Re: suggestion: build-blockers field in control file

[Peter Samuelson <peter@p12n.org>]

[Russell Coker]
> Why not have software which wants to have the dependencies of a
> package look at the dependencies line as well as the
> build-dependencies?
> 
> It seems to me that the package maintainers are already providing the
> necessary information and the people who maintain autobuilder systems
> just need to use it.

Hmmmm.  Do you mean:

    (1) The buildd should parse debian/control prior to building, and
    delay the build ("dep-wait") if any binary package Depends line
    would not (yet) be satisfied?

    (2) The buildd should not upload a build until every binary package
    in the built .changes file is installable?

    (3) The buildd should edit the .changes file to exclude binary
    packages that are not installable, upload _that_, then put the rest
    of the binary packages in some sort of hold queue?

    (4) ???

(1) is problematic for several reasons; most specifically, that it is
possible, and even common, for not every package in debian/control to
be built on every architecture.  You can't predict which packages will
actually be built.

(2) is less problematic, but does introduce extra delay into package
build and propagation.  It also would require manual intervention for
any dependency loop.

And (3) seems like a very complex workflow to solve a very small problem.

-- 
Peter Samuelson | org-tld!p12n!peter | http://p12n.org/