Re: Is tabular data in binary format acceptable for Debian ?

[Ben Finney <ben+debian@benfinney.id.au>]

Charles Plessy <plessy@debian.org> writes:

> Is tabular data in a binary format that can be read, written, modified
> and exported using free software acceptable for Debian, or shall we
> contact the upstream author to check if he used an intermediate format
> (be it text, or binary like .odt or .xls) and require the addition of
> this file to the source, or shall we provide a text export?

I can't speak for the Debian ftpmaster team, but I would think the usual
guideline applies: We should seek “the preferred form of the work for
making modifications to it”[0] as the source form of the work.

So, if upstream uses some canonical form of the tabular data for making
modifications to it, that should be in the source package.


[0] Licensing wonks will recognise this as a definition from the GPL.
    Regardless of the license for a given work, that definition is a
    useful one that, IMO, makes the right distinction on what is and is
    not the source of a work.

-- 
 \           “I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I |
  `\        consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no |
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Ben Finney