xpm and xpm4.7

[Raul Miller <rdm@tad.micro.umn.edu>]

I'm confused about what should be happening with xpm and xpm4.7

Currently, there's a lot of packages that depend on xpm.  xpm4.7
conflicts with xpm.  This ought to mean that xpm provides the same
functionality as xpm -- but that doesn't satisfy the dependency.

If xpm4.7 were to provide xpm, then it would be difficult to upgrade.
I presume that this ought to mean that xpm4.7 ought to be using a
different interface than xpm.  But if this is true, then why can't
xpm4.7 and xpm coexist on the same system?  This would better fit
debian's ideal of a smoothly upgradable system.

Perhaps xpm4.7 should never have been renamed that, and should have
kept the name xpm??

Perhaps there's something else going on here?  Finally, I should note:

bash$ egrep 'Status:|Package: xpm' /var/lib/dpkg/status | awk '/Package:/ {print;p=1;} /Status:/ {if (1==p) {print;p=0;}}'
Package: xpm4.7
Status: install ok installed
Package: xpm_develR5
Status: purge ok not-installed
Package: xpm_develR6
Status: purge ok not-installed
Package: xpmR5
Status: purge ok not-installed
Package: xpmR6
Status: purge ok not-installed
Package: xpm4.7-dev
Status: install ok installed
Package: xpm
Status: deinstall ok config-files
Package: xpm_compR5
Status: purge ok not-installed
Package: xpm_compR6
Status: purge ok not-installed
bash$ 

There's been a lot of xpm sort of packages.

-- 
Raul