Bug#142199: debian-policy: packages should be allowed to depend on an X font
On Tue, Apr 09, 2002 at 04:56:25PM +0200, Robert Millan wrote:
> I consider that xfonts packages should be dinamically virtually
> provided when they're installed in a remote host, somehow. But this
> is a dpkg thing.
And what if there's 50 X servers installed on 50 workstations, and one
central installation of the app on a Bigass(tm) server? (A fairly
common and sensible setup.) What if 8 of the workstations are running
RedHat, 5 are running SuSE, 3 are Sparcstations running Solaris and 18
are Windows + Xserver? How is dpkg supposed to query these machines?
What about the 5 that are turned off because their owners are on
vacation?
What if only 25 of the workstations have the font installed or
otherwise accessible ? Does that mean that the dependency is 50%
fulfilled? What does *that* mean? Do you allow an install because
some workstations can run the app, or do you prevent it because some
can't? What if only one has the font? What if only one doesn't?
You're not supposed to be able to uninstall depended-on packages
without either uninstalling their dependencies or forcing the issue.
How do you prevent that remote Solaris machine from uninstalling the
font? What if it's the font server that the other 49 machines were
all using?
Bottom line: an X app that assumes a particular font will be available
is *broken* and should be fixed! Ideally, it should fall back to a
(possibly inferior) standard X font. Worst case, it should handle the
situation gracefully, and in a non-Debian-specific manner, because the
user trying to run the app may not be running Debian.
Be happy that you're allowed to use a Recommends. If I had my way, a
font would never be higher than Suggests, ever. As it is, I end up
rebuilding most of these stupid packages myself in order to strip out
the font recommendations. Or simply not installing them because I
don't want to deal with the hassle of a broken design.
cheers
--
Chris Waters | Pneumonoultra- osis is too long
xtifr@debian.org | microscopicsilico- to fit into a single
or xtifr@speakeasy.net | volcaniconi- standalone haiku
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