Package: java-gcj-compat
Version: 1.0.77-2
Severity: wishlist

From the package description of libmx4j-java, I can't imagine why it should be
considered absolutely essential to the functioning of java-gcj-compat. And
in fact, in some tests forcing the installation of java-gcj-compat-dev
without it, it (and the base functionality of java-gcj-compat running ant)
appears to work just fine.

The reason I'm requesting this is that currently, my pbuildd scripts to break
cycles in the Build-Depends of the Debian archive need approximately 20-30
scripts for libmx4j-java and all its build-dependencies, many of which
shouldn't really be needed in my opinion.

Also, by the way, I've been wondering about the idea of including the
ant-optional tasks in the relevant packages they apply to, instead of in a
monolithic ant-optional package. That would eliminate a few more of the
cycle-breaker scripts, and besides that would make more sense in general,
IMHO.

Anyway, all of this is completely up to you. If there's a good reason for the
dependency on libmx4j-java to be unconditional, then feel free to just close
this bug, or at least tag it wontfix, with an explanation of why.
--
Daniel Schepler