Re: Recursive Dependency Disease reminder and freetype status
On Tue, Aug 01, 2006 at 04:28:10PM -0400, Nathanael Nerode wrote:
> I just finished updating the page http://wiki.debian.org/FreetypeTransition .
> If your package is listed there, it has a bug: either a missing
> build-dependency, or recursive dependency disease. We've made a lot of
> progress, but there are still nearly 200 packages with unneeded and
> damaging dependencies on libfreetype6.
FWIW, freetype upstream took pains to restore ABI compatibility with
previous versions of libfreetype6. So there is no urgent need for
addressing this particular library dependency anymore.
The general problem, that packages on the whole use tools that result in
greedy linking, is an ongoing one of course. But to ever make any real
headway we need to get better practices adopted by upstreams -- both of the
individual packages, and of the helper tools they use which encourage this
behavior. In the freetype case, for instance, upstream deemed it impossible
to change the soname at all because the gratuitous linking problem was too
widespread.
--
Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world.
vorlon@debian.org http://www.debian.org/
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