Re: Bug#1007717: Draft resolution for "Native source package format with non-native version"

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Helmut Grohne writes ("Re: Bug#1007717: Draft resolution for "Native source package format with non-native version""):
> What would you think about adding an alternative option 4?
> 
> 4b. We believe that there are indeed circumstances in which
>     1.0-with-diff is the best choice for a particular source package.
>     Given that the number of packages for which this is relevant is
>     fairly small, we recommend discontinuing use of 1.0-with-diff to
>     gain more uniformity.

It seems to me that the lack of uniformity (and indeed technical
superiority) here is due entirely due to our inability to move forward
with a replacement for 1.0-with-diff that is actually superior for a
wider range of use cases.

I know that the TC has a history of favouring what looks like
"progress" over other factors (such as contributor happiness, software
diversity, and indeed inconvenient details).

In this case I would like to suggest that progress would be better
served by trying to unblock a better source format that (i) has some
kind of delta representation (ii) does not put a
needing-to-be-maintained copy of the delta metadata inside the working
tree.

There are several proposals for how to do that which are obviously
possible to implement.  If the TC wants to unblock that, you could
look at them and pick one.

(And, I quextion whether .dsc format is the right place for Debian to
pursue uniformity.  .dsc is a legacy format we are maintaining because
our git transition is stalled.)

Ian.

-- 
Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>   These opinions are my own.  

Pronouns: they/he.  If I emailed you from @fyvzl.net or @evade.org.uk,
that is a private address which bypasses my fierce spamfilter.