On Fri, Jan 21, 2005 at 09:14:00PM +0000, Henning Makholm wrote:
> Scripsit Martin Kittel <debian@martin-kittel.de>
>
> >> You can check in the preinst if the running kernel is new enough,
> >> but that is about all you can do.
>
> > But this happens only after you have downloaded the whole package
> > and leaves you with a broken one. So I don't think that would be an
> > acceptable solution.
>
> It would be less acceptable to refuse installation for people who
> prefer to install custom kernels themselves and bypass the packaging
> system.
>
> Remember that having a kernel image installed is no guarantee that it
> is actually the same kernel that *runs*, so a dependency would not
> prevent users from having a package that does not work.
I'm not saying depending on the kernel image is the right answer,
necessarily, though that's certainly codified as the correct one for
at least one non-Linux kernel (or rather, depending on something that
is Provided, by kernel policy, for definition the kernel compatibility
support).
However, is it really unreasonable to expect someone willing and able to
build their own kernel to at *least* be able and willing to set up an
equivs entry for the kernel provides?
It's not perfect, but it's protection from the grosses idiocies. At the
very least it should probably be a Recommends and a note that it's really
required that you have *some* source of NPTL (along with the script check
mentioned elsewhere).
Making it possible to install in a custom situation is good; making it
easy to install and create a broken one is not.
--
Joel Aelwyn <fenton@debian.org> ,''`.
: :' :
`. `'
`-
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