Re: "Arch: all" package FTBFS due to test needing network access - RC?
On Mon, Oct 30, 2006 at 05:36:57PM +0200, Magnus Holmgren wrote:
> If an architecture-independent binary package fails to build because the build
> target runs a test that needs network access, should that be considered
> release critical, if the package requires network access to function in any
> useful manner? Since the package is Architecture: all, no autobuilding is
> needed on Debian's part, and building from source with dpkg-buildpackage
> works in all normal situations.
> The concrete example I'm referring to is a simple Perl package
> (libmail-dkim-perl, http://bugs.debian.org/395860). It seems to be quite
> common to include test scripts with those, but some tests don't go well with
> unattended building, for example if they are interactive or require internet
> access. Is the consensus still that running as many of the tests as possible
> is desirable in this situation? Normally, Debian, as a distribution, provides
> a coherent platform in the form of a set of packages that have been tested
> together, so that if the build dependencies are met, then the package builds,
> and if the normal dependencies are met, then it runs. Running tests on many
> computers with identical environments is then a bit redundant.
Interactive tests or tests requiring network access should not have to pass
in order to build a package. Autobuilding is not the only case we want to
support, here; we have users who may want to change and rebuild packages in
their environment where they have access to source DVDs but no Internet, we
have users who may be trying to do offline test builds on their laptops,
etc. We also don't want packages to FTBFS because some network service that
Debian has no control over has been discontinued or is suffering from an
outage.
Keeping such tests in package builds is fine, but they should either be
disabled by default (enabled with an environment variable, say), or they
should be informational only.
--
Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world.
vorlon@debian.org http://www.debian.org/
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