Distinct names for GNOME 3 packages
Is it too late to request distinct names for GNOME 3 packages?
For example, IMHO, it would be preferable for the latest
GNOME 2 yelp package to be named "yelp" whereas the latest
GNOME 3 yelp package would have a name matching "yelp*3".
The convention of using distinct names when there are major
revisions has been adopted by many other packages. This
would be particularly beneficial for GNOME 3 due to the
large number of breaking changes that are anticipated.
For example, should the fact that using "yelp info:diff" works
in version 2.30.1 but not 3.2.1 count as a missing feature or
a regression bug? Since the package name did not change, it's
not unreasonable to suppose the latter. Similarly for the
gnome-system-tools package, does the fact that "time-admin"
show time servers in version 2.30.2 but not 3.0.0 count as a
missing feature, a feature revision (perhaps the list was
intentionally moved elsewhere), or a regression bug?
With the current naming scheme, Wheezy and Sid users could
avoid these problems by downgrading some of their GNOME
packages to Squeeze and locking versions, but this increases
their risk for broken dependencies and for missing Squeeze
security updates. With a distinct "gnome-system-tools*3"
package, apt-pinning gnome-system-tools would not be necessary.
Moreover, if users who are unhappy with the new interface could
relatively easily switch from "gnome-desktop-environment*3" back
to "gnome-desktop-environment", it would probably reduce attrition
to completely alternative environments. Easier switching could
also help GNOME developers compare feature sets to ensure that
missing features are intentionally excluded.
Thanks for considering this.
Rob
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