Re: .deb filename parsing *again*

["Brian C. White" <bcwhite@verisim.com>]

[ Sorry if this is a duplicate...  I sent it when the list went down and
  never saw it make it out. ]


> The best solution proposed so far (the one which has attracted the
> least criticism) is the one where you encode the package name with
> y/-/_/ when you put it in the filename.

Could you provide a complete regex for this, just so we know exactly
what you mean?  As I understand it, you are suggesting:

        ([^-]*)-(.*)-([^-]*)\.deb
where:  $1 = package_name
        $2 = version
        $3 = debian revision

or is it

        ([^-]*)-(.*)-([^-\.]*)\.([^-\.]*)\.deb
where:  $1 = package_name
        $2 = version
        $3 = debian revision
        $4 = architecture

Might I also suggest the following to consider: (no arch, but easily added)

"C"     (.*)-([^-]*)-([^-]*)\.deb
        $1 = package-name (with "-")
        $2 = version (without "-")
        $3 = debian revision (no "-")

or

"D"     (.*)-([0-9].*)-([^-]*)\.deb
        $1 = package-name (with "-", can't have any "-digit")
        $2 = version (with "-" but must start with a digit)
        $3 = debian revision (no "-")


If I recall correctly, my first alternative (C) will affect the fewest
number of existing packages.


> A few days ago it occurred to me that in most of the contexts that are
> relevant here the character # is not a metacharacter.  This leads me
> to suggest, tentatively, the use of

Can't say as I care for that one.  '#' is a pretty non-standard character
for a filename.

                                        Brian
                               ( bcwhite@verisim.com )

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