Re: About new fields in debian/control for bug reporting.

[Itai Zukerman <zukerman@math-hat.com>]

> I still think it is a bad idea to put the BTS information in
> every package. Origin should be enough to locate the BTS information,
> and avoids having to recompile every package if the BTS information
> were to change. A /var/lib/dpkg/origins/<origin> database could
> provide the BTS information.

I'm putting together an "origin" package.  It'll consist of
origin-base and origin-debian.  Origin-base will have a utility which
does roughly:

  Usage: origin <package-name>

  Returns a control record for <package-name>, with suitable origin
  data included.  This can then be used, for example, by bug-tracking
  software to figure out where to send bug reports.

  Example:

  $ origin apt

  Package: apt
  Status: install ok installed
  Maintainer: APT Development Team <deity@lists.debian.org>
  [...]
  Origin: Debian
  [...]
  Bugs-URL: http://www.debian.org/Bugs/db/pa/lapt
  Bugs-Submit-Style: debbugs
  Bugs-Submit-To: submit@bugs.debian.org

Origin-debian will contain a *conffile* /etc/origin/Debian with a
template for filling in the last 3 items shown (and maybe others).

I think this is close to your suggestion, except that every
distribution provides their own origin-* package, and that these
templates are conffiles in /etc/origin (not related to dpkg).

I've just started on this, so please make some useful comments (like a
better name for the executable than "origin").

-itai

PS.  Bug et al will need to be patched to support this, if the
corresponding maintainers think it's a good idea.

PPS.  Origin-base will set up two special origins: Maintainer and
Unknown.  Maintainer will have (for the apt example)

  Bugs-Submit-Style: mail
  Bugs-Submit-To: APT Development Team <deity@lists.debian.org>

and Unknown will have

  Bugs-Submit-Style: none

or maybe just nothing.