[Pkg-virtualbox-devel] Bug#527140: virtualbox-ose-qt: Strange package relationships with virtualbox-ose

[Frans Pop]

On Tuesday 05 May 2009, Frans Pop wrote:
> I decided to try out the qt interface for the first time. While
> installing it I noticed some things in the package that
> surprised/confused me.

Hmm. I now see where my confusion comes from. The QT interface isn't new 
(of course it isn't).

The change IIUC is that virtualbox-ose is now a package without graphical 
frontend while the graphical frontend is provided by the -qt package. In 
itself that makes a lot of sense, but I wonder if this isn't going to 
cause major confusion with users upgrading from an older virtualbox-ose 
version.

It's only by chance that I installed the -qt package at the same time as 
upgrading the base package. If I hadn't, I would suddenly have lost the
"virtualbox" command and the frontend. Without any warning at all!

IMO the upgrade path should be cleaner. For Squeeze I'd suggest renaming 
the new virtualbox-ose to virtualbox-ose-nox ("no X.Org" [1]), and either 
rename virtualbox-ose-qt back to virtualbox-ose or create a new dummy 
package virtualbox-ose that depends on virtualbox-ose-qt.

IMO the first option makes most sense as most users will expect the 
graphical frontend when they install "virtualbox-ose". (If alternative 
graphical frontends are expected, keeping the name virtualbox-ose-qt 
would make sense).

If you choose the second option, you would then have the option for 
Squeeze + 1 of dropping the dummy package. And possibly rename 
virtualbox-ose-nox to virtualbox-ose.

Note that the comments in my original report are still valid.

Cheers,
FJP

[1] Note that for example vlc also uses that naming convention.