Bug#473304: libhtml-wikiconverter-perl and friends

[Jonas Smedegaard]

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On Tue, May 20, 2008 at 01:42:55AM -0400, Rene Mayorga wrote:
>On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 10:07:39PM +0200, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:

>> I agree that packaging the submodules formerly part of the main 
>> module is needed.
>> 
>> But I do not see how dropping the recommendation for a virtual 
>> package shared among all submodules, and replacing that with 
>> suggesting only the submodules formerly part of the module, can solve 
>> this bug.
>
>The suggest was to add info to the POD and html2wiki binary in order to 
>notice the users about that the package was splitted.
>
>IMHO having a dep in a virtual package will get the users to install 
>the first package which provide the virtual package, this could have a 
>false bug reports telling us that we are missing $foo wiki dialect.

I added the virtual package not to solve backwards compatibility, but to 
help indicate that the module needs some submodule to work.


>> Either we just admit that the package has changed, and warn about 
>> that in debian/NEWS.
>
>Sounds nice for me, but I also think that we should add the notice in 
>POD and html2wiki to catch more despite users :).

Good idea.  Feel free to add patches, and get in touch with upstream 
suggesting them to adopt those patches.


>> Or we make the main package depend on the submodules formerly part of 
>> the module.
>
>Having a dep on all the submodules will came to have a bunch of modules 
>installed, this also will follow to have the need to add a depend to 
>every -dialect module that could be added to the archive.

Not all of them - that's what the virtual package is for.  Just the ones 
formerly part of the main module.

And if we choose that apporach, then yes, other users not needing those 
submodules are forced to install them anyway.  We can drop the 
dependencies after lenny+1 is released as stable.

Alternatively we can rename the main package to -core, replacing it with 
an empty transitional package hard-depending on -core and the used-to-be 
submodules.  that would avoid surprises for old users and also support 
new users uninterested in the added dependencies.  But I believe it 
would violate Debian Perl Policy (main module is not called -core).

I favor a combination of first and second option:

  1) Document that content of main module has changed
  2) Have main module recommend formerly included submodules
  3) Drop explicit submodule-recommendations after lenny+1


  - Jonas

- -- 
* Jonas Smedegaard - idealist og Internet-arkitekt
* Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

  - Enden er nær: http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm
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