Re: Bug#398259: dvipdfmx: Depends on non-existing package dvipdfm

[Frank Küster <frank@debian.org>]

Frank Küster <frank@debian.org> wrote:

> Package: dvipdfmx
> Version: 1:20040411-4
> Severity: important
[...]
> The unfortunate consequence is that now dvipdfmx is no longer
> installable with texlive - we were not aware of this.
>
> So either dvipdfm should drop the dependence on dvipdfm, and instead
> depend on the respective tetex or texlive packages directly.  Or else we
> should agree on a dvipdfm virtual package with a defined functionality
> and reintroduce it.
>
> What is the functionality from the old dvipdfm package that dvipdfmx
> needs?  Just some files in /usr/share/texmf*/?

Looking at the file list of the old dvipdfm package, there doesn't seem
to be much:

- font map stuff, now handled by updmap(-sys)

- encoding files in dvipdfm/base, long dropped by current dvipdfm

- binaries, manpages and documentation.  This includes the ebb
  executable, which is missing in dvipdfmx.  But I do not think that a
  virtual package "dvipdfm", even if it exists, should be defined as
  providing ebb, a tool that's largely unrelated to dvipdfm (it might
  even be useful if you don't use TeX).

- dvipdfm/config which is now provided by teTeX or TeXlive.  This
  actually looks more like a configuration file, and should be moved to
  /etc (and dvips/config.ps, too).

So it boils down that the only "dvipdfm" functionality that dvipdfmx
needs is a file that is provided both by teTeX and TeXlive, and that
should in fact be treated as a configuration file.  I do not think this
warrants a virtual package dvipdfm.  

In summary, I think that dvipdfmx should stop depending on the
pseudo-virtual package dvipdfm.  As explained in #398326, I do not think
that texlive is suitable for release if it does not work with dvipdfmx.
On the other hand, there's no reason to (re-)introduce the dvipdfm
"virtual" package in texlive-base-bin's Provides.  Consequently, the
right fix for this bug is to upload dvipdfmx with the dvipdfm dependency
dropped. 

I am going to prepare a fixed package this afternoon, and upload it as
an NMU with medium urgency to the 3-day-delayed queue.  This means that
if all goes well, dvipdfm and texlive-base-bin (which is now 2 days old)
can enter testing together.

Regards, Frank


-- 
Dr. Frank Küster
Single Molecule Spectroscopy, Protein Folding @ Inst. f. Biochemie, Univ. Zürich
Debian Developer (teTeX/TeXLive)