Re: Conditional Recommends

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Josselin Mouette writes ("Conditional Recommends"):
> Therefore, I?m wondering whether it would be possible to extend the
> syntax of Recommends to allow for conditional dependencies. For example,
> in this case:
>         Package: A
>         Recommends: A-plugin-B {B}
> APT would be made to install A-plugin-B by default, but only if B is
> installed too. In addition, it would also have to install it while
> pulling B if A is already here.

Simpler than this, and simpler than constructions involving negations
(which would be very troublesome for the resolution algorithms), would
be:

  Package: A-plugin-B
  Depends: A, B
  Recommended-When: A, B

Ian.