On Dec 31, 2007, at 8:52 AM, Ralf S. Engelschall wrote:

>
> Perhaps a difference between RPM 4.2 (me) and 4.5 (you)?
>

Here's the current rpm-5.0 logic in lib/psm.c:

     isSource =
         (headerIsEntry(h, RPMTAG_SOURCERPM) == 0 &&
          headerIsEntry(h, RPMTAG_ARCH) != 0);

     if (!isSource) {
         rpmlog(RPMLOG_ERR, _("source package expected, binary found 
\n"));
         rpmrc = RPMRC_FAIL;
         goto exit;
     }

There have been several changes since rpm-4.2 detecting srpms,
all to get uncoupled from the vestigial lead structure (which was the
original test for a src rpm), and to stop adding an additional tag  
explicitly
(testing on non-existence of RPMTAG_SOURCERPM is sufficient to
detect a srpm).

Likeliest failure I can think of is that the lead value is no longer  
set.
I can/will send you a patch, but the lead is/was "an abandoned data  
structure"
(quoting from "Maximum RPM" published in 1997) and its way way past
time to nuke the sucker.

73 de Jeff