Re: apt-listchanges (Re: Advice on how best to handle non-backwards compatibility)
On Mon, 2004-04-12 at 20:30, Graham Wilson wrote:
> Shouldn't concerns that NEWS files are untranslatable be addressed?
I have briefly looked into this issue, but haven't sat down to look into
actually implementing the suggestions -i18n had. In particular, po4a
looks promising.
> Also, is it a bad idea to use debconf notes to achieve the same thing as
> the NEWS file? If so, why?
Yes. Debconf notes are intrusive and most of the time entirely
unnecessary.
At Debconf 2 it was made clear that debconf warnings (what notes really
should have been called) should be used only in situations where no
automated method exists to fix a problem. One example is for databases
whose file format has changed (and thus require a dump/reload cycle);
maintainer scripts cannot possibly automatically fix this (they don't
know where databases live), and it's *really* important (the package
will break without the user's intervention).
Those two items together are my personal metre stick for whether a
debconf note should be used; I file bugs for every other situation in
which a package uses debconf warnings. I haven't yet seen one I consider
acceptable, fwiw.
--
Joe Drew <hoserhead@woot.net> <drew@debian.org>
Just admit to yourself that you're a thief: http://me.woot.net/stealing.html
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