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Re: library-related policy question



On Sun, Sep 06, 2009 at 02:58:02PM +0400, Nikita V. Youshchenko wrote:
> > Nikita V. Youshchenko wrote:
> > > Hi
> > >
> > > Is there an statement in Debian Policy that explicitly requires higher
> > > version of a shared library package to be backwards-binary-compatible
> > > with previous versions of the same package?
> > >
> > > I mean, is a situation when after library package upgrade local
> > > binaries stops working because of missing symbols, by definition an RC
> > > bug against library package? Or is depends on particular situation?
> >
> > Yes, it's an RC bug. If you break the API and/or ABI, you need to change
> > the package name and the SONAME.
> >
> > See e.g.
> > http://www.netfort.gr.jp/~dancer/column/libpkg-guide/libpkg-guide.html
> 
> Is libpkg-guide an official debian document these days?
> If not, maybe API/ABI-keep requirement should be added to Policy?

I don't think there is a reason to change Policy. If a package breaks
other packages it's considered an RC bug. Since shared libraries are
meant to be used through API and ABI, a breakage of those means breaking
other packages. The libpkg-guide has good guidelines on how to prevent
such, i.e. changing SONAME and package name.

Hauke

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