Re: Where is the dependency checker ?

[srivasta@datasync.com]

[question about adding and deleting packages from lists easily]
Hi,

	Currently the pkg-order package works by reading in a "New" or
 "to-be-installed" packages Packages file. One can also supply a
 string containing the output of dpkg --info or dpkg -s (the base
 method is there in the library, I haven't written anything that
 interfaces with dpkg and a file name like that). In fact the test
 method supplies a made up package info strng to add a package for a
 test. So adding packages is easy.

	The package list is a associative array; you don't like a
 package, you can delete it, mark it as on hold, mark it as
 failed-dependency, mark it as filed-conflict, or just plain delete
 it. 

	Or, if you set an option/variable, the library may dynamically
 ignore packages that fail the dependency/conflict check.

	I use the packages file as a facilitatot for the top level of
 my application, the library adds a package at a time.

	The idea is to have a number of lists of packages (I just used
 the installed packages from /var/lib/dpkg/status for my application)
 in addition to the new packages list, and we test dependency/ordering
 graphs aginst each list in turn, (or all of them at once, if you
 wish), each pass marking packages n the new list.

	Finally, one could just run the ordering pass on the packages
 that survive (you could do this in one fell swoop, if you wish, as
 well, as the code is written).

	I have to formalize the sequence of runs in my application
 (which may impact the low level library, but not by much). I may also
 push some routines into the base libraries so that others may use
 them too. 

	Any comments are welcome.

		manoj

-- 
 "The best index to a person's character is a) how he treats people
 who can't do him any good and b) how he treats people who can't fight
 back." Abigail Van Buren
Manoj Srivastava               <url:mailto:srivasta@acm.org>
Mobile, Alabama USA            <url:http://www.datasync.com/%7Esrivasta/>


--
TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to
debian-devel-REQUEST@lists.debian.org . Trouble? e-mail to Bruce@Pixar.com