At 09:36 AM 11/3/00 -0500, you wrote:
On Fri, Nov 03, 2000 at 09:08:20AM -0500, Joseph Carter <knghtbrd@debian.org> was heard to say:> On Fri, Nov 03, 2000 at 02:55:38PM +0100, Andreas Tille wrote:> > > Recommends rather than Depends so you can remove part of a task (which is> > > something that is missing from Debian's tasks because apt ignores both > > > suggests and recommends.) > > Havn't dealt with apt internals but IMHO this could be possibly > > implemeted by optional parameters, couldn't it? > > The correct solution would IMO be to install recommends by default, but > leave suggests up to the front-end. And (this is important) to not keep yelling at the user about recommends that aren't satisfied (unless, I suppose, they ask you to). I think this is probably the #1 complaint about dselect.
I think the main problem is that dselect treats recommends as overideable depends, and treats an unmet recommendation as if it were a conflict.
I wouldn't mind seeing behavior from apt-get something like so: ------------------ # apt-get --install foo Package 'foo' depends on the following uninstalled packages: bar baz bat These packages will be installed automatically Package 'bar' conflicts with the following installed package: bar-old This package will be removed automatically The following package is recommended for this installation: quux Install this package [Y/n] ? n The following packages are suggested for this installation: fred phlegm Install these packages [Y/n] ? y The following packages will be INSTALLED: foo bar baz bat fred phlegm The following package will be REMOVED: bar-old Is this OK [Y/n]? Y ----------------and so on. If a user then chose to install another package that did -not- recommend quux, he/she would not be asked about installing quux.
My feeling is that apt-get should work incrementally, not looking at global state unless specifically asked.
It would also be nice to have command-line options that could be used to fine-tune the above process: --show-recommends/--show-suggests would have the above behavior, --no-recommends/--no-suggests would assume "no" to installing recommended or suggested packages and not ask, --yes-recommends/--yes-suggests would assume "yes" to installing recommended or suggested packages and not ask.
I don't mind being asked repeatedly if I want to install quux everytime I install/reinstall a package that recommends quux. I'm uncertain about being asked repeatedly when I upgrade, though.
Daniel --/----------------- Daniel Burrows <Daniel_Burrows@brown.edu> -----------------\ | After the game, the king and | | the pawn go in the same box. | | -- Italian proverb | \------------- Got APT? -- Debian GNU/Linux http://www.debian.org ------------/-- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-devel-request@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org