Bug#992475: exim4-base recommends mailx, which often has heavy dependencies
Daniel Lewart
lewart3 at gmail.com
Thu Aug 19 05:28:00 BST 2021
Source: exim4
Version: 4.94.2-7
Severity: normal
Tags: patch
Exim4 Maintainers,
Installing exim4-base often results in a boatload of unnecessary packages
being installed.
This is because exim4-base recommends virtual package mailx,
which mailutils (and its heavy dependencies) provides.
The solution is to recommend "bsd-mailx | mailx" instead.
Here are two similar bug reports:
#677944 - bsd-mailx: should be a high-priority candidate to provide
the 'mailx' virtual package
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=677944#28
#849743 - logrotate: Please specify a default mailx provider
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=849743
Below are the following:
1) *untested* patch for debian/control
2) "apt install exim4-base" debug output
3) "apt install bsd-mailx exim4-base" debug output
Thank you!
Daniel Lewart
Urbana, Illinois
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- debian/control.orig 2021-07-13 11:12:50.000000000 -0500
+++ debian/control 2021-08-18 00:00:00.000000000 -0500
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
${misc:Depends},
${shlibs:Depends}
# psmisc just for exiwhat.
-Recommends: mailx, psmisc
+Recommends: bsd-mailx | mailx, psmisc
Suggests:
exim4-doc-html | exim4-doc-info,
eximon4,
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ apt -s -o Debug::pkgDepCache::AutoInstall=1 install exim4-base > /dev/null
Installing exim4-config:amd64 as Depends of exim4-base:amd64
Installing mailutils:amd64 as Recommends of exim4-base:amd64
Installing mailutils-common:amd64 as Depends of mailutils:amd64
Installing libfribidi0:amd64 as Depends of mailutils:amd64
Installing libgsasl7:amd64 as Depends of mailutils:amd64
Installing gsasl-common:amd64 as Depends of libgsasl7:amd64
Installing libidn11:amd64 as Depends of libgsasl7:amd64
Installing libntlm0:amd64 as Depends of libgsasl7:amd64
Installing libmailutils7:amd64 as Depends of mailutils:amd64
Installing guile-2.2-libs:amd64 as Depends of libmailutils7:amd64
Installing libgc1:amd64 as Depends of guile-2.2-libs:amd64
Installing libltdl7:amd64 as Depends of guile-2.2-libs:amd64
Installing libmariadb3:amd64 as Depends of libmailutils7:amd64
Installing mariadb-common:amd64 as Depends of libmariadb3:amd64
Installing mysql-common:amd64 as Depends of mariadb-common:amd64
Installing libpython3.9:amd64 as Depends of libmailutils7:amd64
Installing exim4-daemon-light:amd64 as Recommends of mailutils:amd64
Installing libgnutls-dane0:amd64 as Depends of exim4-daemon-light:amd64
Installing libunbound8:amd64 as Depends of libgnutls-dane0:amd64
Installing libevent-2.1-7:amd64 as Depends of libunbound8:amd64
Installing psmisc:amd64 as Recommends of exim4-base:amd64
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ apt -s -o Debug::pkgDepCache::AutoInstall=1 install bsd-mailx exim4-base > /dev/null
Installing exim4-daemon-light:amd64 as Depends of bsd-mailx:amd64
Installing libgnutls-dane0:amd64 as Depends of exim4-daemon-light:amd64
Installing libunbound8:amd64 as Depends of libgnutls-dane0:amd64
Installing libevent-2.1-7:amd64 as Depends of libunbound8:amd64
Installing libidn11:amd64 as Depends of exim4-daemon-light:amd64
Installing liblockfile1:amd64 as Depends of bsd-mailx:amd64
Installing exim4-config:amd64 as Depends of exim4-base:amd64
Installing psmisc:amd64 as Recommends of exim4-base:amd64
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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