Package: gnat-5
Version: 5.2.1-22
Severity: wishlist
Hello.
The symbolic link
/usr/bin/gnatgcc -> gcc-x.y
installed by package gnat-x.y used to help mixing Ada and C code,
/usr/bin/gnatgcc version being compatible with gnat, and sometimes
different from /usr/bin/gcc version.
In gnat-5, the symlink becomes /usr/bin/gnatgcc-5 -> gcc-5. This
breaks previous code relying on gnatgcc, and more important the
symlink is not useful to anyone anymore. I guess that it should be
removed from the gnat-5 package.
By the way, I would like some explanations about these renamings
before I patch the contents of debian_packaging.mk in package gnat-5
or upload gprbuild.
What is the purpose of these renamings?
At first, I thought that the intent was to make different gnat
versions coinstallable (like gcc-4.9 and gcc-5), but this is
impossible as long as the gnat-x package contains a
/usr/bin/gnatmake -> gnatmake-x
symbolic link (and many similar ones).
Is it possible to provide a similar
/usr/share/ada/debian_packaging.mk -> debian_packaging-5.mk
symbolic link to avoid breaking previous code?
Is it possible that all these symbolic links migrate to the gnat
package (like /usr/bin/gcc in package gcc)?