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Re: Install-info transition, review time



Hi all,

after return from hardware-VAC and fixing grave texlive bugs and and and
here are now some remarks on the i-i transition.

On Di, 24 Mär 2009, Raphael Hertzog wrote:
> http://wiki.debian.org/Transitions/DpkgToGnuInstallInfo
> 
> Please review and raise any suggestions if you have any. There
> has been some extensive discussion on -dpkg already that you can read
> to understand the choices made:
> http://lists.debian.org/debian-dpkg/2009/03/msg00019.html

As mentioned, it would be nice to have that posted here, but
unfortunately the discussion and the transition plan are already sooo
long and I guess nobody will read it. The Wiki collects the most
important things.

On Do, 26 Mär 2009, Neil Williams wrote:
> * install-info operations will all then happen in triggers, not
> directly via maintainer scripts.
> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=518737#12
> 
> "The plan is always to get rid of install-info inside dpkg, so asking us
> for this change is not the right long-term solution. (And contrary to
> update-alternatives, I don't think such a change make sense)
> 
> I would really suggest that you design a solution that doesn't require
> the postinst snippet at all. A simple solution could be:
> - have a package "install-info" register a file trigger
> on /usr/share/install-info/
> - have other packages provide a .install-info file in that directory
> that tells how install-info should be called
> - add a dh_installinfo helper to automatize the installation of this
> file
> - have info readers depend on the new install-info package

The experimental package of texinfo(source) I have prepared
	deb(-src) http:/people.debian.org/~preining/TeX/ i-i/
do it a bit differently by directly declaring interest on
/usr/share/info, and not adding another file layer.
That allows completion of all *current* postinst files calling
install-info. The wrapper in /usr/bin and /usr/sbin will just warn and
do nothing. That way packages will still work as they are now, the
/usr/share/info/dir file will be updated anyway using the new method,
and as soon as a new debhelper is uploaded the install-info calls will
disappear slowly from the maintainer scripts.

> Triggers will replace such maintainer script calls, making info
> documents no different to manpages in terms of their installation,
> hence no need for any support from Essential and triggers will simply
> not be called if install-info is not installed.

See above. Exactely that is the goal

> IIRC the remaining install-info script is to provide support until all
> the packages using maintainer scripts calls migrate to using triggers
> for their info documents.

/usr/sbin/install-info
	for maintainer scripts calling install-info with full path
/usr/bin/install-info
	for maintainer scripts that still call install-info (not rebuild
	with new debhelper)
	and for doing the right thing when an admin calls it in the 
	intention to call GNU install-info


How do we proceed now with that? As said in a different email some weeks
ago, only ~50 of around 580 total info files fail when called with
ginstall-info. 

There are some things some well experienced DD could take a look at:
- install-info binary package:
	. /usr/sbin/update-info-dir
	  a script I have written that recreates the dir file from all
	  the installed info files. Not very intelligent, but it does
	  its job. Review would be fine
	. /usr/bin/install-info
	  trivial script, the warning messages can be discussed
- dpkg binary package:
	. /usr/sbin/install-info 
	  a binary (C code) AFAIR to deduce the calling way, Raphael
	  can tell you were to get the code


Ok, hope that we get this going ...

Best wishes

Norbert

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Dr. Norbert Preining <preining@logic.at>        Vienna University of Technology
Debian Developer <preining@debian.org>                         Debian TeX Group
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