Debian::Package::Dependency_List(3pm)

  Debian::Package::Dependency_List - Handle dependencies for packages.

      use Debian::Package::Dependency_List;
      
      # initialize the dependency list object using the value of the
      # Pre-Depends, Dependes, Recommends, or Suggests field values.
      $dep_lst = 
        Debian::Package::Dependency_List->new('string' => "Value");
    
      # Print it back out again
      $dep_lst->print();
    
      # Exercise new and print
      Debian::Package::Dependency_List->test_relations();

This module implements a Debian::Package::Dependency_List object. This object may then be used to perform dependency checks, or to decide on the correct order to build/install the packages.
new This is the constructor for the package. It takes a named argument, string, whose value is the value of the Pre-Depends, Dependes, Recommends, Suggests, Conflicts, or Replaces field values for the package (it is expected that one Debian::Package::Dependency_List object shall be created for each of those fields, if they exist). It also takes a named argument Package, which is the name of the package under consideration. The final named argument, Type, holds the name of the field.
Internally, new uses the method initialize, which parses the string and creates a new Dependency object for each element. And calls add to add each element to the list. Like new, It takes named arguments, string, Package, and Type.
add This method adds a new dependency to the list. It also handles alternates as a simple linked list branching off from the associative array which is the Dependency_list object. Like new, It takes named arguments, string, Package, and Type, except in this case the string represents a fragment of the dependency line corresponding to each element (it represents the text in between commas)
delete This routine take a required named argument Name and deletes a package with that name from the list if it exists. It also take care of erasing the package from the provides list, if indeed this package provided a virtual package.
delete This routine take a required named argument Name and deletes a dependency with that name from the list if it exists.
print This method takes the internal representation of a dependency list (complete with alternatives) and produces a string, which should be the string used to initialize the object.
match This routine takes a dependency object as an argument, and returns 'Yes' if that dependency object is identical to a member of the dependency list.
depend This method performs dependency checks for all elements of the dependency list. It takes required named argument Package, which is a pointer to the package to which this dependency list belongs. It also takes optional named argument Conflicts (true if this is a conflicts list). It cycles through all dependencies, calling the depend method of each dependency object, handling alternates as it goes.
order This method takes a named argument, New, which is a pointer to the new packages list, and a named parameter Package, which is a pointer to the package this dependency list belongs to (the results are appended to the package object).
test A class method has been provided to test the Dependency_list class, and the undelying class Debian::Package::Dependency. The following test set of dependency strings are used




This is very inchoate, at the moment, and needs testing. None Known so far. Manoj Srivastava <[email protected]>