Re: Bug#845369: debian-policy: [5.6.8] Not fully updated for "any all"

[Colin Watson <cjwatson@debian.org>]

On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 09:00:56AM +1300, Olly Betts wrote:
> In policy 3.9.3.0 (at least according to upgrading-checklist.txt):
> 
>      5.6.8
>           The `Architecture' field in `*.dsc' files may now contain the
>           value `any all' for source packages building both
>           architecture-independent and architecture-dependent packages.
> 
> The current 5.6.8 does describe `any all`, but unfortunately it also still
> contains this paragraph which is no longer correct since this change:
> 
>      In the main `debian/control' file in the source package, this field
>      may contain the special value `all', the special architecture wildcard
>      `any', or a list of specific and wildcard architectures separated by
>      spaces.  If `all' or `any' appears, that value must be the entire
>      contents of the field.  Most packages will use either `all' or `any'.
> 
> I'd suggest updating this to:
> 
>      In the main `debian/control' file in the source package, this field
>      may contain the special value `all', the special architecture wildcard
>      `any', the special combination `any all`, or a list of specific and
>      wildcard architectures separated by spaces.  If `all', `any', or
>      `any all` appears, that value must be the entire contents of the
>      field.  Most packages will use either `all', `any', or `any all`.

I think this proposed change would be a mistake.

Any individual binary package listed in debian/control must either be
architecture-dependent or architecture-independent; it is meaningless
for it to be both.  Section 5.2 makes it clear that Architecture may
only occur in the binary package paragraphs in debian/control, not in
the general paragraph at the top, and so the values of Architecture in
debian/control may only be those that are meaningful for a single binary
package.

Contrariwise, the value of Architecture in the .dsc is an aggregation
constructed by dpkg-source of the Architecture fields for all binary
packages built by that source package.  It is therefore meaningful for
it to express a combination of architecture-dependent and
architecture-independent binary packages.

I would recommend closing this bug with no further action.  The current
text appears correct to me.

-- 
Colin Watson                                       [cjwatson@debian.org]