Jeff Waugh wrote: > <quote who="Chipzz"> > > > You're probably right, but from a strict technological point of view > > there is no dependency. I think that's what the meta-packages are > > for, really. > > I don't think a "strict technological point of view" outweighs "do the > right thing" or "just works".
This whole thread was based on an expectation that "apt-get install gnome-session" would result in a full Gnome environment. There's no reason to expect this: gnome-session is just one small part of the Gnome desktop. The correct, supported way to install a Gnome environment under Debian is with a task or meta-package. Should gnome-panel also require a window manager? What about gedit or gpdf? Why is gnome-session any different? Yes, most users will want to install a window manager to use with gnome-session -- but that's true of all X11 software. There are valid reasons we don't have every X client package depend on a window manager. It's not uncommon for a window manager to be running on a thin terminal while the other X clients run on a central server, and Debian supports this setup. Right now, gnome-session "just works" in the same sense that gnome-panel or mozilla-browser "just works": it installs the required software, and nothing more. Users who want mozilla-browser plus an X server/desktop enviroment will use tasks or meta-packages. (Anyways, just depending on a window manager wouldn't be enough to make things work according to the original poster's expectations; we would also need to depend on most of the gnome-core packages.)
