open-vm-source should recommend installation of packages needed for modules compilation

[lucatrv]

Binary package hint: open-vm-source

module-assistant cannot compile open-vm-source unless all the required development packages needed for compilation are installed.
The full list of needed packages is reported in:
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/intrepid/+source/open-vm-tools
I think all these needed packages should be recommended by open-vm-source (in fact, the installation of open-vm-source without those packages is nearly useless).

Since open-vm-source already depends on bzip2, debhelper, and dpatch, here is the list of packages which should be added in open-vm-source as "recommended":
    * autotools-dev
    * libdumbnet-dev
    * libgtk2.0-dev
    * libicu-dev
    * libpam0g-dev
    * libproc-dev
    * liburiparser-dev
    * libx11-dev
    * libxinerama-dev
    * libxss-dev
    * libxtst-dev

[Adar Dembo (adar-deactivatedaccount)]

Why are all of those packages required for compilation? Isn't open-vm-source the source package for the kernel modules only? None of the -dev packages you've mentioned are needed for compiling the open-vm-tools kernel modules.

[lucatrv (lucatrv)]

Sorry, it was my mistake. I had problems compiling the open-vm modules, so I tried many solutions and I also installed those -dev packages following this article:
http://www.debianadmin.com/install-open-vm-tools-on-debian-40-etch.html
I now understand that the only reason why I couldn't compile the modules is connected with bug #278711, while all those -dev packages are actually not needed to compile the modules. Applying the patch posted in bug #278711 solved my problems.
You can close/delete this bug.

[Nick Barcet (nijaba)]

Thanks for taking the time to report this bug. As per you last comment, I am marking this bug as invalid.