Re: add libssh.pc for pkg-config?

[Vic Lee <llyzs@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Bernhard,

Oh yes, you are right, only the libssh-dev packages conflicts between
versions. But going back to the original libssh.pc discussion: the .pc
file should be in libssh-dev package -- meaning libssh.pc file is not a
problem for packaging in Debian/Ubuntu.

Thanks,

Vic

On Fri, 2009-10-30 at 14:29 +0100, Bernhard R. Link wrote:
> * Vic Lee <llyzs@xxxxxxx> [091030 13:51]:
> > Yes I agree it's easier to link with -lssh, but it won't be that easy to
> > check if the version is >= 0.4. For example, currently I can do this by
> > checking a new API only in 0.4 like this:
> >
> > AC_CHECK_LIB(ssh, ssh_option_set, [echo you have 0.4], [echo you have
> > old version of you don't have libssh at all])
> >
> > with libssh.pc I can simply say:
> >
> > PKG_CHECK_MODULES(SSH, libssh >= 0.4)
> 
> The autoconf ideology is "test what you need instead on where you are",
> which here would extend to "do not check the version but if the
> functions you want to use are there".
> There are arguments for both sides with versions. From my experience I
> vastly prefer checking for the newest function you use. Otherwise one
> always have tests that still pass while the library changed so much it
> no longer works or checks failing while it would totally work with the
> currently installed library.
> 
> > So this is really the point. But I also agree this could be a packing
> > issue. But as Bernhard said in the previous email, we should really
> > consider to keep *at least* source compatibility for future version,
> > since 0.4. Of course binary compatibility is even better, but I think
> > people can live without it. :)
> 
> >From what I read on irc, I was under the impression, 0.5 was supposed to
> be the one starting a stable API. When this starts is not that much
> important, as long as there will be a mostly stable API someday and that
> day is soon enough that there are not any large legacy projects using it
> where noone is volunteering to port them to the new version.
> 
> > By the way, I am using both Debian and Ubuntu, and the libssh-3 package
> > simply conflict and replace libssh-2 in their repository. I bet they
> > will do the same thing when packaging libssh 0.4 - conflict+replace 2&3.
> 
> Ahem, libssh-2 and libssh-3 do not conflict. libssh-2-dev and the new
> libssh-dev conflict. The library packages itself are coninstallable
> (though as coming from the same source, no distribution will contain
> both, but the user can still have both installed (and usually will at
> least during an upgrade between distributions)).
> 
> Hochachtungsvoll,
> 	Bernhard R. Link