Re: Meaning of the different “format” fields and files.
On Thu, 27 May 2010, Charles Plessy wrote:
> * In Debian changes files, Format is currently 1.8; I suppose that it
> defines the meaning and syntax of the other fields. Is there a place were the
> history of this file format is defined? Is it a general format number for what
> we call the “pseudo RFC-822”, “paragraph”, or “stanza” format?
>
> * In the Debian source control files, Format is 1.0 or 3.0 (variant). This
> defines the format of the source package. Is the format of the Debian source control
> file itself tied to the format of the source package, or is it independant as for
> the changes files?
>
> * §5.6.16 specifies a value of 1.5 for all Format fields. Is it a source package format
> version or a “pseudo RFC-822” format version. If yes should this number be updated to 1.8,
> or even to 1.9 to reflect that the Format field is deprecated in source package
> control files?
>
Answer to those questions in
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=547272
> * A Format field in source package control files used to determine
> the Format field of the Debian source control files, but in the latest
> Policy, this field is not listed in §5.2, that defines source package control files.
> However, other fields, like the VCS-* fields are not listed there, so it
> does not mean that the Format field is disallowed. Nevertheless it seems to be
> deprecated. Should the policy be updated to reflect this?
You mean updated to say that the Format: field has no place in debian/control?
I don't think we have to say where it's not allowed, only what the proper
place is for the given information.
> * Lastly, there is the new debian/source configuration directory, that is used
> by the latest dpkg-dev, but also by lintian. Is the structure of this directory
> described somewhere? Is it versionned?
That directory is not covered by a global version number. Individual tools
putting/using files there are responsible of the format of the files and
their evolution. It's mainly dpkg-source though as the name suggests.
As usual, it's a good idea to prefix filenames if you're going to create
new files that reside there (some *-buildpackage tools might want to use
it) to avoid namespace collisions.
Cheers,
--
Raphaël Hertzog
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