mtop will not install if mysql-server is not present, even though it does not list it in 'depends'

[Attila Csipa]

Binary package hint: mtop

Description: Ubuntu 8.04.1
Release: 8.04

mtop:
  Installed: 0.6.6-1.2

Depends: perl, debconf (>= 1.2.9) | debconf-2.0, libcurses-perl, libdbd-mysql-perl, libnet-perl, mysql-client
Recommends: mysql-server

However, the the install fails if mysql-server is NOT installed.

Setting up mtop (0.6.6-1.2) ...
ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2)
ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2)
dpkg: error processing mtop (--configure):
 subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1

Apparently it tries to connect to a local mysql server. This means that it should fail gracefully if no mysql server is present, which is a valid use-case scenario (mtopping a remote mysql server, for example).

[Alessio Treglia (quadrispro)]

Can you confirm this bug for Intrepid?

[Attila Csipa (achipa)]

Yes, mtop is the same version in Intrepid and behaves just the same.

[Alessio Treglia (quadrispro)]

In Intrepid, recommended packages will be installed by default, so I think it's unnecessary move mysql-server from Recommends to Depends.

That's a fix for Hardy.

[Luca Falavigna (dktrkranz)]

Package can't depend on mysql-server because great majority of systems don't have it by default. Using debconf or dbconfig-common to skip configuration phase if server is not available is a much better solution, but requires coordination with Debian maintainer.