Re: How to not break dependant packages
On Thu, 17 Jul 2008, Stefan Potyra wrote:
> On Thursday 17 July 2008 15:15:25 Sean McE wrote:
> > On current packaging there is no way to express the dependency on
> > upstream version only,
> [..]
>
> actually, there is:
> Depends: foo (>= 1.2.1), foo (<< 1.2.1+)
You generally want
Package: bar
Depends: (foo >= 1.2.1), foo (<< 1.2.2~)
or similar.
An alternative is
Package: foo
Provides: foo-api-1.2.1
Package: bar
Depends: foo, foo-api-1.2.1
or similar.
The second is slightly better, because it enables you to avoid having
to rebuild bar if the api/abi doesn't change when you move to 1.2.2.
[Though frankly, plugins should be using a frozen API with an
unchanging, well thought out interface; rapidly changing APIs for
plugins is fundamentally broken.]
Don Armstrong
--
A people living under the perpetual menace of war and invasion is very
easy to govern. It demands no social reforms. It does not haggle over
expenditures on armaments and military equipment. It pays without
discussion, it ruins itself, and that is an excellent thing for the
syndicates of financiers and manufacturers for whom patriotic terrors
are an abundant source of gain.
-- Anatole France
http://www.donarmstrong.com http://rzlab.ucr.edu
Reply to: