On 09.03.2012 09:19, Thijs Kinkhorst wrote: > On Fri, March 9, 2012 05:59, roh...@rohieb.name wrote: >> Can't locate GD.pm in @INC (@INC contains: /etc/perl > >> To make the springgraph tool more usable, the package should require >> libgd-gd2-perl, not only recommend it. > > Can you clarify why you think that is the case? There are two > considerations here: > 1) Springgraph is only one of the tools in the package, and arguably one > of the lesser used. Most users therefore won't be needing GD, and it's not > a requirement for the large part of the functionality; > 2) Apt by default installs recommends, so you would have needed to take > explicit action *not* to have libgd-gd2-perl installed.
It seems I have another understanding of the difference between Depends and Recommends. In my opinion, Depends should reference other packages which are required in any case to use every part of the package, otherwise parts of it would not work, and Recommends should reference other packages which are not in every case needed to use all parts of the package (I'm thinking of optional plugins or anything like that...). The Debian Policy also states in section 7.2 that Recommends declares a strong, but not absolute, dependency. >From this understanding of the situation, I deduce that signing-party should Depend on libgd-gd2-perl, since a part of the package (namely springgraph) does not work at all without that dependency. I notice however, that my understanding of the situation is maybe not the opinion of others. And the fact that springgraph is only one of the tools in the package does not apply at all. Also, I am one of the users that have automatic installation of Recommends turned off in aptitude, because I want to keep my system as light-weight as possible. I'm wondering however why this is possible at all if it can lead to installed packages being (partly) unusable. Currently, I'm thinking of three possible solutions to solve this case: 1) Make signing-party Depend on libgd-gd2-perl, with reasons given above 2) Source out springgraph to a separate package which depends on libgd-gd2-perl, and let signing-party Recommend or Suggest that new package 3) As a compromise, let signing-party Recommend libgd-gd2-perl like it is now, but mention in the package description why it is recommended. On the other hand, not everyone reads the package descriptions, so this may be no solution at all. Cheers, Roland -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
