Excessive package interdependency

Tom 'spot' Callaway tcallawa at redhat.com
Thu Dec 18 18:30:18 UTC 2003


On Thu, 2003-12-18 at 11:44, Jef Spaleta wrote:
> Tyler larson wrote:
> > This is obviously wrong, but is still the only option we currently have.
> > I think Aurelien's suggestion about a "Recommends" or "Suggests" list in
> > addition to "Requires" would make a lot more sense

I think that doesn't really solve the problem, just makes new ones that
are harder to fix.

The problem is that some packages have "unnecessary dependencies". There
are two types of dependencies:

1. A hardcoded Requires: in the spec. This type is pretty easy to test.
If you think its unnecessary, take it out of the srpm, uninstall the
package listed as a Requires: (if its present), see if it builds and
runs without losing feature functionality.

2. An automatic dependency, generated when rpm looks at shared libraries
and the like. Most of this is pretty much set in stone, if that binary
needs that library to run, we can't ignore it. To resolve issues like
this, we need to see why the bits are linking to that library and
discuss whether or not we can disable it via configure without losing
functionality, or can it be split into its own addon rpm?

~spot
---
Tom "spot" Callaway <tcallawa(a)redhat*com> LCA, RHCE 
Red Hat Sales Engineer || Aurora SPARC Linux Project Leader

"The author's mathematical treatment of the conception of purpose is
novel and highly ingenious, but heretical and, so far as the present
social order is concerned, dangerous and potentially subversive. Not to
be published." -- Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World"





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