#977713 scid: Circular package dependency tk8.5 vs tk8.6 prevents scid from running

Package:
scid
Source:
scid
Description:
chess database with play and training functionality
Submitter:
fmeyer
Date:
2020-12-27 20:15:03 UTC
Severity:
important
#977713#5
Date:
2020-12-19 11:51:46 UTC
From:
To:
Dear Maintainer,

scid fails running with following message :

circular package dependency: attempt to provide Tk Ϻ£ü requires Tk 8.5
    while executing
"package require Tk  8.5"
    (file "/usr/games/scid" line 37)

(weird characters M£ü do appear in the error message).

   * What led up to the situation?

dist upgrade, might be linked to tk8.5 disappearing from sid.

   * What exactly did you do (or not do) that was effective (or
     ineffective)?

   tried to change requirements from 8.5 to 8.6 in /usr/games/scid, to
   no avail

   tried to build scid from source, introducing tips from
https://sourceforge.net/p/scid/wiki/MacOSCatalina/ section 5.
   Package built successfully but that did not solve the circular dependency issue,
   and scid still does not launch.

   * What was the outcome of this action?
   * What outcome did you expect instead?

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#977713#10
Date:
2020-12-27 20:02:50 UTC
From:
To:
As a matter of fact, changing lines 37-38 of /usr/games/scid from

package require Tk  8.5
if {$tcl_version == 8.5} { catch {package require img::png} }

to

# package require Tk  8.5
if {$tcl_version == 8.6} { catch {package require img::png} }

seems necessary but is sufficient to have scid running.
Whether the issue is scid or tcl or tk related remains mysterious to me.

Best,