François-Denis Gonthier wrote: > I'm the erlang package maintainer. I've been suggested by someone to make an > Erlang package that is not dependant on X11. Wise suggestion. > I found that logic because an > Erlang system node doesn't usually require an UI. But, after thinking about > that, I saw several possible ways of reorganizing my package to accomplish > that goal. Thank you. > [...] > - Remove the part of the main package that require X11 and put it in a new > package. The main package could Recommend the installation of the X11 > package. > [...] "Suggests", please; not "Recommends". "Recommends" is a Debian technical term which does not mean quite what "recommends" means in English. "X Recommends Y" implies that X is normally useless without Y. This does not appear to be the case with what you propose. "Recommends" is a weak "Depends", not a strong "Suggests". Among other purposes, "Recommends" allows X to be unpacked and configured before Y, even though X needs Y for normal operation. Typically, if one tried to run X without Y, X wouldn't break anything and would at least exit gracefully with an error message; but without Y, X probably would do little or no useful work. Other technical uses of "Recommends" are possible, but they all imply: "If you cannot install or do not want to install Y, then you can ignore X; X is probably uninteresting to you." If X is useful without Y for at least some normal users, although the majority of X users would want Y too, then the correct Debian relationship is: X Suggests Y. Good luck with your Erlang packages.
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