Mailspring: Bug: Ubuntu 20.04 Has no Python2 support

[siddhantmahalle]

Describe the bug
Ubuntu 20.04 has removed python2 and mailspring is not installing due to it.

To Reproduce
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2. Click on '....'
3. Scroll down to '....'
4. See error

Expected behavior
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Screenshots
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Setup: (please complete the following information):

• OS: [e.g. macOS, Fedora Linux]
• OS Version [e.g. 14]
• Mailspring Version: ex: 1.6.2 (found in the app's menu)

Additional context
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[Alexander-Huang]

I haven't installed python2 but I'm running mailspring correctly.Python2 doesn't seem like a dependency of mailspring.

[PennRobotics]

+1 this doesn't work without a workaround on a 9370 XPS 13 with fresh install of 20.04 daily/prerelease.

CONTRIBUTING.md lists Python v2.7 as a dependency, and on 20.04, the 'python' apt package is obsolete, replaced by 'python3' (installed) or 'python2' (not installed).

Fortunately, Atom has the same problem. The current workaround for them is to install a few python2 packages and then modify the dependencies in the .deb package:

$  dpkg -x mailspring-1.7.4-amd64.deb mailspring-src  
$  dpkg -e mailspring-1.7.4-amd64.deb mailspring-src/DEBIAN  
$  gedit mailspring-src/DEBIAN/control
(in the Depends line, change 'python' to 'python | python2')
$  dpkg -b mailspring-src/ mailspring-1.7.4-amd64-patched.deb

Then, install all dependencies, which might include python2-minimal, libsecret-1-dev, gconf2, and a handful of others; use sudo apt -f install to fix any broken packages. Finally:

$  sudo dpkg -i mailspring-1.7.4-amd64-patched.deb  

[PennRobotics]

Also, @siddhantmahalle, if you're using the template, actually insert bug details instead of copy/pasting and changing just the bug description!

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To Reproduce

1. Download .deb
2. dpkg -i mailspring-1.7.4-amd64.deb
3. Error:

Selecting previously unselected package mailspring.
(Reading database ... ##### files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack mailspring-1.7.4-amd64.deb ...
Unpacking mailspring (1.7.4) ...
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of mailspring:
 mailspring depends on libsecret-1-dev; however:
  Package libsecret-1-dev is not installed.
 mailspring depends on gconf2; however:
  Package gconf2 is not installed.
 mailspring depends on gconf-service; however:
  Package gconf-service is not installed.
 mailspring depends on python; however:
  Package python is not installed.

Expected behavior
Program installs from .deb without error

Setup:
OS: Ubuntu 20.04 development brach
Mailspring Version: 1.7.4

Additional context
Atom is already installed on my computer, which meant the steps for installing Python 2 (linked) (python2-minimal followed by libpython2-stdlib and python2) on 20.04 were omitted.

[rakshith-ravi]

Also, @siddhantmahalle if you're using Ubuntu 20.04, you can install mailspring from the snap without worrying about the deb file. It will work even though python isn't installed.