F18 at-spi* deps

[Richard Ryniker]

Frank Murphy <frankly3d at gmail.com> wrote on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 08:33:25 +0100:

>So you agree, it's unneccessary.
>For me to need at-spi*. Point made.

I think the point was at-spi is part of GTK, but this part is not
something it is reasonable to package separately, such as a language
package or some esoteric locale.  The default GTK configuration does not
activate Assistive Technology features, therefore they do not intrude on
a user like you.  Indeed, you do not need at-spi.

However, some other users can benefit from AT capabilities, and they
are available to those users with appropriate GTK configuration.

I am confident it is technically possible to create two GTK versions -
one with AT and one without.  This would make possible all of the usual
additional complications and costs two versions of a large application
can create, compared to a single version.  Bad idea.

It should also be possible to make at-spi a separately installed package,
but I expect the GTK developers decided the cost of tests to determine
whether at-spi was installed was significantly larger than the cost to
include at-spi in the GTK core.

Why, then, is at-spi a separate package at all?  If it were quietly
incorporated into other GTK packages, you might be more comfortable.  I
suggest the separate at-spi package makes it easier to enhance and test
these Assistive Technologies, without a need to rebuild/replace the
entire GTK system.

If you want GTK, I think your only reasonable course is to accept AT (and
not enable it - the default condition that most users prefer).

If you really have no interest in GTK (and any of the applications that
require it) - I think there are a good number of server or dedicated
system instances that meet this condition - you can consider some
minimal, focused Fedora installation optimized for your situation.