[DebianGIS] Re: Bug#385759: qgis: not installable in sid

[Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org>]

On Mon, Sep 04, 2006 at 10:27:48PM -0400, Steve Halasz wrote:
> Does anyone have a response to Steve Langasek's query below?

> The history of the gdal package naming decision is here:
> http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-grass-general/2005-December/001462.html
> http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-grass-general/2005-December/001498.html
> http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-grass-general/2006-January/001611.html
> http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-grass-general/2006-January/001645.html

> I believe the -dev package is renamed to deal with the possibility of an
> API change:
> http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/pkg-grass-general/2006-January/001622.html

The mere *possibility* of an API change is not a good reason to rename a
package; it causes more work for the release team to track such a
transition, and more work for the maintainers who would otherwise not
necessarily need to upload their packages at all.

> This seems consistent with the recommendations at
> http://www.netfort.gr.jp/~dancer/column/libpkg-guide/libpkg-guide.html#id271897

Those recommendations are not endorsed by the release team, precisely
because of the extra work they cause for no practical gain.

-- 
Steve Langasek                   Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer                   to set it on, and I can move the world.
vorlon@debian.org                                   http://www.debian.org/