Re: Standardizing the layout of git packaging repositories

[Jeremy Stanley <fungi@yuggoth.org>]

On 2014-08-16 01:15:45 +0800 (+0800), Thomas Goirand wrote:
[...]
> Yes. Producing orig.tar.xz out of upstream tag should be industrialized,
> and written in "some" tools, which we would all be using. I currently
> do: ./debian/rules gen-orig-xz, but that shouldn't be specific to my own
> packages.

However upstream may build tarballs through a (hopefully
repeatable/automated) process at release time, publish checksums and
signatures for them, et cetera, and prefer packagers use those as
the original tarballs for official release versions. I understand
needing to create "original" tarballs yourself in cases where there
are none (for example making development snapshot packages), but
when upstream provides them it seems like it would make sense to use
those tarballs in lieu of trying to recreate your own from tags in
their version control system.

I have become increasingly wary now that more and more slipshod
upstreams with no release process have created a need for package
maintainers to fabricate one on their behalf, the kludge can get
turned back around on upstreams with formal, traditional release
processes and used as a convenient excuse to discard their output in
the name of consistency. *Please* don't replace upstream's release
tarballs just because they have a VCS.
-- 
Jeremy Stanley