Subject: Re: packages using ncurses
To: Jeremy C. Reed <reed@reedmedia.net>
From: Frederick Bruckman <fredb@immanent.net>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 02/20/2003 12:05:16
On Thu, 20 Feb 2003, Jeremy C. Reed wrote:

> On Thu, 20 Feb 2003, Julio Merino wrote:
>
> Many packages are built using some type of curses, but don't even use that
> ncurses/buildlink2.mk (so nothing is ever registered as DEPENDS).
>
> So then when that package is installed on another box, it won't have any
> requirement for any curses (only ncurses in pkgsrc right now) -- and
> possibly may not run (if the [n]curses is not installed).
>
> (Which is like gtexinfo not being registered as a DEPENDS for some
> packages -- even thought install-info is clearly used in the
> installation.)

IMO, these things should go into the bootstrap kit for the OS. (So...
now we need a portable NetBSD curses?) Same thing for openssl. There's
no way we're going to be able to spot dependencies on things in our
base system, and the chief advantage to having such things in our base
system is that we don't then have to track dependencies.

Frederick