I've noticed that many people on this list are, of late, talking about
source-depends, but not doing anything about standardizing it... thus, a
psudo-proposal for you guys (psudo because I can't formaly propose anything;
I'm not yet a developer):
A new control-file field be added, Compilation-Depends, which lists all
packages required to successfully compile a working version of the package
without major changes to the source (IE editing a Makefile to change a
clearly documented option or change a ./configure option is OK, but having to
rip things out of the source
is not). Another be added, Compilation-Suguests, that lists all packages
needed to compile the package to get functionality equivlent to the
cannonical binary-package. (For example, libgnomeui-dev would be a
Compilation-Suguests, but not a Compilation-Depends, for packages that are
optionaly gnomeified.) In the case of multi-binary packages, the "major"
binary should be compilable with only the Compilation-Depends. (For
example, in the case of the source-package enlightenment, the binary-package
enlightenment would be the primary). (I would simply make the least
required for any binary-package be Depends, but that would be obviously
wrong for -dev and -doc packages.) The Compilation-{Depends, Suguests}
should be propagated to the .dsc files, but not the .deb files; they aren't
useful in binary-packages.
Once the fields are standardized, the auto-builders should be able to use
them fairly easily, and lintian could allow them trivialy. (I would tend to
say that apt-get source shouldn't use them, as getting the source as a
reference, without wanting to compile it, is probably fairly common.
Anyway, that's a call for apt's maintaner.)
So how does this all sound to you guys?
-=- James Mastros
--
First they came for the fourth amendment, but I said nothing because I
wasn't a drug dealer. Then they came for the sixth amendment, but I kept
quiet because I wasn't guilty. Finally they came for the first amendment,
and by then it was too late to say anything at all."
-=- Nancy Lebowitz
cat /dev/urandom|james --insane=yes > http://www.rtweb.net/theorb/
ICQ: 1293899 AIM: theorbtwo YPager: theorbtwo
