[MIR] python-rlpycairo

[Lukas Märdian]

python-rlpycairo is a new dependency of python-reportlab (currently owned by Foundations).

The only consumer of python-reportlab is hplip (owned by Desktop), apparently it needs it for scanning: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=651240

$ reverse-depends src:python-reportlab -c main -r mantic
Reverse-Depends
===============
* hplip (for python3-reportlab)

Packages without architectures listed are reverse-dependencies in: amd64, arm64, armhf, ppc64el, s390x

src:hplip -> src:python-reportlab -> src:python-rlpycairo -> src:freetype-py & src:ttf-bitstream-vera

So from the above, it sounds like this new dependency is actually needed (after the reportlab package dropped its renderpm extension). It should be discussed between Foundations and Desktop who's owning those dependencies and doing the MIRs for python-rlpycairo, freetype-py and ttf-bitstream-vera

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Generally, python-reportlab is used only by HPLIP's utilities, not by the printer and scanner drivers by themselves.

It is used by hp-scan to convert image files of scanned pages into PDF files and by hp-sendfax to generate fax cover sheets.

Most users do not care as they use simple-scan or XSane for scanning. As HPLIP's scanner driver is a SANE driver all these frontends work, and probably also more reliable than HP's tool.

hp-sendfax is very really used, probably already because fax is only rarely used nowadays. at most places it got already completely replaced by other electronic communication means.

Also use of HPLIP at all is diminishing as modern HP printers and multi-function devices support driverless (IPP) printing and (eSCL) scanning.

hp-sendfax is in hplip-gui which is in Universe.

hp-scan is a command line tool but not necessarily needed, there is also scanimage of SANE, so one should check whether the binary package "hplip" is actually needed by sane-hpaio and/or printer-driver-hpcups and if not, demote it to Universe.

In addition, from Ubuntu 23.10 printing will be provided by the CUPS Snap and Printer Application Snaps, which makes printer-driver-hpcups not needed any more, and so also subject to be moved to Universe.

So for me it looks like that we can move most of HPLIP to Universe as practically only sane-hpaio is needed to support scanners (and sane-hpaio will also get removed in favor of Snaps in a later version of Ubuntu).

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

The binary package libsane-hpaio DOES NOT depend on the binary package hplip, not even indirectly, so the binary package hplip can get demoted to Universe.

the binary package printer-driver-hpcups also does not depend on the binary package hplip, but printer-driver-hpcups itself can already get demoted to Universe as we replace the printer drivers by Printer Application Snaps (this driver provided by the HPLIP Printer Application, hplip-printer-app).

So hp-scan as part of the binary package hplip will go to Universe, hp-sendfax as part of the binary package hplip-gui is already in Universe.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

So all python3-reportlab dependencies go to Universe ...

[Lukas Märdian (slyon)]

Ok, we're not doing the MIR then and waiting for the desktop team to demote the printing stack.

[Lukas Märdian (slyon)]

Looks like this situation got resolved and src:python-reportlab is not needed in "main" any longer. There are no reverse-dependency pulling it in.

$ reverse-depends src:python-reportlab -c main -r mantic
=> Nothing. Therefore, src:python-reportlab should be demoted to "universe"

This probably just needs a seed change:
$ seeded-in-ubuntu python-reportlab
python-reportlab-doc (from python-reportlab) is seeded in:
  kubuntu: supported
  lubuntu: supported
  ubuntu-mate: supported
  ubuntu: supported
  ubuntukylin: supported
  xubuntu: supported
python3-reportlab (from python-reportlab) is seeded in:
  kubuntu: supported
  lubuntu: daily-live
  ubuntu-mate: daily-live
  ubuntu-unity: daily-live
  ubuntukylin: daily-live
  xubuntu: daily-live, daily-minimal

Edit: I did that just now: https://git.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-core-dev/ubuntu-seeds/+git/ubuntu/commit/?id=ccf378c73f95792574c45cd75cd04e8bd787c3ae

[Lukas Märdian (slyon)]

python-reportlab can now be demoted in Mantic. Subscribing ~ubuntu-archive

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

python-reportlab has been demoted in mantic and mantic-proposed.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

The python-reportlab demotion happened because the deb-based cups stack had been demoted in favor of snaps. This has been reverted, so this needs to be addressed again.

[Lukas Märdian (slyon)]

Thanks Till, for the detailed analysis in comment #3!

IMO src:hplip should be adopted accordingly, to avoid those new MIR dependencies, as they don't seem to be necessary. Especially, as we're moving to a CUPS snap based stack eventually.

What do Desktop people think about that?

We might want to be a bit more selective in https://git.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-core-dev/ubuntu-seeds/+git/platform/tree/desktop-common#n69 instead of just seeding all of hplip.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

I believe the analysis in comment #3 was based on a scenario when we were switching the printing stack to snaps in mantic. This has been rolled back because GUI management of the snap stack is not possible. So hplip has been re-seeded, and needs to get re-promoted before mantic beta.

Which means we need to go through this MIR as normal.

Unfortunately despite python-reportlab being used only for an uncommon feature, dropping the dependency would make for bad UX when a user does need this feature (there's no code to tell the user they need to install python-reportlab, it'll just crash/fail).

Avoiding promoting this package to main would be fine, but for the moment we don't have a clear path for doing so.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

We unblocked adding back hplip to the ISO by demoting python3-reportlab to a suggest, it's not ideally but according to Till the fax utilities that need it aren't really used anymore, we will revisit if that's creating issues for users

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

As I said in comment #4

-----
The binary package libsane-hpaio DOES NOT depend on the binary package hplip, not even indirectly, so the binary package hplip can get demoted to Universe.

the binary package printer-driver-hpcups also does not depend on the binary package hplip, but printer-driver-hpcups itself can already get demoted to Universe as we replace the printer drivers by Printer Application Snaps (this driver provided by the HPLIP Printer Application, hplip-printer-app).

So hp-scan as part of the binary package hplip will go to Universe, hp-sendfax as part of the binary package hplip-gui is already in Universe.
-----

Now, keeping CUPS as DEB packages for the time being, we continue with libsane-hpaio and printer-driver-hpcups in Main, but we can demote the binary package hplip into Universe, so the dependency on python-reportlab goes completely into Universe, eliminating the need of this MIR at least from the printing-stack side.