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Re: Problems to package a Java-based application and uploading the resulting deb package to mentors



Hi,

Am 29.06.2017 um 11:40 schrieb Eloy García (PC Actual):
> Hi Markus,
> 
> No discourage at all :)
> 
> I see your point here but I think you are only partly right. IMHO I see
> other small applications in the repository too.

Yes, there are other small applications in Debian but from my own
experience I know that people who start out with packaging their own
hobby project will most likely vanish in the near future after they have
achieved their goal. They only want to get the app into Debian but they
are neither interested in maintaining the (build-)dependencies nor do
they really want to contribute to Debian as a whole. You can prove me
wrong though. We are always looking for new contributors. If you start
with fixing bugs in existing Debian packages, it would demonstrate that
you really want to make Debian better, not just your own package.

> In addition,
> WallpaperDownloader is already in AUR and available as a snap package in
> the Ubuntu Store, being daily used.

The AUR and snap packages are not comparable to Debian's main
distribution. Most Java packages in Arch Linux are poorly maintained.
They often don't even bother with compiling them and just distribute the
binary jar file. And if they build something they just download the
build-dependencies from the Internet, like you do with your package. [1]
Also the AUR is for user produced content and is not really part of Arch.

> Some of those users have complained
> because the truth is snap packages are still in an early stage, so there
> are some crucial aspects of the application (the automated changer for
> example) that doesn't work properly in some cases within an isolated
> environment as the snap package.
> Because of this, and because I think the right of choice is very
> important in the Open Source world (I know there are scripts that can
> download wallpapers and applications like Variety that are already in
> the repos and are quite similar [although they have different features])
> I decided to start packaging the application for Debian.

I think you are underestimating the difference between a real Debian
package and AUR/snap packages on the other hand. Snap packages are
basically isolated containers and work independently from the rest of
the system. You don't really have to care for the rest of the system.
That's very different from packaging software for Debian main where your
package is part of the system and where you need to take care of your
build-dependencies.

Choice is not everything in the FOSS world. We already have thousands of
great packages. The difficulty is to maintain them, long term.

Regards,

Markus

[1]
https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/tree/PKGBUILD?h=wallpaperdownloader


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