Re: kernel depends?

[debian@TGR.yi.org (Jan Martin Mathiassen)]

On Tue, Nov 28, 2000 at 12:55:35PM +0100, Paul Slootman wrote:
> On Tue 28 Nov 2000, Jan Martin Mathiassen wrote:
> Specify what you mean with "the kernel packages". If you're installing
> a kernel-image package, then there is no way you're going to build the
> kernel with just that, so it would be wrong to make that depend on bin86
> etc.
> 
> Now if you're talking about a kernel-source package, then please note
> that it in fact *does* depend on "binutils, bzip2, fileutils (>= 4.0)".
> That is all you need if you want to build your own kernel. Of course,
> if you want the pretty "make menuconfig" interface to *configuring* your
> kernel (not build!), then look at the Suggests for that package.

i did, in fact, mean the kernel source (general kernel images suck my nuts),
and i get the source files via apt-get install. i did that just mere days
ago, and the only thing it complained about was bzip2. this was a TOTAL
reinstall of debian, nothing except the base system installed ... and it
didn't complain about binutils or bin86 at all.

> If you downloaded the kernel sources on your own, go complain to the
> linux-kernel people that you're not told to have bin86 etc. available;
> after all, how can debian "fix" things for you in such a situation?

seeing as the .deb said "hey, i need bzip2", but did *not* say "hey, i also
need bin86 and binutils etc etc etc". now that i think of it, it didn't
require gcc or make either (well, those are pretty ... mandatory, but
still...), since i had to go around afterwards and install those manually.
sounds like a petty thing, yes, but debs are supposed to fetch everything
they need to work, and the kernel source require quite a few external
packages.

now, if i should go bitch to the kernel people, fine. i'll do that.

> > i spent a few hours before someone told me "um... you need bin86 installed
> > to compile the asm part of the kernel".
> 
> Wasn't that clear from the error message you get? Besides, I've never
> really contemplated the fact that I need bin86; I always happened to
> have it installed. You must have decided for yourself that you didn't
> need it? It is after all a "Priority: standard" package.

it complained about as86, not bin86. i know *now* that i could've just done
dpkg -S as86 to find out what package it needed, and i *know* we're not
supposed to cater to *complete* idiots, but some consistency with regards to
dpkg should be expected.

-- 
-m

When you are having a bad day, and it seems like everybody is trying to piss
you off, remember that it takes 42 muscles to produce a frown, but only 4
muscles to work the trigger of a good sniper rifle.