Pre-Depends according to sarge_rc_policy.txt

[Thomas Hood <jdthood@yahoo.co.uk>]

On http://people.debian.org/~ajt/sarge_rc_policy.txt AJT writes:

    Essential packages must be (adequately) functional when unpacked
    but not installed.

    Packages listed in "Pre-Depends:" must be (adequately) functional
    when unpacked but not installed.

I can find the basis for the first stanza in the Debian policy manual
but I can find no basis for the second as it is currently phrased.
The relevant section in the policy manual is this (from section 7.2):

    When a package declaring a pre-dependency is about to be
    _unpacked_ the pre-dependency can be satisfied if the depended-on
    package is either fully configured, _or even if_ the depended-on
    package(s) are only unpacked or half-configured, provided that
    they have been configured correctly at some point in the past
    (and not removed or partially removed since).  In this case, both
    the previously-configured and currently unpacked or
    half-configured versions must satisfy any version clause in the
    `Pre-Depends' field.

It looks to me as if the second paragraph I quoted from sarge_rc_policy.txt
should be rephrased so that it expresses the same requirement as policy
does.  Or am I missing something?

--
Thomas Hood