Re: [Pkg-octave-devel] mkoctfile not installed in Wheezy

[Dimitri Maziuk]

On 12/1/2012 9:07 AM, Ben Abbott wrote:
> On Dec 1, 2012, at 8:50 AM, Juan Pablo Carbajal wrote:
>
> > On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 4:42 PM, Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso <address@hidden> wrote:
> >
> > > On 30 November 2012 10:40, Dimitri Maziuk <address@hidden> wrote:
> > >
> > > > On 11/30/2012 9:32 AM, Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso wrote:
> > > > > On 30 November 2012 09:16, JuanPi <address@hidden> wrote:
> > > > > > I am testing octave in Wheezy and after installing from the pkg
> > > > > > manager mkoctfile is not in my system.
> > > > >
> > > > > It's in the liboctave-dev package. Normally mkoctfile shouldn't be
> > > > > necessary unless you're doing, well, -dev things.
> > > >
> > > > Is "pkg install" a "-dev" thing?
> > >
> > > For Debian it is. Debian users should use "aptitude install
> > > octave-foo", not "pkg install foo". The Debian packagers work very
> > > hard to make sure the versions of the OF packages that they package
> > > work with the corresponding Octave version.
> > >
> > > - Jordi G. H.
> >
> > Answering the question would be useful, cause ther eis a lot of effort
> > put in making pkg.m more user friendly.
> >
> > Is "pkg install" a dev thing?
> >
> > If it is then Carnë's and others work has to be revised under this
> > new, not mentioned before, detail.
>
> My understanding is that if files need to be compiled, then it is a
dev thing. Because include files and development tools are required?

I ditched debian close to a decade ago so I can't comment on their 
current policy. In RH-land the idea is *-devel rpm is for building stuff 
*with* foo (i.e. it contains static libs, include files, etc.), stuff 
for building packages *for* foo is a separate rpm. E.g. php-pecl, 
perl-cpan, php-pear.

Of course when the package has to be compiled it needs gcc and a whole 
ton of *-devel rpms anyway and ideally you'd want all packages packaged 
into rpm by distro vendor... and you can get back to me when we live in 
the ideal world, are running gnu hurd, and all software is Free as in 
From Bugs. In the meantime I think the principle of least surprise 
suggests having an 'octave-forge' rpm/deb that contains mkoctfile and is 
required to 'pkg install'.

Dima