Re: /usr/share/doc?

[Peter S Galbraith <GalbraithP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca>]

Michael Meskes wrote:

> Do we place our doc directories under /usr/share/doc now? Or is /usr/doc
> still okay?

Although not yet formally in policy, you put them in
/usr/share/doc and create postinst and postrm files to
make/delete symlinks in /usr/doc (as done by the current
debhelper package).  Don't forget to update your Standards-Version
line in the control file too (to something like 3.0.1 until this
gets formalized in new policy, I guess)

See this recent post in -policy:

 Subject: Bug#45561: PROPOSAL] tech-ctte: /usr/share/doc
 Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 19:38:23 -0700
 From: Joey Hess <joey@kitenet.net>
 To: Julian Gilbey <J.D.Gilbey@qmw.ac.uk>, 45561@bugs.debian.org
 
 Julian Gilbey wrote:
 > > The technical committee has been asked to resolve the issue of what to do
 > > with /usr/share/doc.  I propose we actually adopt their decision.  I
 > > propose further that we don't bother to have discussion--we're past all
 > > that.  The decision has been made and while possibly not the best one,
 > > it's the one that is currently being used by debhelper and is the one
 > > handed down to us.
 > > 
 > > As for the technical implementation of the tech-ctte decision, I propose
 > > we use joeyh's implementation found in any recently uploaded debhelper
 > > package.
 > 
 > Let's do it already.
 
 I think someone needs to write a policy diff. It can use how debhelper does
 things as the reccomended method, without metioning debhelper. For example:
 
   Each package must maintain a /usr/doc/<package> symlink that points to
   the new location of its documentation in /usr/share/doc. The symlink must
   be created when the package is installed; it cannot be contained in the
   package itself due to problems with dpkg. One reasonable way to accomplish
   this is to put the following in the package's postinst:
   
   if [ "$1" = "configure" ]; then
         if [ -d /usr/doc -a ! -e /usr/doc/#PACKAGE# -a -d /usr/share/doc/#PACKAGE# ]; then
                 ln -sf ../share/doc/#PACKAGE# /usr/doc/#PACKAGE#
         fi
   fi
   
   And the following in the package's prerm:
   
   if [ \( "$1" = "upgrade" -o "$1" = "remove" \) -a -L /usr/doc/#PACKAGE# ]; then
         rm -f /usr/doc/#PACKAGE#
   fi
 
 -- 
 see shy jo

-- 
Peter Galbraith, research scientist          <GalbraithP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca>
Maurice Lamontagne Institute, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
P.O. Box 1000, Mont-Joli Qc, G5H 3Z4 Canada. 418-775-0852 FAX: 775-0546
    6623'rd GNU/Linux user at the Counter - http://counter.li.org/