Re: Question about variably depending packages

[Goswin von Brederlow <brederlo@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de>]

"Jerry DuVal" <jduval@pace2020.com> writes:

> :o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
> xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word"
> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40";>
>
> Can a package have a variable depends in the control file?  :p>

Yes. But not the way you mean.

What you mean is that the depends should change depending on a config
file on the system. That is not possible. The file could be changed at
any time and that would alter the depends and break the system. That
just isn't supported.


> I have created the following packages:p>
>
> :p> 
>
> test-database_1_i386.deb:p>
>
> test-application_1_i386.deb:p>
>
> test-storage_1_i386.deb:p>

You could have a 4th package test-remotedb that asks for the hostname
of the remote db during configuration (with debconf) and enters that
IP into the config file. The test-database package on the other hand
would enter localhost into the config file. test-remotedb and
test-database could conflict.

MfG
        Goswin

PS: use ucf for config file handling, don't include the file as
conffile.