Bug#608922: ITP: matlab -- integrate local Matlab installations into the Debian system
Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Michael Hanke <mih@debian.org>
* Package name : matlab
Version : 0.0.13
Upstream Author : Michael Hanke <mih@debian.org>
* URL : http://neuro.debian.net/pkgs/matlab.html
* License : GPL
Programming Lang: POSIX shell
Description : integrate local Matlab installations into the Debian system
This package does NOT provide Matlab (TM). It merely helps sysadmins
integrate local installations in the Debian system to handle this proprietary
software in a more coherent way. Moreover, this package can be used as a
runtime dependency for packages that install Matlab code and, for example,
need to compile MEX extensions.
.
One or more Matlab installations can be registered with Debian's alternatives
system, and a helper utility to build MEX extensions is provided. All
configuration is conveniently done via debconf.
Moreover:
Analogous to Octave a Makefile snippet is provided that configures the
locations for architecture independent M-files, binary MEX-extensions, and
there corresponding sources. This package can be used as a build-dependency
by other packages shipping Matlab toolboxes.
Rational:
There is already at least one package in Debian that installs MATLAB
MEX extensions (http://packages.debian.org/sid/dynare-matlab, #608919).
This package is inspired by the handling of MEX building implemented in
this package, but aims at generalizing it and providing a helper for
other packages. The NeuroDebian project currently deals with a number
of packages that _could_ ship MATLAB code. Moreover, we are working on
making it easier for users and developers of formerly Matlab-only
software to transition to Octave. For this purpose it would be very
useful to have both Octave and Matlab extensions available on a system,
so that users can switch back and forth between them until full
compatibility is reached (only going back to Matlab as long as still
necessary) -- see http://neuro.debian.net/proj_matlab.html
>From README.source:
Although this whole package is pointless without Matlab (a large non-free
something) the source package has been placed into 'main' for the following
reason:
It builds a 'matlab-dev' package that other source packages can build depend
on to figure out where to install MEX sources and M-files (analogous to the
way Octave packages provide this information via a Makefile snippet). This
-dev package has nothing to do with Matlab and should go into 'main', as
otherwise no source package that build-depends on it could go into 'main'.
That would be suboptimal for otherwise DFSG-compliant package that simply
also _can_ build MEX extensions (e.g. see the dynare-matlab package in the
archive).
The actual Matlab adaptor package is placed into 'contrib'.
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