When trying to update a .deb package by using the dpkg provider, puppet 0.23.[12] (only versions tested) says:
err: //ic/dbp/Package[puppet]/ensure: change from 0.23.1-1 to puppet 0.23.2-7
failed: Could not update: undefined method `update' for #<Puppet::Type::Package::ProviderDpkg:0xb6b35e3c> at /etc/puppet/modules/dbp/manifests/init.pp:118
Adding the trivial version of update -- like the apt provider has one -- enabled the dpkg provider to update the package in question:
notice: //ic/dbp/Package[puppet]/ensure: ensure changed '0.23.1-1' to 'puppet 0.23.2-7
'
Notice the new ensure value. This is caused by the latest method of the dpkg provider, which doesn't parse the output.
The attached patch against current HEAD adds the update method and parses the output from dpkg-deb to check the packagename and return the version in latest
