[Pkg-octave-devel] Bug#496699: octave 3.0 needs libpq-dev to be included in dependencies.

[Thomas Weber]

Hi Gerard, 

can you please switch to a mailer that doesn't scratch newlines? You can
look at how your bug report looks at 
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=496699

I have edited your report below for readability, but actually I would
prefer if you send it again with a readable format, because I got tired
editing several pages of text.

On Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 09:48:31PM +0200, Gerard ODonnell wrote:
> Package: octave3.0 
> Version: 3.0.2
> Severity: important
> Subject: octave3.0: libpq-dev needs to be included in dependencies.
> Package: octave3.0
> Version: 3.0.2
> Severity: important
> 
> Please type your report below this line ***
> Octave 3.0 itself builds fine from apt-get, but I was trying to add
> the 'database' package, and ran into some issues trying to talk to
> postgresql databases. All other databases supported by this package are
> OK.  
>
> Talking to the database package creator:> I installed your kit,
> and can talk to sqlite3 and mysql OK, but when I> type in 'postgres',
> I don't receive a definition. Any ideas why?
> Does postgres.oct get built? If not, can you send your configure log?
> If yes, is it in your path when you run postgres?
> Xavier
>
> THEN:> So I found the problem:>
> You do a pkg install database-1.0.1.tar.gz -verbose and you get:
> checking postgresql/libpq-fe.h usability... no 
> checking> postgresql/libpq-fe.h presence... no 
> checking for> postgresql/libpq-fe.h... no 
> checking mysql/mysql.h usability... yes
> checking mysql/mysql.h presence... yes 

> so look around for libpq-fe.h:>
> sz-ud017:/usr/include# apt-file search libpq-fe.h
> libpq-dev: /usr/include/postgresql/libpq-fe.h
> sz-ud017:/usr/include
> # apt-get install libpq-dev 
> Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information...> Done The following extra packages will be installed:>  libssl-dev> Suggested packages:>  postgresql-doc-8.3> The following NEW packages will be installed:>  libpq-dev libssl-dev> 0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
> >  libpq-dev libssl-dev> 0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove
> >  and 0 not upgraded.> Need to get 2519kB of archives.> After this
> >  operation, 6701kB of additional disk space will be used.>> And then
> >  an install gives:> checking postgresql/libpq-fe.h usability... yes
> >  checking> postgresql/libpq-fe.h presence... yes checking for>
> >  postgresql/libpq-fe.h... yes checking mysql/mysql.h usability...
> >  yes> checking mysql/mysql.h presence... yes>> and now I can talk to
> >  a Postgres DB.>> libpq-dev is not installed by default however on
> >  an install of "postgresql"> with debian. Would it be worth putting
> >  a note in SF to this effect?
> Okay, I'll add some notes about installing required packages to the
> README.
> Would you still file a bug against the debian database package? since
> I think them not building the postgres.oct binary is wrong (the build
> machine didn't have libpq-devinstalled, or similar), and it is the
> method many/most users will use.  Thanks!
> Xavier
> ***************************************

> I rated this as 'important' because most people wanting to install
> octave I image would want to talk to a database, and this would be
> their normal method ofinstallation.

> This package might be needed for octave3.0-headers instead rather than
> octave3.0, but I'll leave that up to someone else to decide.

So, to be clear: there's not a single line of code in Octave that
requires Postgresql, MySQL, Sqlite or whatever database; yet you guys
expect us to add a dependency on these packages because one of the 50
packages in octave-forge requires the headers?

Not in a thousand years, sorry. Octave already has a truckload of
(needed!) depedencies. 

If you want to create bindings to a database, installing the databases
header files is what you must do. Look at Octaviz: if you want to
compile it, you need VTK; there's no mention of VTK in Octave's
dependency list.

By the way, the reason there's no octave-database package in Debian is
that we can't build it:

amd64, Octave 3.0.1, package just downloaded
sqlite3_wrap.cpp: In function ‘octave_value_list _wrap_sqlite3_vmprintf(const octave_value_list&, int)’:
sqlite3_wrap.cpp:2930: error: invalid array assignment make: *** [sqlite3.oct] Fehler 1

Earlier:
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_name=20080521070015.GC22437%40localhost

The MySQL header additionally poses a license problem:
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_name=20080616052002.GA3582%40bully.num.umi-sb.de

	Thomas