On Sat, Apr 14, 2018 at 03:40:14PM +0930, David Newall wrote: > Is it truly intended that openssh-server version X only works with the same > version openssh-client? The package dependency listed as such seems bogus. > I go so far as to claim that there's no reason why installing the server > requires any client to be installed. Am I wrong? This is a bug.
It's not completely perfect, but it saves on creating an openssh-common package for the functionality shared by both (e.g. /etc/ssh/moduli, /usr/bin/ssh-keygen, common documentation). Extra binary packages constitute a small incremental cost for all Debian users (in terms of added Packages file size, etc.); depending on openssh-client is a small cost for the minority of users who need the server and specifically care about not having the client. And it means I don't have to worry about odd edge cases like the status of /usr/bin/scp (which needs /usr/bin/ssh to function as a client, but is also required on a server that you want to scp to/from). I chose this trade-off when I split the client and server into separate packages, and reviewing it 14 years later I'm still OK with it. -- Colin Watson [[email protected]]
