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Re: relationship with Ubuntu - call for feedback



On Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:48:01 +0200
"Jeremiah C. Foster" <jeremiah@jeremiahfoster.com> wrote:

> On Oct 21, 2011, at 19:57, Allison Randal wrote:
> > On 10/21/2011 10:33 AM, Andrew Starr-Bochicchio wrote:
> >> On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 9:51 AM, Iain Lane <laney@debian.org>
> >> wrote:
> >>> There is a push, and coming with it a growing movement, to get
> >>> applications into Ubuntu via a new Application Review process (aka
> >>> extras.ubuntu.com) which is a parallel repository available for
> >>> stable releases only that is not a part of the distribution.
> 
> This is not so different from what maemo does:
> http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras

> >>> It seems to me that this is a fundamental shift in what we
> >>> consider a distribution to be, becoming a 'platform' on top of
> >>> which people offer applications (the app-store model which the
> >>> software centre promotes) rather than a collection of all the
> >>> great Free Software out there. I fear a negative impact on both
> >>> distribution developer motivation and the quality of the distros
> >>> (including a knock-on impact on Debian as upstream) if this new
> >>> method of distributing apps takes hold and the next generation of
> >>> nice applications never see themselves in the distribution.
> >>> 
> >>> WDYT? Is there a real problem here?
> 
> Personally I think it is somewhat overstated. Let's not forget that
> an Ubuntu package will likely be installable on Debian.

Rebuilt from source perhaps, but you'll get told off for suggesting
people should install ubuntu packages directly :)

> > The developers we get through the ARB are a different level than
> > Debian usually works with. Many have no packaging experience at
> > all, some submit tarballs, some don't even know how to create
> > tarballs. It's a bit like tier 1 mentoring. The overall goal is
> > still to train them up, in the expectation that some will get more
> > and more involved, and eventually join the ranks of DM/DD as well
> > as Ubuntu developers.
> 
> This is incredibly important. Yes, Debian has mentors.debian.net but
> that is still not the easiest path to getting your software into
> Debian. In working with maemo I remember packaging as being something

Hopefully debexpo is making life a little easier - it would be great to
see some more integration between it and ubuntu/other derivs.

> that maemo developers thought was onerous, complicated, and a black
> art. If Ubuntu can provide a good introduction to Debian packaging,
> everyone wins.

I hope they can work on any of the gazillion existing guides (several
by ubuntu people, several by debians) in the process, rather then
creating another guide from scratch.
thanks,
kk

-- 
Karl Goetz, (Kamping_Kaiser / VK7FOSS)
http://www.kgoetz.id.au
No, I won't join your social networking group

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