[Gnumed-devel] Tarballs and dependencies (was Re: gnumed-server packages)

[Jim Busser]

I know that it is possible to install from Debian deb packages  
(gnumed-client and gnumed-server) but that it is also possible to  
download tarballs, leaving in my mind dependency handling.

In the case of the client, supposing the new client has a new  
dependency, the tarball does not take care of the dependency unless  
it would somehow contain the other needed packages, along with a way  
to preferentially call *these* instead of what is already installed  
on the system, but – setting aside whole VMs and the Live CDs – I am  
unaware that we do that. Have I got that right?

I am gathering also that apt-get update would not be able to know or  
diagnose any tarball-related dependency problems, making it unable to  
inventory or display such "broken-ness" (though Debian is not itself  
broken) to the user (?)

Therefore, if one would have installed from deb, but then in addition  
(while waiting for newer debs) downloaded and tried running from the  
newer client, the scenarios would be

1) no new dependencies... new client runs without (new) dependency  
problems
---> is the usual case?

*or*

2) some new dependencies... users cannot simply download the new  
client and expect it to run
---> in this case, the releaser (Karsten) co-ordinates with the  
Debian Med maintainer (Andreas) and emails the devel-list that  
although a new release candidate exists, people would have to  
individually install specific package updates, from testing or  
unstable, in order to be able to use the new release candidate, until  
such time as the dependencies were able to be put into new debs?

Is this correct? Same with gnumed-server?