autopkgtest needs-recommends [Was Re: autopkgtest: versioned triggers and fixing "Test dependencies are unsatisfiable with using apt pinning"]

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Paul Gevers writes ("autopkgtest needs-recommends [Was Re: autopkgtest: versioned triggers and fixing "Test dependencies are unsatisfiable with using apt pinning"]"):
> tl;dr: autopkgtest restriction "needs-recommends" and using aspcud
> solver is horror. How to move forward?
...
> 2) Stop supporting needs-recommends and use the aspcud solver in a way
> similar to what I implemented on salsa. Clearly this restriction has
> been out there for a while. Will be painful for some (how many?)
> packages as their autopkgtest will suddenly break.

I don't understand the history of the needs-recommends restriction,
but can't it be worked around in each package by explicitly listing
the needed recommends as direct test dependencies ?

Ian.