Re: RFC: DEP-3: Patch Tagging Guidelines

[Ben Finney <ben+debian@benfinney.id.au>]

Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org> writes:

>   * `Origin` (required)
> 
>     This field should document the origin of the patch. It can have the
>     following standard values: "upstream" (in the case of a patch cherry-picked
>     from the upstream VCS), "backport" (in the case of an upstream patch
>     that had to be modified to apply on the current version). Any other
>     value is supposed to be free-form text describing the origin of the
>     patch.

This field specification makes it problematic to introduce additional
standard values later, without potentially colliding with existing
free-form text values already in use before the new value was
introduced.

Suggestion for improving this field specification:

  * `Origin` (required)

    This field should document the origin of the patch. It must be of
    the following forms::

        keyword
        keyword ":" description

    The description is free-form text giving more information about the
    origin of the patch. The keyword is one of the following:

        * `upstream`, for a patch cherry-picked from the upstream VCS
          and applied directly.

        * `backport`, for an upstream patch modified to apply to the
          current version of the source.

        * `other`, for an origin not covered by any of the above
          keywords.

Perhaps that could be made more concise, but I hope the intent is clear
this way.

-- 
 \        “The errors of great men are venerable because they are more |
  `\     fruitful than the truths of little men.” —Friedrich Nietzsche |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney