Bug#752797: libconfig-model-perl: Should split library from command

[Jonas Smedegaard]

Quoting Felipe Sateler (2014-07-01 15:24:52)
> On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 7:37 AM, Dominique Dumont <dod at debian.org> wrote:
>> On Thursday 26 June 2014 13:00:52 you wrote:
>>> The lib*-perl namespace is (or at least should be) for perl 
>>> libraries, not for end user binaries.
>>>
>>> The cme command should live in its own package,
>>
>> Err, why ? What is the problem you're trying to solve ?
>
> The problem is that as an end user I couldn't care less that the 
> command I use (cme) is written in perl, or it has a public module 
> associated with it. In my particular case, I have limited space, so I 
> regularly crawl the lib* namespace to remove unused stuff (mostly by 
> marking as automatic). This package is confusing because despite the 
> name, it contains a binary that I do want.
>
>>
>> Some people will argue that a new binary package will be created for 
>> a small script.

Script is small, but the dependencies it pulls in which is tied to the 
tool not the library also counts: The library is usable without Tk or 
FUSE or bash-completion.


>>> and it should Recommend all the parser modules 
>>> (libconfig-model-*-perl), as cme is quite useless without specific 
>>> parser modules.
>>
>> Parser modules are targeted for specific applications and are useless 
>> without this specific application. For instance 
>> libconfig-model-lcdproc is useless without lcdproc. Currently, 
>> libconfig-model-perl suggests libconfig-model-dpkg-perl, 
>> libconfig-model-openssh-perl .
>
> Which is why they should be Recommends and not Depends.

I agree: Libraries generally should neither depend nor recommend 
binaries or daemons, only (if at all) suggest them.

Also, libconfig-model-*-perl (those implementing specific models) should 
not even suggest tool packages, but instead enhance them: As I 
understand these libraries, they do not interact with the tools, but 
enhance them by offering methods to interact with their configfiles.

The cme tool, packaged separately, should then recommend model libraries 
and suggest the tools those models relate to.


 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

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