Please provide meta package to install boinc-client and boinc-manager (boinc-manager confuses new users)

Perhaps a 4th possible solution is a metapackage BOINC that installs both of them?

Thanks gQuigs, that's an even better idea!

The client shouldn't depend on the manager. It can be run on headless machines.

The manager shouldn't depend on the client, for the same reason X apps depend on X libraries but not on an X server: it's an uncommon but completely valid use case to install only the manager on a computer, for the purpose of controlling BOINC clients remotely.

The client currently suggests the manager, and the manager recommends the client. If I remember correctly the definition of "suggests" and "recommends", this setup seems perfect. However, many APT frontends don't automatically install recommended packages, or at least not by default (need a setting change).

So I agree: the best way is a "boinc" meta-package that Depends: boinc-client, boinc-manager.

I'm about to add the following to debian/control in the next upload:
Package: boinc
Architecture: any
Depends: boinc-client, boinc-manager
Description: meta package for the BOINC client and the manager.
 The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) is a
 software platform for distributed computing: several initiatives of
 various scientific disciplines all compete for the idle time of
 desktop computers. The developers' web site at the University of
 Berkeley serves as a common portal to the otherwise independently run
 projects.
 .
 This package depends both on the BOINC core client program that is
 required to participate in any project that uses BOINC, and the
 BOINC Manager, a graphical monitor and control utility for the
 BOINC core client.

On Saturday 23 May 2009 18:58:33 Daniel Hahler wrote:
> I'm about to add the following to debian/control in the next upload:

> Description: meta package for the BOINC client and the manager.

JFYI: Lintian suggests to spell it "metapackage" instead of "meta package".

Cheers
Frank

Thanks, Frank.
I'm unsure about adding this in Ubuntu (re the debian-ubuntu delta), but I suppose it gets picked up in Debian, too - or at least not using a different metapackage name?!

This bug was fixed in the package boinc - 6.4.5-1ubuntu1

---------------
boinc (6.4.5-1ubuntu1) karmic; urgency=low

  * Merge from debian experimental (LP: #311107), remaining changes:
    - Bump build-depend on debhelper to install udev rules into
      /lib/udev/rules.d, add Breaks on udev to get correct version.
  * Provide meta package "boinc", which depends on boinc-client and
    boinc-manager (LP: #226612).
  * Add debian/patches/102_wxPanel_instead_wxControl_r17501.patch,
    picked from upstream trunk to fix FTBFS.

boinc (6.4.5-1) experimental; urgency=low

  * New upstream version
  * debian/patches:
    + 001_dont_install_ca-bundle.crt.patch refreshed
    + 002_remove_hardcoded_optimization.patch refreshed
    + 003_use_sensible-browser.patch
    + 004_exclude_sea.patch removed
    + 006_correct_catalog_path.patch added
  * debian/boinc-dev.install; upstream now calls `boinc' instead
    of `BOINC' the include/ dir
  * debian/boinc-dev.links; make BOINC point to boinc, this
    will save those who still point to the wrong PATH
  * debian/copyright:
    + Update upstream license from LGPL-2.1 to LGPL-3
    + update the file name on : api/textfont.[ch], client/stream.cpp,
      clientgui/wizardex.cpp
    + update copyright years on html/inc/geoip.inc and correct license
    + add copyright and license info for samples/glut/Roman.stroke,
      client/install-sh, samples/glut/win32_util.c,
      samples/glut/win32_x11.[ch], samples/glut/stroke.h,
      samples/glut/glut.h, samples/jpeglib/*
  * debian/rules:
    + don't install .mo files manually
    + correct .mo files perms
    + copy sea/*png file to clientgui/res and remove they on clean target
    + download export-boinc from git instead svn,
      use an ugly wget since git is not able to it by itself
    + delete empty locale dirs
  * debian/boinc-manager.install: usr/share/locale/* files added
  * debian/control, set standards-version to 3.8.1 ( no changes needed )

 -- Daniel Hahler <email address hidden> Sat, 23 May 2009 20:05:16 +0200