Bug#289245: java-package: alternatives not removed when sun-j2sdk* is removed

[Jeroen van Wolffelaar]

On Fri, Jan 07, 2005 at 04:38:11PM -0800, Steven Ihde wrote:
> When removing a java package built by make-jpkg (e.g., "apt-get remove
> sun-j2sdk1.4"), the alternatives installed by the package are not
> removed.  Here's what is supposed to happen:
> 
(...)
> 
> While investigating this I noted that sun-j2sdk1.4 and
> sun-j2sdk1.4debian each depend on the other.  This seems unnecessarily
> complicated, and in a way is the cause of the problem:

Thank you for your elaborate analasys. Yes, I noticed that there is a
circular dependency here, which seemed a bit odd. I decided to leave it
alone though for 0.18, but am now reconsidering.

I can see a few reasons why those packages exist at all: a way to get
depended on and suggested if one tries to fulfil dependencies in sarge,
and a way users to track whether they are uptodate java-wise. The latter
isn't being done at the moment, so I'll disregard that. Fir former
however I can understand: Due to these *debian packages, if one needs a
'java2-compiler', apt will come and suggest that the *debian package can
fulfil that depends, and in turn need a not-yet-created package.

Otoh, I see no compelling reason for the *debian packages to be depended
on by the generated packages... those two scripts (install and remove)
can just as well be pasted into the generated packages, much safer...

I'll need to think this over a bit more, meanwhile, any input welcome on
what do with this. Just dropping all *debian packages from java-package
sounds tempting, but otoh, I'm not sure whether it's a good idea.

--Jeroen

-- 
Jeroen van Wolffelaar
Jeroen@wolffelaar.nl (also for Jabber & MSN; ICQ: 33944357)
http://Jeroen.A-Eskwadraat.nl