+ Normally, <tt>Breaks</tt> should be used instead
+ of <tt>Conflicts</tt> since <tt>Conflicts</tt> imposes a
+ stronger restriction on the ordering of package installation or
+ upgrade and can make it more difficult for the package manager
+ to find a correct solution to an upgrade or installation
+ problem. <tt>Breaks</tt> should be used
+ <list>
+ <item>when moving a file from one package to another (see
+ <ref id="replaces">),</item>
+ <item>when splitting a package (a special case of the previous
+ one), or</item>
+ <item>when the breaking package exposes a bug in or interacts
+ badly with particular versions of the broken
+ package.</item>
+ </list>
+ <tt>Conflicts</tt> should be used
+ <list>
+ <item>when two packages provide the same file and will
+ continue to do so,</item>
+ <item>in conjunction with <tt>Provides</tt> when only one
+ package providing a given virtual facility may be installed
+ at a time (see <ref id="virtual">),</item>
+ <item>in other cases where one must prevent simultaneous
+ installation of two packages for reasons that are ongoing
+ (not fixed in a later version of one of the packages) or
+ that must prevent both packages from being unpacked at the
+ same time, not just configured.</item>
+ </list>
+ Be aware that adding <tt>Conflicts</tt> is normally not the best
+ solution when two packages provide the same files. Depending on
+ the reason for that conflict, using alternatives or renaming the
+ files is often a better approach. See, for
+ example, <ref id="binaries">.
+ </p>
+
+ <p>
+ A <tt>Conflicts</tt> entry may have an "earlier than" version
+ clause if the reason for the conflict is corrected in a later
+ version of one of the packages. However, normally the presence
+ of an "earlier than" version clause is a sign
+ that <tt>Breaks</tt> should have been used instead. An "earlier
+ than" version clause in <tt>Conflicts</tt>
+ prevents <prgn>dpkg</prgn> from upgrading or installing the
+ package which declares such a conflict until the upgrade or
+ removal of the conflicted-with package has been completed, which
+ is a strong restriction.