tcl8.5 breaks dpkg-cross assumptions and multiarch
tcl8.5-dev contains /usr/lib/tcl8.5/tclConfig.sh
which is a symlink pointing to /usr/share/tcltk/tcl8.5/tclConfig.sh
Currently dpkg-cross only copies symlinks across when crossing a
package if the symlink points to somewhere within /lib. symlinks
outside /lib are ignored because they are not arch-dependent so
shouldn't need to be crossed.
The file /usr/lib/tcl8.5/tclConfig.sh is used by packages which build
extensions to tcl (such as sqlite), so that files does need to be
present.
The file is essentially a cache of the config options TCL was built
with so that extensions can make sure they match up. However it is not
arch-independent. e.g. Line 22 of that file is
TCL_CC='x86_64-linux-gnu-gcc' on the x86_64
version and TCL_CC='arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc' on the armel version.
Other options also differ between 32-bit and 64-bit arches for example.
So this file is arch-dependent in that it's different for each arch it
is built-on but arch-independent in that it's just a shell file.
Debian policy (8.2) says:
---------------
It is recommended that supporting files and run-time support programs
that do not need to be invoked manually by users, but are nevertheless
required for the package to function, be placed (if they are binary)
in a subdirectory of /usr/lib, preferably under /usr/lib/package-name.
If the program or file is architecture independent, the recommendation
is for it to be placed in a subdirectory of /usr/share instead,
preferably under /usr/share/package-name. Following the package-name
naming convention ensures that the file names change when the shared
object version changes.
Files and support programs only useful when compiling software against
the library should be included in the development package for the
library
---------------
A maintainer reading the above could reasonably decide that /usr/share
was the right place for this file, because the file itself (being just
shell) is arch-independent. The problem is that the contents are
arch-dependent. Policy is not at all clear on this distinction (It's
been making my head hurt all day). For multiarch, or existing
dpkg-cross cross-compiling, to work, arch-dependent needs to mean
either form _or_ content (see below for elaboration).
The original tcl build puts both tclConfig.sh and tcl.m4 in /usr/lib
but the debian packaging moves them to
/usr/share/tcltk/tcl8.5 and /usr/share/aclocal/ respectively
Currently the sqlite build fails because it looks for tclConfig.sh in
/usr/<triplet>/lib/tcl8.5/ and doesn't find it there, because
dpkg-cross didn't copy the symlink (or original) there.
So, the questions is - which of these is the correct fix:
1) make dpkg-cross copy over symlinks even when they point into
/usr/share
2) make tcl8.5 put tclConfig.sh in /usr/lib/tcl8.5 instead of
/usr/share/tcltk/tcl8.5
3) make sqlite (and similar packages) look in /usr/share/tcltk/tcl8.5
instead of /usr/lib/tcl8.5 when building
I note that the supplied tcl8.5.m4 file actually lists a whole pile of
possible locations for the file:
for i in `ls -d ${libdir} 2>/dev/null` \
`ls -d ${exec_prefix}/lib 2>/dev/null` \
`ls -d ${prefix}/lib 2>/dev/null` \
`ls -d /usr/local/lib 2>/dev/null` \
`ls -d /usr/contrib/lib 2>/dev/null` \
`ls -d /usr/share/tcltk/tk8.5 2>/dev/null` \
`ls -d /usr/lib 2>/dev/null` \
`ls -d /usr/lib64 2>/dev/null` \
However that list doesn't include anything ending in tcl8.5
(i.e /usr/<triplet>/lib/tcl8.5 or /usr/share/tcltk/tcl8.5) and perhaps
should by way of 'back-up plan', although I haven't actually looked
into the detals of how that is used.
Consideration when deciding how to fix this include:
Squeeze will be released in a few days with this broken so we will be
stuck with the /usr/share/ file location for some time there. Any fix
going into Ubuntu should make Natty easily enough.
For Multiarch tcl-dev will be a Multiarch:same package (i.e a
'library' package) (despite the name, it contains nothing but headers,
libraries and the above config.sh and m4 files), so the two different
tclConfig.sh files supplied by the DEB_BUILD_ARCH and DEB_HOST_ARCH
packages (when cross-building) will clash and the 2nd package will not
be installable. This, it seems to me, is the clinching argument that
the correct fix is to change the tcl build to put these files in
/usr/lib.
This also implies that policy 8.2 needs to be clarified to explain
what 'arch-independent' means.
Are there other situations which expect to find the tclConfig.sh file
in /usr/share? Is so those need considering.
Does anyone disgree with the above conclusions? And do people agree
that policy 8.2 could be clearer on this point?
I've filed a bug containing some of the above discussion and a patch
for tcl8.5. http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=611650
Wookey
--
Principal hats: Linaro, Emdebian, Wookware, Balloonboard, ARM
http://wookware.org/
Reply to: