Problem with dependency handling in debian (driving me crazy!)
Hi!
I would like to make some suggestions/comments (any answers allowed)
about the dependency handling in Debian:
+ There should not be "hard" conflicts between packages wich provides
the same service, for example: If I'm deciding wich MTA use (exim,
postfix, qmail, any other compiled from source code), I can only install
one of them at the time, no matter that there are not files conflicting
between them, I should be able to install all of them, if I wanted to,
and only enable one at the time (and anyway, what if I want to have
three of them on different ports?, it should be my problem, off course,
there should be a warning (to save us from newbies on *nix systems)).
+ Same for: heimdal-servers and ANY ftp server that I wanted to use, I
needed heimdal-servers-x, but it depended on heimdal-servers, wich
provided ftp-server, but I did wanted to use vsftpd, I saw the packages
and there where not conflicting files.
+ When I want to install a php-based software, like phpldapadmin, it
(almost always) depends on php4, wich depends on apache (1.3.x), but I
want to use apache2, then: I have to install phpldapadmin (or any other)
from .tar.gz, not the debian package. I know, this one is harder: I
think that it should suggest them, not depends on, and, when finished
the install of the package, do a pause and say where it installed it, or
wich line should I add to the httpd.conf (just to save time), or maybe
ask you for your httpd.conf (with a reasonable default), and give you
the option to change it.
Anyway, It's driving me crazy, I use aptitude, but even with the option
"Automatically fix broken packages before installing or removing", it
just ask me, and if I say "No", it just don't install anything. I tried
dselect, and it's not much better.
Maybe there is another way, somthing I can use to "see" the list of
avaible packages, search through it, and install whatever I want, with
only a warning when what I do "could" cause a broken package, but
letting me do it anyway.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Sincerely,
Ildefonso Camargo
icamargo@merkurio.com.ve
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