On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:59:06 +0200, Mike Hommey wrote: > There is gnome-user-share, that uses apache2 to set up a web dav share > on some random high port and make it available as a zeroconf service > through avahi. The package depends on apache2. Thus, when installing > gnome-user-share, while the user only wants to have the ability to share > his own files through a gnome interface, he also gets a full http server > running on port 80 of his computer, which he didn't really intend. > > Expecting the user to disable apache by himself is not a solution. > Desktop users are not all that clueful. > > I could have filed a bug to apache2, but it is more of a general issue > that needs a general solution, i think. A similar situation may already > exist with some other packages, actually. > > Now, the big question is, what do you, fellow DDs, think would be a > solution for that problem of programs depending on other programs rather > than the service they provide. > > Mike
One way would be to split apache2 into, say, apache2 and apache2-bin. apache2 would contain the init script and depend on apache2-bin, which would contain the actual apache2 daemon. Then gnome-user-share can depend on apache2-bin. Of course it's not quite that simple, since apache2's init script is actually already in apache2-common, which is depended upon by the apache2-mpm-* packages. So the same split has already happened, but the dependencies are in the reverse order to that which you need. :) Speaking as a user, I am annoyed at packages that choose to implement their own custom ways of disabling their daemons, instead of letting me make the decision in the standard/documented way. IMO, packages where there is a need for this functionality should be split as above. For example, fetchmail-daemon (containing the init script) which depends on fetchmail; spamassassin-spamd depending on spamassassin; bittorrent-tracker depending on bittorrent; and so on. -- Sam Morris http://robots.org.uk/ PGP key id 1024D/5EA01078 3412 EA18 1277 354B 991B C869 B219 7FDB 5EA0 1078 -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
