+------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | On 2009-06-06 12:37:41, Shawn Walker wrote: | | Peter Tribble wrote: | >It's essential that the user be able to force an override of the | >dependency checking, | | No, it is not essential. | | There are numerous mechanisms already available to users to either | correct or deal with broken packages. | | Ultimately, it is not reasonable to expect a package management system | to be able to correctly manage broken packages. | | I believe that --force options are ultimate a cop-out; they fail to deal | with the real, underlying issues.
Dealing with the "real, underlying issues" is small consolation at 3AM (or worse, in the middle of your business day) when you are trying to fix a problem on a production system where a broken package has hosed a service, or the system itself. Ivory tower metholody means very little in the trenches. --force is not a cop-out; it is a tool, and a useful one at that, when you are under pressure to fix something. -- bda cyberpunk is dead. long live cyberpunk.
