
  (e.g. /usr/bin/pager)
<name> is the master name for this link group.
  (e.g. pager)
<path> is the location of one of the alternative target files.
  (e.g. /usr/bin/less)
<priority> is an integer; options with higher numbers have higher priority in
  automatic mode.
Options:
  --altdir <directory> change the alternatives directory.
  --admindir <directory> change the administrative directory.
  --verbose verbose operation, more output.
  --quiet quiet operation, minimal output.
  --help show this help message.
  --version show the version.
dpkg: error processing djview (--configure):
 subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 2

I can reproduce this on a clean hardy->intrepid upgrade.

I can reproduce this just through a simple "sudo apt-get install djview" on intrepid. The postinst for djview has the following code:

  # Alternatives
  if [ "$1" = "configure" ] && [ -x /usr/sbin/update-alternatives ] ; then
    m1=`ls -1 /usr/share/man/man1/djview3.* | head -1`
    m2=`echo $m1 | sed -e 's/djview3/djview/'`
    /usr/sbin/update-alternatives --quiet \
      --install /usr/bin/djview djview /usr/bin/djview3 103 \
      --slave $m2 `basename $m2` $m1
  fi

However, the djview4 postinst already handles setting up the man link and update-alternatives; djview.postinst should probably only be doing this if djview3 is installed; i.e. only if /usr/bin/djview3 exists.

fix uploaded; waiting for another member of the release team to review.

This bug was fixed in the package djvulibre - 3.5.20-7ubuntu3

---------------
djvulibre (3.5.20-7ubuntu3) intrepid; urgency=low

  * Make djview a true transition package: remove the maintainer scripts
    shipped in the upstream tarball that try to call update-alternatives
    for files not guaranteed to exist. LP: #277301.

 -- Steve Langasek <email address hidden> Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:19:10 -0700