Re: [multiarch] Proposal for *-dev packages

[Goswin von Brederlow <brederlo@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de>]

Thomas Viehmann <tv@beamnet.de> writes:

> Goswin von Brederlow wrote:
> > You all have seen the other thread about multiarch? This one is a
> > different part of the puzzle.
> 
> > Why should *-dev be "Architecture: all"?
> Why is adding hundreds or thousands of packages better than one header
> field ("can be installed in parallel with itself")?

It is not. It is far inferior. But allowing "Abi: ..." and having
multiple packages with the same name installed aparently isn't liked
at all.

> Why can't Provides/Conflicts be used to do this?
> 
> Your point would get stronger you'd discuss why these couldn't be used
> to solve the problem.

Say we have the following:

Package: libfoo-dev
Version: 1.2.3

Package: lib64foo-dev
Version: 1.2.3
Provides: libfoo-dev, libfoo-dev=1.2.3

Source: bla
Build-Depends: libfoo (>= 1.2.3)

Now the user does:

apt-get install libfoo-dev
(some month pass)
apt-get build-dep bla
apt-get -b source bla

FTBFS, the wrong package is installed. lib64foo-dev is missing.

Provides don't prevent the wrong package to be installed.

And Conflict means that you can't have a user wanting 32bit programms
and one wanting 64bit programms on the same system.

MfG
        Goswin