Re: DSelect

[joost@topaz.mdcc.cx (Joost Kooij)]

On Sat, Jun 23, 2001 at 05:01:15PM +0200, nico de haer wrote:
> I installed KDE 2.1, this uses htdig for it's help system. htdig 'recomends'
> a web server. I was unable to install without one, so i opted to
> do-it-myself. I went to my always-handy virtual console and used dpkg to
> install htdig. Now dselect keeps complainig about it "install a bl##dy httpd
> you $#@#@$". In the documentation (yup i love 'RTFM') i read 'dselect does
> not handle recommends too well'.

Ack.  This is bloody annoying.  But I still think that the bug is primarily
with htdig for not having a suggests: instead of a recommends: on httpd.

With suggests: relations, dselect will only ask you once, with recommends:
it keeps asking all the time..  

Anyway, my fingers are wired to 'R' 'Q' when it does this to me.

> Is there a way (other than installing a webserver) to fix this? The only
> thing i can think off is an empty package providing httpd.

$ dpkg -p equivs
Package: equivs
Priority: extra
Section: admin
Installed-Size: 51
Maintainer: Martin Bialasinski <martinb@debian.org>
Architecture: all
Version: 2.0.3
Depends: perl | perl5, debhelper, dpkg-dev, devscripts, make, fakeroot
Filename: pool/main/e/equivs/equivs_2.0.3_all.deb
Size: 17936
MD5sum: 72b831ac937fb66400c5b23777db0b29
Description: Circumventing Debian package dependencies
 This is a dummy package which can be used to create Debian
 packages, which only contain dependency information.
 .
 This way, you can make the Debian package management
 system believe that equivalents to packages on which other
 packages do depend on are actually installed.
 .
 Another possibility is creation of a meta package. When this
 package contains a dependency as "Depends: a, b, c", then
 installing this package will also select packages a, b and c.
 Instead of "Depends", you can also use "Recommends:" or
 "Suggests:" for less demanding dependency.
 .
 Please note that this is a crude hack and if thoughtlessly used
 might possibly do damage to your packaging system. And please
 note as well that using it is not the recommended way of dealing
 with broken dependencies. Better file a bug report instead.

Cheers,


Joost