sorting through xlibs-dev dependencies?

[Helen Faulkner <helen_ml_faulkner@yahoo.co.uk>]

Hi,

I hope this isn't a too dumb question!

I'm the maintainer for xwrits, and partway through the NM process. My 
application manager (Frank Lichtenheld) has sent me a review of my packages, 
and I am confused about one of the things he suggested I do.

xwrits currently depends on xlibs-dev.  Frank suggests that I replace that 
with only the needed dependencies.

What I am confused about is how to tell what it really needs and what it 
doesn't really need.  I don't know that much about X, in general.  xlibs-dev 
seems to be a package that does nothing but depend on a collection of many 
different X libraries.  But I don't know what all those libraries do (and 
no, I don't want to read the code for all of them!).

So, the only thing I thought to do is
 a) look at every header file that is #included in the xwrits code
 b) use dlocate or similar to see which packages all those headers are in.
 c) make xwrits build-depend on those packages.

But this will take me quite a long time.  I wondered if I am missing 
something obvious and there is a better way to do it.  Or am I on the right 
track after all.

Now, obviously, I don't want someone to actually tell me which things I 
should be build-depending on.  I want to know how to work out such things 
for myself in the future :)  (It would also defy the point of my AM asking 
me this.)  But I would appreciate a hint...

Thanks,

Helen