Include Dependencies
5/10/2007
An include dependency controls the inclusion or exclusion of a component in a configuration. Components often require the presence or absence of other components in order to work properly. Those requirements are specified as include dependencies in the definition of a component and then satisfied through the process of dependency checking after the component is added to a configuration. An include dependency that requires the presence of a component is satisfied by adding that component to the configuration. An include dependency that requires the absence of a component is satisfied by disabling that component in the configuration.
An include dependency can be expressed upon a single component or a special group of components called a dependency group. When you specify a component dependency, you state whether your component depends on the selected component, which will cause it to be included, or conflicts with the selected component, which will cause it to be excluded.
When you specify a group dependency, you state how many components in the selected dependency group must be included in the configuration, zero, one, some, or all.
Include dependencies can be further customized to specify a particular revision of a component. When this is done, only those components of the specified revision or greater are included or excluded as stated in the dependency.