Re: Let Jikes (finally) go into testing on its own...
W liście z sob, 17-01-2004, godz. 15:50, Adam Majer pisze:
> On Sat, Jan 17, 2004 at 12:44:34AM -0500, Grzegorz B. Prokopski wrote:
> > while jikes has:
> >
> > Recommends: jikes-gij | jikes-kaffe | jikes-sun | jikes-classpath |
> > jikes-sablevm
> >
> > where jikes-sun is in the contrib section. This should probably be
> > changed to Suggests: jikes-sun or removed altogether.
> >
> > This is at least a serious bug (or maybe rather a grave/RC, as there's
> > "must not" in the Policy) so we need an upload anyway.
>
> I have to disagree with you there, The policy states:
>
> * must not require a package outside of main for compilation
> or execution (thus, the package must not declare a "Depends",
> "Recommends", or "Build-Depends" relationship on a non-main
> package)
>
> BUT, jikes Recommends on a "package" that is made up of both, main and
> contrib packages. That is, the "package" is a union between
> packages in main and one in contrib.
>
> I read the policy as "a package must satisfy its compilation and
> execution requirements using packages in main". Jikes recommends
> are satisfied in main.
>
> People should have a choice of installing something from main or
> something non-free (like SUN's java). We should not be punishing them
> for using something non-free.
>
> If I move jikes-sun to suggests, people only using SUN's java
> would be required to also install jikes-gij or jikes-kaffe or etc...
> if they are using dselect. Maybe it is just me, but I think this
> would discriminate against non-free software.
>
> I really would not want to move ALL of these to suggests. I guess I
> will have to do that if I'm wrong here.
Technically jikes doesn't require any non-free package to run. Though
Debian Policy is rather fuzzy here, because *require* implies Depends
or Build-depends, while in the same sentence it also mentions
Recommends. This makes not much sense, because Recommends *always*
is something that you *don't require* but merely recommend.
As for people running non-free java and jikes. I belive that if they
run non-free - they already know what they do. And DSelect or any
other tool doesn't *force* user to install things that are merely
Recommend'ed. Still, I belive, while we do support non-free software,
we should rather promote dfsg-compatible solutions, so some kind of
discrimination of non-free is in place.
I didn't mean to remove the Recommends: completly, but to move
jikes-sun to Suggests. I know that you can't do "|" between things
in Recommends and Suggests but that's how it is. Having free java
installed, even accidentally, can't (and shouldn't) hurt.
Anyway - taking Debian Policy words as they are: it says that a package
must not declare "Recommends" *relationship* to non-main package.
Prove me wrong but having non-free package listed in Recommends, even
as an alternative, is a *relationship* - no?
I've checked and the only package that does similar thing is
netpbm, which has Recommends: gs | gs-aladdin (and ex. pstotext has
Depends: gs | gs-aladdin and it probably is not the only one)
while gs-aladdin is non-free.
Hmm... looks like we're in the grey area. heh.
Grzegorz B. Prokopski
PS: It really was meant as a side issue (not even bug is filled).
The thing I want is a sound solution for "jikes not being promoted
to testing" problem.
--
Grzegorz B. Prokopski <gadek@debian.org>
Debian GNU/Linux http://www.debian.org
SableVM - LGPLed JVM http://www.sablevm.org
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