Hello Pirate, On Mon 22 Jun 2020 at 12:58AM +0530, Pirate Praveen wrote:
> We usually use Provides instead of splitting when we can remove the Depends > on the interpreter. For example node-clipboard provides libjs-clipboard.js. > This works when the node package does not ship a user facing significant > executable. User facing executable as separate binary was recognized as a > valid reason by CTTE in the ruling I quoted in my first reply. > > In case of this particular package, katex binary also provide a command line > interface via katex command. So we cannot drop the depends on nodejs (rc bug, > nodejs is not an optional component but the interpreter needed to run the > katex program). Avoiding unnecessary dependency on interpreters was achieved > in all previous instances by removing the dependency on pure libraries. We > expect whichever user facing program depending on the library to set Depends > on the interpreter. For example gitlab depending on nodejs is enough for > node-clipboard to satisfy dependency on nodejs. In this case katex itself is > a user facing program not tied to nodejs development (it is used for maths > typesetting). So we cannot reasonably expect a user wanting to use katex will > have nodejs installed already. Would someone want to use libjs-katex without nodejs installed? > I thought the CTTE guideline on this specific case of user facing executable > was enough. They could have just asked for an explanation before rejecting. You should ensure it's visible in the source package, in README.{source,Debian} and/or d/changelog. -- Sean Whitton