Re: Lintian ERROR saying dpatch is obsolete
Margarita Manterola <margamanterola@gmail.com> writes:
> Recently [1], dpatch's maintainer uploaded a new version indicating
> that dpatch is now deprecated. Following that, he filed a bug [2] so
> that lintian might warn that dpatch's makefile has been deprecated
> since 2003, and that dpatch itself is now deprecated. However, he
> also stated that he plans to keep dpatch for wheezy.
Just for the record, to reiterate what I have said previously[1], dpatch
will be kept around until it can be removed safely: when all reverse
build-depends have been migrated to something else.
[1]: http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2011/08/msg00380.html
That certainly won't happen before wheezy, and is unlikely to happen for
wheezy+1, too. My plan still is to phase out dpatch by wheezy+2, but
until then, it's a legacy that should be migrated away from, and must
not be used for new packages.
> [1]: http://packages.qa.debian.org/d/dpatch/news/20111024T000209Z.html
> [2]: bugs.debian.org/646420
>
> A week ago [3], a new lintian version was uploaded that gives an error
> if a package build-depends on dpatch, because it's 'obsolete'.
While I originally filed a request to get the dpatch makefile into the
obsolete makefiles list, later discussion on IRC (I think on #debian-qa)
led to upping that request, and making it an "error" to build-depend on
dpatch.
The reason for this is two-fold: I'd rather not want any new packages to
use dpatch, and a lintian error is scary enough to discourage
people. Second, it's an error that can be safely ignored or overridden
for the time being.
> I find this a bit shocking, since an error with lintian tends to be
> quite a big deal, and there are currently more than a thousand
> packages that build-depend on dpatch. It's been only a month since the
> upload stating that it's deprecated, and it's still going to be there
> for wheezy... Wouldn't it be better to make it a warning now, and an
> error after wheezy is released?
It wouldn't make much of a difference in the long run. Making it a
warning would've needed more work on lintian's side, and I do not
believe it would've been worth the effort.
> I'm CCing debian-devel mainly so that other maintainers of 1087
> packages build-depending on dpatch find out about this deprecation.
> Finding out about it through a lintian error was quite surprising to
> me.
It was briefly announced in august[1] already, that dpatch will,
eventually, be removed.
I'm not letting anyone in the gutter, though, and early next year, I
will start slowly submitting wishlist bugs with patches against packages
that build-depend on dpatch.
So, there's nothing to worry about: if your package uses dpatch, and you
want it lintian clean, either migrate away, or ignore the error and wait
for my patch. ;)
If you considered using dpatch for a new package... well. I'm
sorry. Don't do that.
As for communication - yes, perhaps I should've made the deprecation
more clear. I believed that a mail to debian-devel@, months in advance,
would do the job fine.
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