[wpkg-users] Package Dependancy

[Rainer Meier]

Hi Simon,

simplesi wrote:
> :)
> 
> I know dependancy came in a few years ago:)
> 
> I meant when did the old method of dependancy (e.g a package must already be
> installed for another package to be attempted to be installed) change to the
> new model?

Dependencies have never been replaced by indludes or chains. Actually chained
packages have been requested by somebody on the mailing list (I think there is a
bugzilla entry for it as well, I am too lazy to search now at this hour...).
Actually I have never been a friend of chained installations. Chained
installations just mean that a chained package is installed _immediately after_
installing the package which chains the package.

So for example if package A chains package B then package A is installed first
and immediately after package B is installed. However if package B is already
installed (e.g. assigned to profile with higher priority, or already on the
system) package B might still be installed before package A.

Personally I prefer to specify that A is a dependency for B and then either
assign A and B or just B to the profile which will assure that package A is
installed first (since B depends on it).

However there are small differences and special cases where chained packages are
slightly different than dependencies.

Includes is again something slightly different. An included package is simply
added to the package list exactly as it would if you add it to the profile. It
does not assure any order of installation unless you enforce order by using
priorities. For me dependencies and includes would have done the job in all
cases known to me but somehow I was "convinced" that chained packages is worth
to be implemented too. So there it is.

Again, I strongly suggest to work with clear dependencies instead of chains and
includes. So the dependency mechanism is by no means replaced by any new
functionality.

br,
Rainer