Re: General exclusion-package package (was: Bug#138541: ITP: debian-sanitize)

[Steve Greenland <steveg@moregruel.net>]

(Please stop CCing me personally; the one on -devel is plenty.)

On 21-Mar-02, 00:20 (CST), Manfred Wassmann <manolo@NCC-1701.B.Shuttle.de> wrote: 
> Not constructing a pair of scissors because you have a chain saw
> already?  Not very convincing.

Very clever turn of the phrase, but it doesn't apply. Ben asked about a
package that would let him specify a list of arbitrary conflicts. The
equivs package will do this, safely and cleanly. The fact that you can
also use it to specify other package relationships, some of which may
lead to problems if used unwisely, doesn't make it inapropriate for the
desired use.

Now, if you or anyone else wants to provide a castrated version of
equivs that only supports "Conflicts:", I certainly won't object. But
my point was that equivs is an existing, working solution to Ben's
goal. The scary warning in the description is there for the same reason
my power drill came with a more pages of safety warnings than actual
operating guide ("Do drills holes in head, hands or other body parts"):
because when an idiot does something stupid with a tool, they want to
blame someone else, so now we have to plaster anti-idiot warnings on
everything.

Steve, feeling a rant coming on.

-- 
Steve Greenland