On Wed, Nov 09, 2005 at 09:57:37PM -0500, Roberto C. Sanchez wrote: > On Wed, Nov 09, 2005 at 06:43:51PM -0700, Bob Proulx wrote: > > I need a clarification because I am confused. If I have a script that > > uses awk do I need the package to "Depends: awk"? Or is awk like > > basename where we are able to assume it is on the system without any > > explicit dependencies? > > I see that many packages do "Depends: awk". But awk is an alternative > > and mawk is "Priority: required" so I would not think so. But gawk > > provides awk and is "Priority: optional" but with a higher alternative > > priority too and so that "required" mawk is almost never used. (I > > always install gawk as awk for its better features.) > > If the package used gawk specific features then the decision would be > > easy. It would need to depend upon gawk. But it only uses basic awk > > features and so any of the alternatives is sufficient. > > Thanks for you knowledge in this. > I suspect that it is not necessary: > $ apt-cache show mawk |grep "Provides\|Priority" > Priority: required > Provides: awk Right conclusion, wrong rationale. A package being Priority: required does not excuse you from an explicit dependency. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. vorlon@debian.org http://www.debian.org/
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