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Merging source packages, sharing maintainership



Hi all,

I've been wondering about this for a little while, and don't recall it
being previously discussed.  Hopefully someone can enlighten me.

Is there any reason - good, bad or otherwise - for the apache,
apache-ssl and apache-perl packages not to be all built from the same
original source package?

It seems to me that if the three separate maintainers of apache,
apache-ssl and apache-perl were to agree on a common source package
(apache, Ben's apache-ssl patch, and dependency on the
libapache-mod-perl source package to statically link apache-perl) and
loosen the versioned dependencies on apache-common (which, I believe,
does not change significantly between point release versions of the
httpd) to just be "more recent than N packages ago", then we can get
around the problem of new versions of plain apache causing major
headaches for apache-ssl and apache-perl upgrades.

Each apache/apache-ssl/apache-perl package could then provide a virtual
package, eg 'apache1-server', so all the libapache-* DSOs will
(hopefully) Just Work(tm) with whichever package is installed.  Though
I'm not sure how to then get two or more apache server packages
installed, as is currently possible: is it possible for two packages to
provide a virtual package and yet not conflict with one another, so the
virtual package can be provided by two or more simultaneously installed
packages?

Also if the maintainers of the three packages were also to be
co-maintainers of the other two packages, then any one of those three
people could upload a new apache source package when the next 1.3.x
security hole is found, and the apache/apache-ssl/apache-perl could all
be pushed out the door very quickly.  (Certainly if the change to the
apache source tree is small between point revisions, merging with the
previous verion's -ssl and -perl patches shouldn't be too hard.)

This isn't a personal attack against willy; I know he's smart enough to
know that, but just want to make that clear to everyone.  =)  I think
he's been doing a good job as the apache maintainer, as well as
everything else; he picked up apache not because he had nothing better
to do, but because the package needed maintaining and some serious bug
squashing.  So thank you willy.

Christoph, Daniel: does this sound reasonable?  Helpful?  Deluded?

Thanks,

Andrew.

-- 
Andrew Shugg <andrew@neep.com.au>                   http://www.neep.com.au/

"Just remember, Mr Fawlty, there's always someone worse off than yourself."
"Is there?  Well I'd like to meet him.  I could do with a good laugh."



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