[MacPorts] #48329: aspell not installed as a dependency

[MacPorts]

#48329: aspell not installed as a dependency
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  Reporter:  graziosi.angelo@…  |      Owner:  macports-tickets@…
      Type:  defect             |     Status:  new
  Priority:  Normal             |  Milestone:
 Component:  ports              |    Version:  2.3.3
Resolution:                     |   Keywords:
      Port:  aspell             |
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Comment (by devans@…):

 Replying to [comment:2 graziosi.angelo@…]:
 > Replying to [comment:1 ryandesign@…]:
 > > The aspell-dict-* ports declare a build dependency on the aspell port.
 If you received binaries of these ports from our build server, then
 MacPorts would not have installed build dependencies on your system, so
 you would not have aspell itself installed.
 > >
 > > Is aspell itself required to use the aspell-dict-* ports? If so, the
 aspell dependency in the aspell-dict-* ports should be changed from a
 build dependency to something else, such as a library dependency.
 >
 > I don't know, but I need the aspell-dict* to be used with Emacs and
 Emacs does not work if it does not find the aspell[.exe]. For example, if
 it is configured with
 >
 >
 > {{{
 > (setq ispell-program-name "/opt/local/bin/aspell")
 > }}}
 >
 > it will produce the message:
 >
 > {{{
 > Error enabling Flyspell mode:
 > (Searching for program No such file or directory /opt/local/bin/aspell)
 > }}}
 >
 > when aspell is not found/installed...
 >
 > May be it is only Emacs that needs it..
 >
 >
 > Angelo

 aspell is used by a number of programs typically via the port enchant
 which provides a common API for several different spelling libraries.  An
 example of a program that uses aspell (via gtkspell3 -> enchant -> aspell)
 is gedit.

 I don't think that it makes much sense to have the dictionaries without
 aspell unless your program uses its own code to access them.

 It's definitely true that aspell will not do anything useful unless at
 least one dictionary is installed.  This is pointed out in its notes.

 So it makes more sense that emacs would have a dependency on aspell (or
 one of the other libs that use it) rather than any specific aspell
 dictionary file.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/48329#comment:3>
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