You are not logged in.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
#1 2011-03-06 18:25:46
- schmoemi
- Member
- From: Gersthofen, BY, Germany
- Registered: 2004-10-17
- Posts: 51
- Website
minimum/maximum versions in depends=()
The PKGBUILD manpage mentions the possibility of adding additional version information to dependencies, e.g. minimum versions:
depends (array)
An array of packages that this package depends on to run. Packages in this list should be surrounded with single quotes and contain at least the package name. Entries can also include a version requirement of the form name<>version, where <> is one of five comparisons: >= (greater than or equal to), <= (less than or equal to), = (equal to), > (greater than), or < (less than).
Unfortunately, the Package Guidelines are completely silent whether that information should be included - if known - or not.
Assuming that a common Arch Linux system always has the latest & newest package versions installed providing minimum version dependencies is not needed. Furthermore AUR wrappers seem to have problems to handle that.
On the other hand users can hold package versions for their particular reasons and stick with old ones, plus it is explicitly in the PKGBUILD spec that this additional information can/may be specified. Which means, wrappers should learn to handle it?
So, how should the guideline be here? Leave out additional version information unless it is inevitable, assuming that a system & its packages are all up to date? Or add the data whenever knowing it which would provide additional debug information if a package won't work, maybe...
And maybe the conclusion should be added to the package guidelines.
I'm looking forward to an interesting discusion....
The time when Microsoft starts making something that doesn't suck will be when they start making vacuum cleaners.
Offline
#2 2011-03-06 19:43:27
Offline
#3 2011-03-06 23:06:03
- schmoemi
- Member
- From: Gersthofen, BY, Germany
- Registered: 2004-10-17
- Posts: 51
- Website
Re: minimum/maximum versions in depends=()
It's customary to avoid versioning dependencies unless necessary.
Maybe a word or two on that in the Packaging Standards wouldn't do damage, would it?
If a wrapper doesn't handle it properly, its a bug with the tool, not your PKGBUILD.
I just got that comment on AUR
And you really should remove the version numbers in the depends array. This can lead to massive problems when updating the system with AUR wrappers like yaourt or clyde.
and I must admit that I wasn't aware of that as I never used these tools...
Last edited by schmoemi (2011-03-06 23:27:02)
The time when Microsoft starts making something that doesn't suck will be when they start making vacuum cleaners.
Offline