kwin-dev package needed (kdebase-dev split)

[Bogdan Butnaru]

Binary package hint: kdebase-dev

Hello! This is about up-to-date Ubuntu Gutsy.

Please take a look at bug #160953. Compiz' build-deps include the kwin headers (for the kde window decorator); unfortunately the only way to get those is to depend on kdebase-dev.

This is unpleasant for people who are not using KDE at all (eg, me), because for some reason kdebase-dev also installs (directly or indirectly) konqueror, konsole, kdeprint, kicker, klipper, poster, libvorbis, and a few other things that are irrelevant for Compiz. Installing all these uses up space and can also take lots of time during updates, which is useless for someone who just wants to work on Compiz itself.

It is possible to manually remove the superfluous packages (Compiz can be compiled without KDE support), but it's very inconvenient; especially for someone who is not very familiar with KDE it's difficult to identify which ones are useful and which aren't.

To fix the other bug it is enough to just create a separate kwin-dev package and make kdebase-dev depend on it. Compiz can switch then to the much more compact build-dep.

On the other hand, are konqueror, kate and kicker really necessary dependencies for kdebase-dev? I would expect that just for "compile[ing] software based on the KDE base module" (as is the package's description) much less would be needed. Someone who actually wants those programs can just install kdebase directly.

[Bogdan Butnaru (bogdanb)]

The attached patch moves the KWin headers out of the kdebase-dev package into the new kwin-dev package. kdebase-dev depends on the new package.

This is needed by, e.g., Compiz, which depends on the KWin headers but does not need the rest of kdebase-dev's (huge) dependencies, like konqueror.

[Jonathan Riddell (jr)]

This is unnecessary derivation from Debian.

[Daniel Hahler (blueyed)]

Bogdan, I think it's a good idea, so please forward the bug (and patch) to Debian. This way it would get into Ubuntu, too.
Please link the Debian bug here then. Thank you!

[Bogdan Butnaru (bogdanb)]

I _think_ I just did that, but the weird mail-based Debian tracking system left baffled... I can't see the bug report anywhere, I suppose it would take a while to become visible. It was sent from <email address hidden> with the subject “kdebase: kwin-dev package needed”. If I find it later I'll link it here.