Comment 40 for bug 87063

It's such a shame that it's taken this long to elicit an explanation from the packaging team, instead of just "php5-sybase provides php5-mssql now". Obviously if php5-sybase provides true MSSQL support as well as Sybase support then this bug is not valid (any more).

There are people here who know what they need from PHP, but don't know how to create Debian packages. Ondřej, if you or another packager had given the explanation you just did a lot earlier, instead of just blankly insisting that php5-sybase is enough, you'd not have had people like me, who don't know about how Debian packages are built, nagging you about needing php5-mssql.

When I raised this bug it was valid. The first explanation to it being closed without a new php5-mssql package being available was your comment (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/php5/+bug/87063/comments/28) which evidently didn't explain clearly enough for people that php5-sybase now includes --with-mssql=shared.

The people who've commented here are not whiners, nor are they trying to waste your time. Packagers, you can help yourselves and us by taking just a little more time to try to communicate with bug reporters and commentators more effectively, instead of regarding us as know-nothing irritations.