Bug#794290: systemd: missing pkgconfig files from libsystemd-dev

[Benjamin Jacobs]

Package: systemd
Version: 223-2
Severity: normal

Dear maintainers,

I would like to point to your attention the following matter, as it
seems to me, after glancing at the debian/changelog, that you are not
aware of it.

The libsystemd-journal-dev has been retired from packaging of version
223.  While it was marked as a "transitional" package, it still
contained the important pkgconfig file which allows one to easily
compile against the new libsystemd while using the old
"libsystemd-journal" compatibility aliased library name.

I believe the situation for libsystemd-login-dev and
libsystemd-daemon-dev is the same as it was for libsystemd-journal-dev
prior to this update. That is: they contain a .pc config file while
beeing marked as a transitional package.

To add to the matter, libsystemd-journal-dev version 222 can currently
be co-installed with the libsystemd-dev version 223, which renders the
former unusable as the former's .pc file has a hard dependency on
libsystemd version 222. That would suggest to me that maybe a
"conflicting with libsystemd-journal-dev <=222" instead of <=208 would
be preferable in the control field of libsystemd-dev ? FWIW v215 is
in stable (though I must confess that I'm not too familiar with
Debian's policy to have precise opinion on that point)

Nonetheless I would expect that debian continue to ships those
pkgconfig at least as long as upstream continue to ship them, and even
longer could the API compatibility be assured -- but that is only my
opinion.

Either way it would be nice to document those kind of retirement in
the debian/changelog and to propose therein a path of update (that is:
to use libsystemd instead libsystemd-journal/daemon/etc. in the
pkg-config command invocation).  (It would even be better to add a
warning to the transitional pkg-config invocation but it seems that
this tools doesn't support it...)

To summarize, I'd suggest the following resolution:
 - provide journal's .pc file in libsystemd-dev
 - move the other libsystemd-XXX-dev .pc files in libsystemd-dev
 - add a note to the debian changelog to advise on migrating away from
   old pkgconfg names.

Thanks !