Bug#588891: Policy 8.6 (shlibs files) needs a serious rewrite to cover symbols
Package: debian-policy
Version: 3.8.4.0
Severity: normal
Hi,
Debian Policy 8.6 'Dependencies between the library and other packages
- the shlibs system' seems seriously out of date as it makes no
mentioning of symbols files at all.
Other than the lack of documentation of the superior system I find the
following sentence problematic:
| Thus, when a package is built which contains any shared libraries,
| it must provide a shlibs file for other packages to use, ...
A package that provides a symbols file but no shlibs file is fully
functional but would violate a MUST directive. Providing a shlibs file
as well as symbols just duplicates information needlessly (and then
maintainer will forget to change one when they change the other) and
not every library can be entered in shlibs as it requires a specific
SOVERSION pattern. Symbols files on the other hand match the full
SONAME and have no such restriction.
Point being symbols file are a superset of shlibs feature wise and
policy should mention them and allow their use instead (or in
combination with if wanted) shlibs file.
MfG
Goswin
-- System Information:
Debian Release: squeeze/sid
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 2.6.31.6-xen-2010.02.18 (SMP w/4 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=de_DE (charmap=ISO-8859-1)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
debian-policy depends on no packages.
debian-policy recommends no packages.
Versions of packages debian-policy suggests:
ii doc-base 0.9.5 utilities to manage online documen
-- no debconf information
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