Re: Bug#489771: New Build-Options field and build-arch option, please review

[Russ Allbery <rra@debian.org>]

Goswin von Brederlow <goswin-v-b@web.de> writes:

> Plus a note in policy clarifying that debian/rules is only an
> interface for dpkg-buildpackage but not users.

Right.  If you want to make this a rule, then we should discuss it, reach
a consensus, document and publicize the change, and so forth.

Right now, I feel like this change is being made as part of dpkg
development, without general recognition of what's happening and without
the corresponding changes to Policy so that DDs know what to expect.  (I
don't think this is *intentional* on your part, more a case of a set of
decisions that all seemed like a good idea at the time but which
cumulatively have a significant impact.)

> I have to say i verry rarely do not use debuild. And 99% of the
> exceptions are calling debian/rules clean.

The hard part of standards isn't the common case.  Currently, debian/rules
is defined as the package build interface, and while most people don't
normally rely on that, we don't know what might break; one of the points
of a standard is to let people rely on it without having to tell you first
what they're doing.

Personally, I use debian/rules build all the time for testing, and would
never have thought to mention it to anyone.

-- 
Russ Allbery (rra@debian.org)               <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>