Casper.Dik at Sun.COM writes: > I don't think that is actually correct at this time; when packages are > large and you want a package for feature "A" but it's feature "B" > which requires a particular dependency, then requiring a particular > dependency is wrong.
Yep. That kind of conditional dependency (where configuration or usage pattern dictates whether the "dependency" is actually in effect) affects other parts of Solaris, such as SMF. It's a hard problem to solve, as the dependency systems are all based on design and architecture, and not based on usage. Personally, though, I'd much prefer to have a system that's always correct and supportable rather than one that is "tweakable" in weird cases unimagined (and untested) by the original developers. I had the latter when I was running Debian and using 'apt', and it was just a nightmare to maintain. The "gee whiz" part wears off when you're up at 3AM trying to figure out which version-locked package is causing sendmail to dump core. -- James Carlson, Solaris Networking <james.d.carlson at sun.com> Sun Microsystems / 35 Network Drive 71.232W Vox +1 781 442 2084 MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757 42.496N Fax +1 781 442 1677
