Re: doc compilations: build-time or pre-built?

[Goswin von Brederlow <brederlo@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de>]

marciotex@gmail.com writes:

> Hi.
>
> My dillema:
>
> 1) compile docs pre-build-time; or
> 2)  compile docs in build-time
>
>
> Pros of 1: < build-time and < Build-Depends

Cons:

- Docs that can be unbuildable or out of sync with the source.
- Binary files in the diff.gz (have fun with that one) either always
  or if the user changes the sources of docs and rebuilds.

> Pros of 2: < diff.gz and unnecessary manual intervention of downstream
> maintainer (me :) )

You can keep the docs in orig.tar.gz and remove them in clean in many
cases. Afaik that is perfectly legal. If that is not possible
(unrepresentable changes to source) then renaming them and undoing
that during build is an (ugly) alternative.

> So, what are best practices about this?

If there is source then build that (with the exception of running
the auto* tools).

If building takes long then don't have the build target build the
architecture independent files but only the build-indep / binary-indep
targets and use Build-Depends-Indep.

Pro:
- no need for buildds to install/remove Build-Depends-Indep
- no need for buildds to compile indep files even though "build" is
  called

Cons:
- indep files will be build as (fake)root instead of as user.

> Thanks in advance,

MfG
        Goswin