...has anyone actually attempted to contact Pat on this issue? Technically these are official support forums, but you could always just go to the source. (I won't because I don't know enough about the issue)

This is not an "official" or definitive statement, but probably sqlite will be added in -current for 13.0.

By the time the sqlite dependency was realized, it was a bit late in the devel cycle to add it. There are *lots* of things that will link sqlite if it's present, so there would have been endless requests to "recompile $app for sqlite" and delayed 12.1 even further.

You forgot to give a remedy for folks in the mean time...

http://slackbuilds.org/result/?sv=12.1&search=sqlite

Yeah, and then python will need to be recompiled too though.

It is as it is. Are you sure they have to include those two dependencies into distribution? Are sure that it should be thrown away, if they will not include them? It is ridiculous and not funny. Personally I do not care for another gui version, or if you do not care for a console one — do you vote for removal?

What really can be done, the removal of the .desktop file, if people care so much about the reputation of Slackware. But then the package would be touched.

About 'official reaction', what reaction do you mean? Until your decision coincide with those 2-5 developers, it will not be satisfied.

Why does python need to be recompiled? Not sure I get that one.

I'll admit that I didn't personally confirm that python has to be recompiled, and at first glance, it certainly appears that the sqlite functionality is already present in the stock python package. However, I have had multiple reliable individuals advise that the sqlite functionality is not functional without recompiling python with sqlite actually installed on the system.

Well, it seems you can do it either way. Re-build python with sqlite on the system or you can just build pysqlite after installing sqlite... You wind up with a working zenmap either way. I was looking for a --without-sqlite{3} switch in python's configure but no joy. That makes things slightly problematic using a stand alone pysqlite package.

If slackware opted for a stand alone pysqlite, there are a multitude of ways to eliminate it from the python source code itself... Nothing as nice as --without-sqlite but still....

What about getting sqlite and pysqlite from slacky.eu?

You could certainly do that, but many (most?) Slackware users would rather handle things themselves than use binaries built by someone else.

Very true. I prefer the CLI, but getting the missing pieces from slacky.eu gives an easy fix for those who want a GUI for nmap.

MS3FGX, slacky.eu also includes SlackBuilds, so if you want to build it yourself, you can (though I don't like their format and I always end up changing things, but their SlackBuilds work as a nice base if you're having trouble getting something to compile).

I couldn't agree more. Slacky.eu is now the ONLY third-party site I trust for packages that I don't build myself. Those guys really do a fantastic job. In some cases I've had to change their build script (for instance their Mplayer is in Italian) but all I had to do was change 'language=it' to 'language=en' and it worked great. For the most part I use SlackBuilds.org exclusively but for tough programs with lots of dependencies I grab everything I need from Slacky.eu and they always run well.

But, but, but... what about me and Eric? ;-)
Just kidding, really

LOL.

Like I said in my post, I almost always use SlackBuilds.org, but when I'm feeling lazy and just want to get something installed quick and/or its got a ton of dependencies I don't want to track down myself... I trust slacky.eu. And anyway... I assume the build scripts there are based on yours anyway, so... thanks!

You all really do a fantastic job and should be commended.

(How's that for butt-kissing?)

Dig