How to reference external program used in shell-scripts?

[Hartmut Goebel <h.goebel@crazy-compilers.com>]

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Hi,

when I started (nut never finished) to package dtx some time ago, I
already ask similar. No I'm packaging debops, and I'm questioning the
answer I got last time.

Assume some program, shell-script, whatever is calling an external program.
What is the correct way to reference this? Shall it become an absolute
path, or just the basename.

In the DEB/RPM world, the basename is used, and package "pkgA"'s
meta-data ensure that the required package "pkgB" is installed in an
sufficient version. When "pkgB" is updated, "pkgA" does not need to be
rebuild or updated, as long as "pkgA"'s requirements are still
satisfied. Any installed "pkgA" will now use the new version of "pkgB".

In Guix, I was told to do so, the absolute path is used. This will
ensure the required package "pkgB" is installed in exact the version
used when building "pkgA". When the "pkgB" is updated, "pkgA" need to be
rebuild and updated. too. If not updated, existing installations of
"pkgA" will still use the *old* version of "pkgB".

I understand that in Guix package dependencies are not based ion
meta-data, but are tracked based on references found in the files. I
also understand that in many cases it is desirable to know exactly which
version of pkgB was used when running pkgA.

Yet in many cases the exact version of pkgB does not matter, a minimum
version might be enough. And if the version of pkgB was new enough when
bringing the pkgA to Guix, the version does not even really matter. E.g.
if the external program is less, git, encfs, or which.

So: What is the official recommendations? Is this already been stated in
to manual?

-- 
Regards
Hartmut Goebel

| Hartmut Goebel          | h.goebel@crazy-compilers.com               |
| www.crazy-compilers.com | compilers which you thought are impossible |



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