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Date:	Thu, 8 Dec 2005 06:41:28 -0800 (PST)
From:	"James R. Phillips" <antiskid56-cygwin AT yahoo DOT com>
Reply-To:	antiskid56-cygwin AT yahoo DOT com
Subject:	gnuplot dependency in octave
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I am starting a new thread on this issue.

Quoting from 
http://cygwin.com/ml/cygwin/2005-12/msg00319.html :

>I often use octave and do no plotting at all.  Octave starts and runs
>fine if gnuplot isn't installed.  (It complains about not being able
>to find gnuplot when the plot command is used.)  Should there really
>be a dependency if only a subset of features requires a package?

>I'd prefer to see gnuplot removed from the octave dependency list.
>Of course then you'd have to deal with all the posts saying that
>the plot command in octave is broken.  So I don't know what the best
>approach would be.  How do others feel?

>Tony Richardson

As the OP notes, having a gnuplot dependency pulls in X when installing octave,
which is not what some users need or want.  And octave will load and run just
fine without gnuplot - it just won't plot.  However, most users want to plot,
and will need gnuplot.

So, my current view is that a gnuplot dependency is optimal for most users, and
that those who don't want it can work around the issue by using known
solutions, such as hacking the /etc/setup/installed.db file to fool setup into
thinking gnuplot is installed.

On the other side is how Debian does it: gnuplot is "suggested" for octave, not
"required".  Also, Debian has a gnuplot-nox package, which I suppose omits the
gnuplot X11 drivers, and actually allows installing gnuplot without requiring
X.

I think that gnuplot-nox is kind of a neat solution, but even if such a package
were available in cygwin, we don't have a way to express OR dependencies.  So
it would be difficult to use this approach.  Also we don't have a way to
express "suggested" rather than required.

On balance, I favor retaining the current dependency on gnuplot.  I would ask
that those with alternative views post to this thread.

Thanks,

jrp


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