Julio Merino wrote:
Having binary packages that install different sets of files could be extremely confusing, specially for dependency tracking. The linux way is much more clear in this regard.
I was thinking that maybe the cut down version of the package could be automatically given a different name. I'm well aware that if I got my co-workers to use a packaging system that had two packages with the same name that installed different files, they might axe murder me. ;-)
Nothing prevents us from having several small packages built from a single package source, i.e. thepkg-lib, thepkg-devel, etc, and then have a thepkg meta-package that installs everything. That should address your complain of "having to install separate -devel packages to do something useful". And having this feature in pkgsrc (building several packages out of a single one) could be useful on its own.
That's quite a good idea. More complication that mine, but more useful. Many of the database packages come in client/server pairs that (potentially) build the same software twice.
Cheers, Lloyd