Hi.

I'd like to propose a feature for the package management system;

What I am offering is the idea that package dependencies that are
reccomendations or suggestions must be explained.

Many times I can't guess the reason a package is being recommended/suggested
and in times that I can guess I mostly can't be sure until I do some digging.

Optimally, when a user comes about to install a package he should know what
the functionality that he's looking for in that package is and generally how
it works. Sometimes, this is not the case.

Sometimes, when the reason for a recommendation/suggestion is not apparent
from the descriptions of the packages, a user might be missing out on
interesting functionality or on the other hand, install a package that won't
be of service.

This will also make it easier to decide to not treat recommendations as
dependencies, because the user will know exactly what purpose each
recommendation has.

I am not suggesting this data will be put in with the package's description,
but that it will have it's own dignified place in the package's metadata (if
that's the term); an explanation for each recommendation/suggestion.

Dependencies that are actual dependencies and not recommendations or
suggestions, should not require this information for this same purpose but it
may be a good idea for different purposes that I'm not thinking about right
now.

Excellent week and fun at debconf!
--
Shachar Or | שחר �ור
http://ox.freeallweb.org/


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Hi.

I'd like to propose a feature for the package management system;

What I am offering is the idea that package dependencies that are
reccomendations or suggestions must be explained.

Many times I can't guess the reason a package is being recommended/suggested
and in times that I can guess I mostly can't be sure until I do some digging.

Optimally, when a user comes about to install a package he should know what
the functionality that he's looking for in that package is and generally how
it works. Sometimes, this is not the case.

Sometimes, when the reason for a recommendation/suggestion is not apparent
from the descriptions of the packages, a user might be missing out on
interesting functionality or on the other hand, install a package that won't
be of service.

This will also make it easier to decide to not treat recommendations as
dependencies, because the user will know exactly what purpose each
recommendation has.

I am not suggesting this data will be put in with the package's description,
but that it will have it's own dignified place in the package's metadata (if
that's the term); an explanation for each recommendation/suggestion.

Dependencies that are actual dependencies and not recommendations or
suggestions, should not require this information for this same purpose but it
may be a good idea for different purposes that I'm not thinking about right
now.

Excellent week and fun at debconf!
--
Shachar Or | שחר �ור
http://ox.freeallweb.org/


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Le Sun, Aug 10, 2008 at 06:36:35PM +0300, Shachar Or a écrit :
>
> What I am offering is the idea that package dependencies that are
> reccomendations or suggestions must be explained.

Hi,

Before I read your mail, I thought that it was not possible, but after
googling a bit, I found out that dpkg supports comments since version
1.10.11:

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=446712

This is however just general comments, they are not meant to be parsed
for display to the end-user. I will nevertheless start to use them. I
think that it is very valuable in team-maintained packages, where it is
sometimes difficult to know what motivated the actions of another
developper years before.

Have a nice day,

--
Charles Plessy
Debian Med packaging team,
Tsurumi, Kanagawa, Japan


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Charles Plessy <plessy@debian.org> writes:

> Le Sun, Aug 10, 2008 at 06:36:35PM +0300, Shachar Or a écrit :
>>
>> What I am offering is the idea that package dependencies that are
>> reccomendations or suggestions must be explained.
>
> Hi,
>
> Before I read your mail, I thought that it was not possible, but after
> googling a bit, I found out that dpkg supports comments since version
> 1.10.11:
>
> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=446712
>
> This is however just general comments, they are not meant to be parsed
> for display to the end-user. I will nevertheless start to use them. I
> think that it is very valuable in team-maintained packages, where it is
> sometimes difficult to know what motivated the actions of another
> developper years before.
>
> Have a nice day,

But will the comments be copied into the debian/package/DEBIAN/ dir? I
doubt that.

User would need those comments in the deb.

MfG
Goswin


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Goswin von Brederlow wrote:

> Charles Plessy <plessy@debian.org> writes:
>
>> Le Sun, Aug 10, 2008 at 06:36:35PM +0300, Shachar Or a écrit :
>>>
>>> What I am offering is the idea that package dependencies that are
>>> reccomendations or suggestions must be explained.
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Before I read your mail, I thought that it was not possible, but after
>> googling a bit, I found out that dpkg supports comments since version
>> 1.10.11:
>>
>> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=446712
>>
>> This is however just general comments, they are not meant to be parsed
>> for display to the end-user. I will nevertheless start to use them. I
>> think that it is very valuable in team-maintained packages, where it is
>> sometimes difficult to know what motivated the actions of another
>> developper years before.
>>
>> Have a nice day,
>
> But will the comments be copied into the debian/package/DEBIAN/ dir? I
> doubt that.
>
> User would need those comments in the deb.

Could they be added as XB-Comment:? I use XS-Comment and it appears in the dsc,
I don't know if XB-* appear in the deb or elsewhere.

--

Felipe Sateler


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Le Mon, Aug 11, 2008 at 07:02:02PM -0400, Felipe Sateler a écrit :
> Goswin von Brederlow wrote:
>
> Could they be added as XB-Comment:? I use XS-Comment and it appears in the dsc,
> I don't know if XB-* appear in the deb or elsewhere.

Hi Felipe,

The answer is only in the sources for the moment.

http://git.debian.org/?p=dpkg/dpkg.git;a=blob;f=scripts/dpkg-gencontrol.pl;h=219b4ffacd7af3e5ee051444c49f99ff61 b3ce19;hb=HEAD
http://git.debian.org/?p=dpkg/dpkg.git;a=blob;f=scripts/dpkg-genchanges.pl;h=a59918f55aa72b3e204aa21f0df1bbb516 300768;hb=HEAD
http://git.debian.org/?p=dpkg/dpkg.git;a=blob;f=scripts/dpkg-source.pl;h=4c9f00630bbcc7fe3b8a94ff1a76fc06be90c9 e0;hb=HEAD

As I do not know if all the combinations allowed by the regular
expressions in the above scripts are intended for use, I fail to propose
a good enough documentation patch to the dpkg team. If anybody is more
inspired, feel free to send your contribution to the following bug:

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=476335

Have a nice day,

--
Charles Plessy
Debian Med packaging team,
Tsurumi, Kanagawa, Japan


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