[Fedora-packaging] "Explicit requires" and "requiring base package"

[Rex Dieter]

Ville Skyttä wrote:
> Ping, any comments on this?
> 
> On Saturday 02 May 2009, Ville Skyttä wrote:
>> https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Guidelines#Explicit_Requires
>>   Packages must not contain explicit Requires on libraries except when
>>   absolutely necessary. [...]
>>
>> https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Guidelines#Requiring_Base_Package
>>   Devel packages must require the base package using a fully versioned
>>   dependency: Requires: %{name} = %{version}-%{release}. Usually,
>> subpackages other than -devel should also require the base package using a
>> fully versioned dependency.
>>
>> I think these two guidelines or their wording are more or less in conflict
>> these days.  Most -devel packages do not "absolutely necessarily" need an
>> explicit dependency on the base package because rpm automatically adds
>> soname dependencies from symlinks in -devel to the corresponding shared lib
>> in the main/lib package.  Ditto, many cases of other non-devel subpackages
>> get automatic lib soname dependencies to the main/lib package.

I dont agree with this assertion.  rpm may have implicit dependencies on 
base pkgs (from -devel ones) but these often aren't enough to ensure 
things "just work".  This falls under the "except when ... necessary" 
section of the Explict_Requires guideline, imo.

-- Rex