[Debian-med-packaging] Bug#730722: Bug#730722: t-coffee: will become a friend of ncbi-blast+ package

[Charles Plessy]

Control: reassign -1 ncbi-blast+
Control: retitle -1 please rename /usr/bin/legacy_blast to /usr/bin/legacy_blast.pl

Le Thu, Nov 28, 2013 at 06:26:56PM +0100, Patrice DUROUX a écrit :
> Package: t-coffee
> Version: 10.00.r1613-1
> Severity: wishlist
> 
> ncbi-blast+ package is installed and regarding t_coffee default output (see
> bellow), it doesn't seem to recognize it. I suspect the reason of this is
> that ncbi-blast+ provides /usr/bin/legacy_blast and not
> /usr/bin/legacy_blast.pl Is it possible to change this default in your
> package or is this a trouble with ncbi-blast+ package?  (I remember
> discussion in Debian dev mailing list about having or not this kind of
> extension such as .pl in command name) And finally may be t_coffee is able to
> suggest it then?

Hello Patrice,

this is one of Debian's favorite waste of time: renaming programs and dealign
with the incompatibilities that it causes.  Personally, I strongly disagree
with this policy, but as usual, some people who are not doing the work are
vocal enough to block changes.

My suggestion would be to distribute the upstream program under its real name
(/usr/bin/legacy_blast.pl), and transiently distribute a symbolic link to help
the users that we tricked thinking that its name was different.

I have also added ncbi-blast+ to the Suggests list of t-coffee, this will take
effect after the next upload.

Have a nice day,

-- 
Charles Plessy
Debian Med packaging team,
http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-med
Tsurumi, Kanagawa, Japan