RFC: New debian package - ddoc
Hello,
This is simply an initial announcement of a new debian package called
ddoc. I am posting this message on both debian-doc and debian-devel for
the purpose of letting people know that ddoc's first (and very early beta)
release is now available at the Unilinux project page:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/unilinux
in the "Download" area.
This is a functional (if poorly documented) .deb that you may peruse
and/or install at your pleasure.
Ddoc is designed to do three things:
1. Provide a single point of access to documentation that is easy to
find and browse (ie. with an HTML browser) that comes up on the debian
system menu when installed.
2. Provide an automatic build system to fill the pages found inside this
single point of access with info extracted from and .deb given as an
argument to the build scripts. The ddoc build scripts will then create a
set of default HTML pages for [foo].deb and subsequently build a new
debian package called ddoc-[foo]_0.1-1.deb that may be installed. The
installation of this second or "companion" package places these default
pages for [foo] under /usr/share/doc/ddoc/[foo] and updates the page
/usr/share/doc/ddoc/pkgs_doclist.html with a link to index.html in the
[foo] directory - thus making it immediately available from ddocs main
page ( follow the link to "Ddoc Packages List").
3. These default pages are designed to provide an outline or conceptual
structure that may be simply filled out (with an editor) before the second
part of the build process - the second part is where the ddoc-[foo].deb is
created. However, they are partially already filled out by ddoc based on
info found in the [foo].deb and it is possible to simply run the whole
system without adding anything. The result is actually a generally useful
set of pages with, for example, links to any index.html that [foo] itself
included.
The released .deb will do all these things - but there is a great deal
more to be added in future.
I welcome any comments from debian developers, particularly regarding my
(somewhat feeble) attempts to adhere to Debian policy for locating
libraries and temporary build directories and so on. It is designed to be
flexible and it would not be terribly difficult for me to make adjustments
if there are any glaring errors. Its would also be nice to know if the
postinstall and prerm scripts are acceptable.
Note: Although I applied quite some time ago to be a debian developer I
have as yet not even recieved a response and I am only subscribed to
debian-doc at the moment. If you think it is important you may reply to me
directly. Otherwise, I think this topic ought to be discussed on
debian-doc which is at present a very low volume list.
Thanks for your attention - and sorry about the size of the post ...;}.
I look forward to your comments.
Cheers all!
Erik Winn
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