[Dovecot] dovecot tring to load sql modules

[Frank Cusack]

On August 13, 2006 11:44:41 AM +0200 Axel Thimm <Axel.Thimm at ATrpms.net> wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 13, 2006 at 11:10:50AM +0200, Jan Kundrát wrote:
>> Dean Gibson (Mail Administrator) wrote:
>> > Aug 12 17:09:28 athlon1 dovecot: auth(default): dovecot-auth: error
>> > while loading shared libraries: libmysqlclient.so.10: cannot open shared
>> > object file: No such file or directory
>> > Aug 12 17:09:28 athlon1 dovecot: child 28705 (auth) returned error 127
>> >
>> > That's because I installed the RPM from atrpms.net using "--nodeps".
>> > The RPM requires the above SQL library module, among others (inc.
>> > postgresql and sqlite).  However:
>> >
>> > 1. Why do I need ANY SQL library???  I want PAM to do the authorization.
>
> So, where is the problem? Just don't use the mysql support. You won't
> dump exim/sendmail/postfix because they have ldap support you don't
> use, do you? The same is true for this package. It has a set of built
> in features and you just activate them or not.

I agree with both sides!

Packaging deps are limited by source code modularity.  E.g. if dovecot did
authorization via plugins, there could be a dovecot-auth-sql rpm which
would allow building against mysql but avoiding the runtime dependency
where not needed.  Where such modularity does not exist, the builder
needs to account for either the most common use or the broadest use, at
the discretion of the packager or perhaps decided by policy.  So I'd say
the rpm is appropriately packaged given dovecot constraints.  BTW, postfix
LDAP support is modular (via a commonly available patch), so it can be
built for LDAP but doesn't require it at runtime.

At the same time, I agree with the complaint about not pulling in deps
that you don't want.  It seems rather thick headed to say "just add mysql,
postgresql and sqlite, I say it's ok therefore what's the problem".  A
better response would be, "packaging limitations require building against
mysql et al. to support a larger userbase, if that doesn't suit you, build
your own rpm, it's quite easy".

-frank