[Pkg-octave-devel] Bug#742503: octave 3.8.1 requires java

[Mike Miller]

Control: found -1 3.8.1-1
Control: notfound -1 3.6.4-4+b2
Control: severity -1 wishlist
Control: tags -1 + moreinfo

On Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 14:30:30 +0000, Leo Butler wrote:
> Since Octave introduced its java-dependent gui (congrats) in v3.8.1, I
> have been unable/unwilling to upgrade. I believe that these graphical
> dependencies should be downgraded to *recommended* and/or a separate
> octave-nox package--which installs only a terminal version of
> octave--be provided.

Thanks for your bug report and feedback on octave packaging. The
request for an octave-nox package is already reported as #741097, you
might want to read the discussion and comment there. But actually the
addition of a dependency on java has nothing to do with the GUI.

The java dependency is to allow the Octave interpreter to run an
embedded JVM and interface with java libraries from the interpreter.
This essentially merges the functionality of the former octave-java
add-on package into octave itself. This is a feature which makes the
Octave runtime environment more compatible with Matlab. A hypothetical
octave-nox terminal-mode package would likely still be dependent on
java.

Can you clarify whether your primary concern is having an Octave
package that does not have the libraries needed for a GUI which you
find unnecessary, or is it the inclusion of java for whatever reason?

-- 
mike