[dput-ng-maint] Bug#864354: Please remove Recommends on bash-completion

[Ian Jackson]

Package: dput-ng
Version: 1.13

I wrote in the debian-devel Recommends bunfight:

> Paul Wise writes ("Re: Too many Recommends (in particular on mail-transport-agent)"):
> > I definitely would not want to run a Debian system that didn't have
> > bash-completion installed. Being able to tab complete command-line
> > arguments and apt package names are two examples of invaluable
> > features this package provides.
> 
> I recognise that many feel that way; personally I hate bash-completion
> and turn it off.  But that's beside the point.
> 
> Whether installing bash-completion is a good idea on a particular
> system depends on the opinions and tastes (and finger macros) of its
> administrators and users.  It does not depend on whether dput-ng or
> licensecheck are installed.  So there the dput-ng and licensecheck
> Recommends are silly.
> 
> And they cause actual lossage: bash-completion is installed by
> default, so if it is not installed that's because the administrator
> wanted it that way.  Trying to install dput-ng or licensecheck should
> not pull in bash-completion as a side-effect.
> 
> The Recommends from bash is just the way that it gets installed by
> default.  I think it would be better for it to be in tasksel.  A very
> minimal machine (with no tasks, or some very minimal task) will work
> fine with bash but without bash-completion.
> 
> AFAICT none of these three have been filed as a bug yet so I will do
> that right away for dput-ng and licensecheck.
> 
> I guess for bash, the right answer would be to file bugs against
> tasksel and bash, and block the bash bug with the tasksel bug ?
> 
> FAOD I am not trying to change the usual default from `with
> bash-completion' to `without bash-completion'.  I'm just trying to
> arrange that it's slightly easier not to have bash-completion if you
> want to, and that it doesn't come back unexpectedly if you deinstall
> it.

So, I hope you will agree that it is right to drop this Recommends.
Thanks.

Ian.