[Fedora-packaging] pkgconfig as BuildRequires really needed?

[Ralf Corsepius]

On 06/22/2010 07:48 PM, Rex Dieter wrote:
> Mamoru Tasaka wrote:
>
>> Parag N(पराग़) wrote, at 06/23/2010 12:55 AM +9:00:
>>> Hi,
>>>      I see minimal build environment always pulling pkgconfig and also
>>> we have " There is no need to include the following packages or their
>>> dependencies as BuildRequires because they would occur too often."
>>> written in packaging guidelines[1]. Does this mean I can recommend in
>>> new package reviews or existing package owners to drop BuildRequires:
>>> pkgconfig in spec files?
>>>
>>> Parag.
>>>
>>> [1]https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Guidelines#Exceptions_2
>>
>> While currently I have no strong positive or negative opinion for
>> this, I just note that the reason that currently even minimal buildroot
>> always pulls pkgconfig in is because rpm-build package has explicit
>> "Requires: pkgconfig" . See:
>>
>> * Wed Dec 03 2008 Panu Matilainen<pmatilai at redhat.com>
>> - make rpm-build require pkgconfig (#473978)
>
> Ok, for posterity I personally would've prefered the second option:
> - All packages creating .pc file should have "_Build_Requires pkgconfig"
Not quite:
"All packages _using_ *.pc's need to have BuildRequires: pkgconfig"
would have been correct.

pkg-config is not being used to create *.pc's, it's being used to check 
other package's setups (aka. configuration).

> But what is done is done.  If rpm-build is going to Requires: pkgconfig
> going forward, then we may as well add this one to the exceptions list.
The fact rpm-build Requires: pkgconfig is a random coincidence, not a 
feature. It's simply that current rpmbuild uses pkg-config inside of its 
*.pc tracking, Though it's unlikely to happen, it may switch to using a 
different implementation at any time.

Ralf