[php-maint] Bug#870746: php7.1-dev: Please don't recommend dh-php

[Jeremy Bicha]

Package: php7.1-dev
Version: 7.1.8-1
Severity: wishlist

Ubuntu carries one change compared to Debian's php. Ubuntu has lowered
php-dev's recommends on dh-php to a suggests. This is because dh-php
depends on xml2 which is in universe but php-dev is in main.

It feels to me like Recommends is too strong based on my
interpretation of the Debian Policy 7.2 definition:
"The Recommends field should list packages that would be found
together with this one in all but unusual installations. "
https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-relationships.html#s-binarydeps

I think it's quite possible for someone to want to have the PHP
development libraries installed without necessarily wanting to build a
Debian PHP package.

I think it's also fairly unusual in Debian. Installing the Qt
libraries doesn't install pkg-kde-tools and installing libperl-dev
won't install pkg-perl-tools.

Therefore, please consider lowering the recommends to a suggests or
maybe even dropping it completely.

Thanks,
Jeremy Bicha