mono / ".pc files in -devel packges" guideline

[Chris Weyl]

Hey all--

I need a little guidance here.  I'm at the tail end of reviewing
daap-sharp, and the one sticky point is that the package includes a
pkgconfig file -- and no other development files.

The review guidelines list it as a "MUST" to package .pc files in a
-devel package.

The mono sig/packaging page says:[1]

  "Most mono packages install a .pc file. Normally, the .pc file is
part of the -devel package. However, mono packages don't typically
come with the sorts of things you'd find in -devel packages (headers
etc), so the -devel package would contain just the .pc file.

"You can still generate a -devel file, but given the above, it would
probably be acceptable to include the .pc in the non -devel rpm
itself."

I tend to agree with the point of the mono-packaging page, esp. as
it's what is commonly done with perl modules. (e.g. perl-DBI includes
its .h files, such that when building DBD's we can just say
"BuildRequires: perl(DBI)" rather than trying to figure out how to
split off the (typically) one header file and then require it at build
time seamlessly.)  Unfortunately, it still goes against the "MUST".

Is this a hard and fast rule?  Or is there leeway to bend it in cases
like this, where it clearly makes sense to do so for a specific
package or category of packages?

                         -Chris

[1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Mono
-- 
Chris Weyl
Ex astris, scientia