[DRE-maint] Proposed new requirements for emacsen add-on packages

[Rob Browning]

Rob Browning <rlb at defaultvalue.org> writes:

> However, to demonstrate why I'm beginning to think the current approach
> may be unworkable, consider the case where no emacsen-related packages
> are installed and someone runs this:
>
>   apt-get install emacs24 add-on-depending-on-add-on-1 add-on-1
>
> What should happen if the postinsts fire in the order listed?  When
> add-on-depending-on-add-on-1's postinst fires, add-on-1 isn't
> "installed", and so add-on-depending-on-add-on-1 should be skipped
> (though that may actually be broken right now), and then when add-on-1's
> postinst fires, it's not (currently) going to do anything about the
> other add-on because add-on-depending-on-add-on-1 isn't a dependency for
> add-on-1.

Oh, and of course, one way you might try to fix this is arrange to have
every add-on "install" every add-on that depends on it (and is ready).

So then every add-on would be trying to install both its upstream and
downstream dependencies.  But even if we could do that sanely, we'd end
up running even more redundant installs.

-- 
Rob Browning
rlb @defaultvalue.org and @debian.org
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