> > for some, I need rather complex text processing. Since perl isn't > > essential, writing the script in perl would make the package depend on > > perl while this is unnecessary for normal operation. Would this be > > acceptable or should I find a better solution? > > > > If you use debconf you are using perl (-: of course awk is your friend and > mine. >
It is likely that Randolph Chung's cdebconf http://packages.debian.org/testing/utils/cdebconf.html will be a complete and compatible alternative to the perl version in the future. In that case it would be that fact that perl-base is 'priority required' that allows you to avoid a dependancy on perl rather than the fact that you are using debconf. There has been discussion of making perl not required, but it remains to be seen if that will happen. David