Re: urw-base35 fonts - request for exception

[Nicolas Mailhot]

Hi,

They are required by those packages, true, but they can also be used separately in
documents. That's why the package needs splitting :
1. users and packages that need the whole set can install all the subpackages (via a
metapackage if necessary)
2. users and packages that only need a single font family install only the single
subpackage

Especially since aliasing means some of those fonts have more side effects than others,
installing the whole set all the time won't help anyone. (any Helvetica variant has
*huge* side effects)

Regards,

-- 
Nicolas Mailhot

urw-base35 fonts - request for exception

[Zbigniew Jędrzejewski-Szmek]

On Thu, Dec 01, 2016 at 03:51:24PM +0100, nicolas.mailhot(a)laposte.net wrote:
>  Hi,
>  
>  They are required by those packages, true, but they can also be used separately in
> documents. That's why the package needs splitting :
>  1. users and packages that need the whole set can install all the subpackages (via a
> metapackage if necessary)
>  2. users and packages that only need a single font family install only the single
> subpackage
>  
>  Especially since aliasing means some of those fonts have more side effects than others,
> installing the whole set all the time won't help anyone. (any Helvetica variant has
> *huge* side effects) 
Eh, graphviz, graphicsmagic and ghostscript-core all require those
fonts. So the full set is going to be pulled in as dependencies on
pretty much any system, so the solution of not installing some of the
fonts to avoid side effects does not work. IMHO, splitting into ~10
subpackages is just busy-work, pointless for a great majority of
installations.

The original request for exception sounds entirely reasonable.

Zbyszek

urw-base35 fonts - request for exception

[David Kaspar [Dee'Kej]]

Okay, so we have 2 sides here, each with it's own pros and cons. I don't
want to start a flame war here though. :)

So who exactly is supposed to decide this? I don't want to start working on
this, until it has been decided.

Best regards,

Dee'Kej

urw-base35 fonts - request for exception

[David Kaspar [Dee'Kej]]

Nicolas,

what should be the structure of the package(s) if we would decide to go for
the "meta-package" to include all the fonts?

If the meta-package should be some subpackage, it could cause more problems
than solving them. Lets say we have the fonts divided into subpackage, and
here's the scenario that can be quite common:

New user to Fedora wishes to install all the fonts of the
'urw-base35-fonts' package. So, he/she installs the package
'urw-base35-fonts', but it would only install license files. He/she thinks
the fonts have been installed, but they actually are not creating
confusion, and possibly generating unnecessary asking at forums/stack
overflow/etc. and unnecessary frustration from using Fedora. This would be
basically caused by following the FPG no matter the cost.

So, if I'm supposed to divide the font families into subpackages, here's
the only structure that is IMHO viable to use and which I'm willing to
"implement":

* 'urw-base35-fonts' - by itself an empty "meta" package that requires
all
its subpackages - if the user would install only this package, he/she would
get all the fonts (and license files)
* 'urw-base35-fonts-common' - an actual subpackage containing the license
files - this would be required by 'urw-base35-fonts' and by all other
subpackages
* 'urw-base35-<font_family>-fonts' - subpackages that could be installed on
their own, if user wishes just that font, and would require only the
'urw-base-fonts-common' in order to comply with licensing

In this way, we would have the font families divided to subpackages, as
required by FPG, and if the user would want all of them, he/she would just
install the "main" "meta package" 'urw-base35-fonts'. And
maintainers who
require all the urw-base35 fonts by their packages, they would need to just
require the 'urw-base35-fonts' as well.

Is this solution okay with you guys? I think it should comply with the FPG,
but maybe I overlooked something. If so, please let me know. Thanks.

Best regards,

David Kaspar [Dee'Kej]
*Associate Software Engineer*
*Brno, Czech Republic*

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