file dependencies and packages and [blocker] bugs

[Michel Salim]

On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 4:58 PM, Ralf Corsepius <rc040203 at freenet.de> wrote:
>
>  On Fri, 2008-02-29 at 16:18 -0500, seth vidal wrote:
>  > On Fri, 2008-02-29 at 20:03 +0100, Hans de Goede wrote:
>  >
>  > > Okay, these are mine (which I already knew without looking at the report, as I
>  > > very deliberately added the filedeps):
>  > >
>  > > /usr/share/fonts/bitstream-vera/Vera.ttf
>  > > xblast-0:2.10.4-5.fc9.i386
>  > > chess-0:1.0-12.fc9.i386
>  > >
>  > > /usr/share/fonts/dejavu/DejaVuSans-BoldOblique.ttf
>  > > sdljava-demo-0:0.9.1-9.fc9.i386
>  > >
>  > > /usr/share/fonts/dejavu/DejaVuSans-Bold.ttf
>  > > sdljava-demo-0:0.9.1-9.fc9.i386
>  > >
>  > > /usr/share/fonts/dejavu/DejaVuSans-Oblique.ttf
>  > > sdljava-demo-0:0.9.1-9.fc9.i386
>  > >
>  > > /usr/share/fonts/dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf
>  > > sdljava-demo-0:0.9.1-9.fc9.i386
>  > >
>  > >
>  > > The problem with these packages is that the application in question (==
>  > > game-ish app, using its own fontrending) opens these fonts by filename. not
>  > > true any known font configuration mechanism.
>  I am having the same issue with packages I maintain.
>
>
>
>  > Define 'regularly' for the fonts changing locations?
>  For me, the problem had been fonts having vanished and fonts having
>  changed location _unnoticed_ between FC7 and FC8 (Initial FC8 contained
>  broken packages, because of this)
>
>  As a consequence of this, I am hard-coding deps on font files. My
>  packages now break when fonts vanish/move.
>
>
>  >  Also - If they are
>  > changing so often why don't we talk to the font maintainers and get that
>  > to stop moving around?
>  They changed due to conventions on font installation dirs changed and
>  because fonts where dropped due to licensing issues.
>
>
>  > > On the postive site, very few people have either of these installed, so I guess
>  > > the best solution here is to notfix. But I'm open for other ways of catching
>  > > filename changes in another package without using file deps.
>  >
>  > It makes things like repoclosure take longer to run b/c it has to go get
>  > the filelists to resolve it all out.
>  Well, it would be a mistake not check them - These deps are present,
>  whether you like it or not.
>

A way to do this might be to have a "debug" mode, in which the package
will be built with dependencies on the font files, and "release" mode,
in which the package depends on the font packages.

Or, since fonts don't change that often, have an option for the
packagers to be notified when an upstream Require:ment changes? e.g.

Requires(notify):bitstream-vera-fonts

(might get the name wrong, not on my Fedora box at the moment)

-- 
Michel Salim
http://hircus.jaiku.com/