Re: RFC: Package build automation tools (debmake replacement?)
On Sat, 1 Mar 1997, Ben Pfaff wrote:
>Here's an idea taken from my prototype (which I, BTW, will probably
>not develop further): give the configuration file format for the tool
>a version number so that the tool can behave in a backward-compatible
>manner for old packages, or at the least give a sensible error
>message. One of the faults of deb-make (no offense, Christoph, I
>hope?) is that if it was `invisibly' upgraded (for instance, by just
>running dpkg-ftp every few days and letting it do its thing) it could
>break packages without warning and without a good explanation of why.
The interface to deb-make was kept compatible
and breaking of software occurred for bugs and not for upgrades.
The interface to a package generation tool must be kept stable. A version
number might allow some checking to be done but is not something that
can replace the requirement of a stable interface to the tool.
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