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Re: kernel-* package names



On Wed, Feb 06, 2002 at 01:27:02PM -0500, Brian Mays wrote:
> jeroen@dekkers.cx (Jeroen Dekkers) wrote:
> > ... By the way I also don't see why the linux source should be a
> > special package, AFAIK we have apt-get source for source packages.
> 
> Then it's obvious you have never looked into how the kernel-image-*
> packages are built.  We do not, as of yet, have a mechanism for packages
> to declare build-time dependencies on the sources of packages (i.e., the
> dsc, diff.gz and orig.tar.gz files), and even if we did, there is no
> mechanism for extracting and placing the sources of these packages in a
> standard location for the debian/rules file to find and use.

I clearly never looked into it. I will never do it either. I only
forgot that the Linux build system sucks.

> The kernel-image packages not only have a kernel-source package in their
> Build-Depends field, they usually also include one or more packages that
> contain patches to be applied against the extracted kernel source.
> Placing a tarball of the source in a regular Debian package -- while not
> as elegant as using a packaging system that treats binary packages and
> their sources in an equivalent fashion -- is a good way to ensure that
> the source can be found in a standard location on a Debian system when
> needed.  I see no reason to change this practice.

It's probably right for Linux. That doesn't change my opinion that
it's not the Right way. (But Linux in general isn't the Right way
IMHO).

> Another advantage of a kernel-source package is that it would often be
> included on a CD of .deb files, where the source of a kernel package
> would not be found.  Let's face it, most users do not compile their
> own copies of the packages they install on their system; however, many
> of these users do compile their own kernel.  Clearly the kernel is a
> special case, and it is understandable if we treat it as such.

I don't see why a kernel is a special case. But I do see that Linux is
a special case.

Jeroen Dekkers
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