Re: [PROPOSAL] 3. RfD on new debian java policy
Hallo Ben,
* Ben Burton wrote:
>> |You must depend on all working java virtual maschines and search all
>> |this packages for the java virtual maschine binary.
>Yes.
Included...
>> I thought that this was fairly obvious... I mean, it's pretty stupit
>> if not :)
>There are lots of things in debian policy that are either obvious or
>common-sense. It certainly can't hurt to include it.
...
>I'm not really comfortable with the idea of "don't test, just assume it
>works until someone tells you otherwise". Yes, it happened with flex
>but that was a once-off. With this java proposal it will become
>institutionalised.
It is already institutionalised. The current java policy mandates
/usr/bin/java, which is not even protected by a *single* virtual
package name (but by two, which are mostly completely different, if
java1 stands for 1.1.8 and java2 for 1.3).
It also doesn't say, that you don't need to test on the debian
packaged Virtual maschiens. The only thing you can assume is, that
when using /usr/bin/java-1.4 and you program says in the readme that
it requires 1.4, then this java will work.
All other thigs are not possible:
* test with >3 free VMs? Even if I can'T prevent any of this VMs to be
included, because the name for this VM isn't garanteered.
* Test unfree VMs, if people are strict against installing them.
[new proposal text]
>Works for me.
included.
>> Most users will anyway only install one version of a virtual maschine.
>This I find unlikely, especially if packages are explicitly depending on
>known-working JVMs. The more java packages I have installed, the more
>likely it is that dependencies require me to have a variety of different
>JVMs on my system.
Lets say it this way: user wants a browser plugin (this is IMO still
the only thing, which they know as 'JAVA' (sic!)). So they will go to
sun and get the -bin download. Then they will hopefully look into a
FAQ, which will (someday) say, that they should run mpkg-j2sdk (or
mpkg-java, if it becomes that flexible) on the downloaded -bin and
dpkg -i the resulting packages.
This is at least the usecase I get from the postings in
debian-users and d-u-german.
Jan
--
Jan Schulz jasc@gmx.net
"Wer nicht fragt, bleibt dumm."
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