For example, auctex has "Depends: emacs23 | emacs24 | emacs-snapshot" -- I believe precisely to *support* users who want to be able to use emacs- snapshot instead of one of the regular emacsen, but without forcing anyone to give up the version they already have. This dependency is resolved when one of the packages is installed.
The metapackage "emacsen" exists precisely so that a package can pull in an Emacs-agnostic version, but perhaps it should be somewhat more fine- grained. A typical pattern is "Depends: emacs23 | emacsen" but then this is insufficient for packages which require specifically GNU Emacs, not e.g. xemacs21, which also "Provides: emacsen". Nevertheless, I think autex (too) should perhaps fall back to "| emacsen" so that anyone can sastisfy the dependency with a package which "Provides: emacsen" instead. (Maybe add "Conflicts: xemacs21" if that is an issue, but then that is too harsh on systems where you want both GNU Emacs and Xemacs.) I have not looked further into this matter than the single example of auctex (I'm not an auctex user, it just happened to be first on the list), but I believe it is perhaps less severe than indicated in the original bug report. Nevertheless, I have checked "Affects me too" because I certainly agree that this merits additional triage, and perhaps escalation upstream (i.e. to Debian). (Matters may be complicated somewhat by the fact that Ubuntu used to have an independently packaged Emacs, but IIRC that was back when it was emacs22. Furthermore, the sad state of xemacs21 at least in Ubuntu is a huge can of worms.) -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to emacs23 in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1199199 Title: emacs dependency inhibits using latest version Status in “emacs23” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: Several emacs-related packages (list attached) depend on "emacs- snapshot". There is no longer any such package! The packages alternately depend on meta-package "emacs", but that claims to pull in the recommended emacs, today emacs23. I want to have only emacs24, but I don't want to give up on all the add-ons; "mmm-mode" is a very useful. But, having two versions of emacs (23 and 24) is not only wasteful, but also a potential source of trouble -- having two potential targets for an "info" request, for example. So, I Not-So-Humbly recommend the following. Rename the package that pulls in the recommended version "emacs-default". [ Or some other similar name ] KEEP "emacs" as a virtual package name. Have "emacs23-nox", "emacs23-lucid", ... PROVIDES "emacs23", and "emacs23" PROVIDES "emacs". Likewise "emacs24-nox", "emacs24-whatever" PROVIDES "emacs24", and "emacs24" PROVIDES "emacs". Then, have the add-ons like "mmm-mode" DEPENDS ON "emacs" if they are version-agnostic, or -- as is done for Python (e.g.) -- DEPENDS ON "emacs >=23.1" AND "emacs <24". To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/emacs23/+bug/1199199/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
