Re: Proposal new source archive format
> > This does not mean that there can't be an easy way to create diffs, nor
> > even an automated tool for doing so, but the source-package program should
> > not assume this fact. The diffing of source should be interactive, even if
> > it is automated. How many developers do you think actually stop and check
> > .diff.gz before uploading anyway?[1]
>
> Interactive and automated? You've lost me.
ie.:
dpkg-difftool foo-src
(package runs the normal dpkg-source stuff to a tempdir, and then diff's
the two, reports the files affected, perhaps ignoring files specified
files, and creating a suitable diff complete with diffstat output)
Maintainer takes the diff, inspects it (removing modifcations if needed,
their choice, which isn't available in the current setup) and puts it into
debian/patches/ (naming it appropriately).
> > [1] I do, and I'm sure you do, but our current system does not even allow
> > for the maintainer to interact with the diff's much less decide how it is
> > created.
>
> I look at my diffs. I don't interact with them. Still don't get what you
> mean unless interact == edit in which case: eeew!
Interact means you can decide what to diff and what not to. rm -f for
files you want to ignore is just a hack to get around an old and tiring
system.
How about this. By default the system can do the standard diff like it
does not (excluding the debian/) and place the resulting diff in
debian/patches/debian.diff, then create the .debian.tar.gz of the debian/
directory. Then allow for expansion above and beyond that. We get a
.tar.gz of the debian directory, the same ease of diffing, plus the added
functionality that some of the more advanced packages require.
My argument is that simply doing it the old way of having debian/ be
created by a diff.gz and also put into the same directory as the original
source by dpkg-source, is simply not going to cut it. I seriously doubt
that the more complex packages will move to any system that does not give
them this freedom (i.e. purging the source on cleanup, and ignoring
whatever has changed in it and using hand selected patches in favor of a
generated set that the maintainer has no real control over, nor any
systematic way of managing them).
--
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/ Ben Collins -- ...on that fantastic voyage... -- Debian GNU/Linux \
` bcollins@debian.org -- bcollins@openldap.org -- bcollins@linux.com '
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