pkgin odd behavior on earmvhf-el

[Greg Troxel <gdt%lexort.com@localhost>]

I have a RPI3 running netbsd-9 earmvhf-el which has been generally ok,
except for lockups under really heavy load (pkg_rr when jumping
branches).  I've been using pkgin and pkg_rr for a long time, pkgin
mostly doing "pkgin sk" and adjusting with "pkgin uk" and then "pkgin
ar".

Recently:

# pkgin sk
empty non-autoremovable package list
# pkgin show-no-keep
empty autoremovable package list
# pkgin export
pkgin: empty local package list.

but "pkg_info" reports packages.

I did find that one installed package had invalid characters in its
description, and when I tried to pkg_delete it I got an error.  But

# rm -rf /usr/pkg/pkgdb/xorg-util-macros-1.20.0

worked, and then "pkgin sk" worked again.  I think the basic issue was a
trashed file in that dir.


So mystery solved, while I was providing data for this note, but it
seems that the process of "pkgin up" should print loudly any trouble it
finds.  Or perhaps the database is updated and "pkgin sk" throws an
error while extracting.