Bug#976868: libelogind-dev: does not provide libsystemd-dev

[Mark Hindley]

Control: tags -1 wontfix

Maxim,

Thanks for this.

On Tue, Dec 08, 2020 at 08:00:53PM +0000, Maxim Chintalov wrote:
> Package: libelogind-dev
> Version: 243.7-1+debian1
> Severity: normal
> X-Debbugs-Cc: maximchintalov at mail.ru
> 
> Dear Maintainer,
> 
> I am attempting to install libgnome-desktop-3-dev, which has a dependency on
> libsystemd-dev, but it ended in APT error. Although libelogind0 provides
> libsystemd0, libelogind-dev is not providing libsystemd-dev.

As Thorsten has already suggested, this is by design. Debian packages are only
built against libsystemd-dev. The libelogind0/libsystemd0 compatibility is a
*runtime* option, not compile-time. We don't even know (and can't test) if all
of the source packages depending on libsystemd-dev will compile against
libelogind-dev.

> Please add Provides: libsystemd-dev to control.

This would be both unwise and counter-productive. Having libelogind0 provide
libsystemd0 was a very controversial move and getting it accepted into Bullseye
a hard won victory. I am very reluctant to do anything that might jeopardise
that.

If you have an libelogind0 system and need to compile against libsystemd-dev,
please use one of the various build chroots or containers. This requirement is
already documented in libelogind0's README.Debian.

I propose to tag this wontfix, but leave it open to document the issue.

I hope that is acceptable.

Best wishes

Mark