Please find, for review, the debconf templates and packages descriptions for the dash source package.
This review will last from Tuesday, October 23, 2007 to Friday, November 02, 2007.
Please send reviews as unified diffs (diff -u) against the original
files. Comments about your proposed changes will be appreciated.
Your review should be sent as an answer to this mail.
When appropriate, I will send intermediate requests for review, with
"[RFRn]" (n>=2) as a subject tag.
When we will reach a consensus, I send a "Last Chance For
Comments" mail with "[LCFC]" as a subject tag.
Finally, the reviewed templates will be sent to the package maintainer
as a bug report, and a mail will be sent to this list with "[BTS]" as
a subject tag.
Rationale:
--- ../dash.old/debian/dash.templates.in 2007-10-14 09:35:47.035753654 +0200
+++ debian/dash.templates.in 2007-10-19 23:37:35.914826216 +0200
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
Type: boolean
Default: false
_Description: Install dash as /bin/sh?
- Bash is the default /bin/sh on a Debian system. However, since the Debian
- policy requires all shell scripts using /bin/sh to be POSIX compliant, any
- shell that conforms to POSIX can serve as /bin/sh. Since dash is POSIX
- compliant, it can be used as /bin/sh. You may wish to do this because
- dash is faster and smaller than bash.
+ Bash is the default /bin/sh shell on Debian and Debian-based
+ systems.
+ .
+ However, since the distribution policy requires all shell scripts
+ using /bin/sh to be POSIX compliant, any shell that conforms to
+ POSIX, such as dash, can serve as /bin/sh. You may wish to do this
+ because dash is faster and smaller than bash.
Be nicer to derived distributions ("unbranding"). I usually propose
removing the mention of "Debian" entirely but, here, it is important
to mention that such choice of having bash the default shell is a
design of Debian-like systems (even if I think that all Linux distros
use the same design).
Therefore just mention the derived distros. The secodn mention of
"Debian" can still disappear and we just mention "the policy" which
should be enough.
Split the paragraph in two parts for readability.
--- ../dash.old/debian/control 2007-10-14 09:35:47.035753654 +0200
+++ debian/control 2007-10-19 23:43:23.897239977 +0200
@@ -8,46 +8,38 @@
Package: dash
Architecture: any
Pre-Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}
-Description: The Debian Almquist Shell
- "dash" is a POSIX compliant shell that is much smaller than "bash".
- We take advantage of that by making it the shell on the installation
- root floppy, where space is at a premium.
+Description: POSIX-compilant shell
+ The Debian Almquist Shell (dash) is a POSIX-compliant shell that is
+ much smaller than bash.
Tricky.
"dash" includes "Debian" in its name (btw, I just learned this today
even if I use dash as my default shell for a while), so keeping it
could make sense.
However, I think that the important information is more that dash is a
POSIX-compliant shell.
The explanation about the acronym then moves to the long description
which also allows to go around the problem of a sentence without
leading capital letter.
.
It can be usefully installed as /bin/sh (because it executes scripts
- somewhat faster than "bash"), or as the default shell either of root
- or of a second user with a userid of 0 (because it depends on fewer
- libraries, and is therefore less likely to be affected by an upgrade
- problem or a disk failure). It is also useful for checking that a
- script uses only POSIX syntax.
- .
- "bash" is a better shell for most users, since it has some nice
- features absent from "dash", and is a required part of the system.
+ faster than bash), or as the default shell for the superuser. It
+ depends on fewer libraries than bash, and is therefore less likely to
+ be affected by an upgrade problem or a disk failure. It is also
+ useful for checking the POSIX compliance of scripts.
Drop the complicated sentences. I see no real reason to use all these
details in a package description.
Package: dash-udeb
Architecture: any
Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}
Section: debian-installer
Priority: extra
-Description: The Debian Almquist Shell for boot floppies
- "dash" is a POSIX compliant shell that is much smaller than "bash".
- We take advantage of that by making it the shell on the installation
- root floppy, where space is at a premium.
+Description: POSIX-compilant shell - Debian installer component
+ The Debian Almquist Shell (dash) is a POSIX compliant shell that is
+ much smaller than bash.
Use a "generic description - specific description" style for the synopsis
.
It can be usefully installed as /bin/sh (because it executes scripts
- somewhat faster than "bash"), or as the default shell either of root
- or of a second user with a userid of 0 (because it depends on fewer
- libraries, and is therefore less likely to be affected by an upgrade
- problem or a disk failure). It is also useful for checking that a
- script uses only POSIX syntax.
+ faster than bash), or as the default shell for the superuser. It
+ depends on fewer libraries than bash, and is therefore less likely to
+ be affected by an upgrade problem or a disk failure. It is also
+ useful for checking the POSIX compliance of scripts.
.
- "bash" is a better shell for most users, since it has some nice
- features absent from "dash", and is a required part of the system.
+ This package is used to build Debian Installer.
Same changes for the udeb, plus one paragraph mentioning that the
package is suitable for D-I only.
Package: ash
Architecture: all
Pre-Depends: dash
-Description: Compatibility package for the Debian Almquist Shell
- This package exists so that users of the "ash" package can upgrade to the
- "dash" package which replaces the former. It includes the /bin/ash symlink.
- You can remove this package if you do not use /bin/ash explicitly.
+Description: compatibility package for dash
+ This package allows upgrading ash to its replacement,
+ dash. It includes the /bin/ash symlink.
+ It can be removed as soon as /bin/ash is no longer used.
Avoid repetition.
--
Template: dash/sh Type: boolean Default: false _Description: Install dash as /bin/sh? Bash is the default /bin/sh shell on Debian and Debian-based systems. . However, since the distribution policy requires all shell scripts using /bin/sh to be POSIX compliant, any shell that conforms to POSIX, such as dash, can serve as /bin/sh. You may wish to do this because dash is faster and smaller than bash.
--- dash.old/debian/dash.templates.in 2007-10-14 09:35:47.035753654 +0200
+++ dash/debian/dash.templates.in 2007-10-23 07:01:27.024425132 +0200
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
Type: boolean
Default: false
_Description: Install dash as /bin/sh?
- Bash is the default /bin/sh on a Debian system. However, since the Debian
- policy requires all shell scripts using /bin/sh to be POSIX compliant, any
- shell that conforms to POSIX can serve as /bin/sh. Since dash is POSIX
- compliant, it can be used as /bin/sh. You may wish to do this because
- dash is faster and smaller than bash.
+ Bash is the default /bin/sh shell on Debian and Debian-based
+ systems.
+ .
+ However, since the distribution policy requires all shell scripts
+ using /bin/sh to be POSIX compliant, any shell that conforms to
+ POSIX, such as dash, can serve as /bin/sh. You may wish to do this
+ because dash is faster and smaller than bash.
--- dash.old/debian/control 2007-10-14 09:35:47.035753654 +0200
+++ dash/debian/control 2007-10-23 07:12:33.498244236 +0200
@@ -8,46 +8,38 @@
Package: dash
Architecture: any
Pre-Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}
-Description: The Debian Almquist Shell
- "dash" is a POSIX compliant shell that is much smaller than "bash".
- We take advantage of that by making it the shell on the installation
- root floppy, where space is at a premium.
+Description: POSIX-compilant shell
+ The Debian Almquist Shell (dash) is a POSIX-compliant shell that is
+ much smaller than bash.
.
It can be usefully installed as /bin/sh (because it executes scripts
- somewhat faster than "bash"), or as the default shell either of root
- or of a second user with a userid of 0 (because it depends on fewer
- libraries, and is therefore less likely to be affected by an upgrade
- problem or a disk failure). It is also useful for checking that a
- script uses only POSIX syntax.
- .
- "bash" is a better shell for most users, since it has some nice
- features absent from "dash", and is a required part of the system.
+ faster than bash), or as the default shell for the superuser. It
+ depends on fewer libraries than bash, and is therefore less likely to
+ be affected by an upgrade problem or a disk failure. It is also
+ useful for checking the POSIX compliance of scripts.
Package: dash-udeb
Architecture: any
Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}
Section: debian-installer
Priority: extra
-Description: The Debian Almquist Shell for boot floppies
- "dash" is a POSIX compliant shell that is much smaller than "bash".
- We take advantage of that by making it the shell on the installation
- root floppy, where space is at a premium.
+Description: POSIX-compilant shell - Debian Installer component
+ The Debian Almquist Shell (dash) is a POSIX-compliant shell that is
+ much smaller than bash.
.
It can be usefully installed as /bin/sh (because it executes scripts
- somewhat faster than "bash"), or as the default shell either of root
- or of a second user with a userid of 0 (because it depends on fewer
- libraries, and is therefore less likely to be affected by an upgrade
- problem or a disk failure). It is also useful for checking that a
- script uses only POSIX syntax.
+ faster than bash), or as the default shell for the superuser. It
+ depends on fewer libraries than bash, and is therefore less likely to
+ be affected by an upgrade problem or a disk failure. It is also
+ useful for checking the POSIX compliance of scripts.
.
- "bash" is a better shell for most users, since it has some nice
- features absent from "dash", and is a required part of the system.
+ This package is used to build Debian Installer.
Package: ash
Architecture: all
Pre-Depends: dash
-Description: Compatibility package for the Debian Almquist Shell
- This package exists so that users of the "ash" package can upgrade to the
- "dash" package which replaces the former. It includes the /bin/ash symlink.
- You can remove this package if you do not use /bin/ash explicitly.
+Description: compatibility package for dash
+ This package allows upgrading ash to its replacement,
+ dash. It includes the /bin/ash symlink.
+ It can be removed as soon as /bin/ash is no longer used.
Source: dash
Section: shells
Priority: optional
Maintainer: Gerrit Pape <pape@smarden.org>
Build-Depends: po-debconf, dietlibc-dev [alpha amd64 arm hppa i386 ia64 mips mipsel powerpc ppc64 s390 sparc]
Standards-Version: 3.7.2.2
Package: dash
Architecture: any
Pre-Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}
Description: POSIX-compilant shell
The Debian Almquist Shell (dash) is a POSIX-compliant shell that is
much smaller than bash.
.
It can be usefully installed as /bin/sh (because it executes scripts
faster than bash), or as the default shell for the superuser. It
depends on fewer libraries than bash, and is therefore less likely to
be affected by an upgrade problem or a disk failure. It is also
useful for checking the POSIX compliance of scripts.
Package: dash-udeb
Architecture: any
Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}
Section: debian-installer
Priority: extra
Description: POSIX-compilant shell - Debian Installer component
The Debian Almquist Shell (dash) is a POSIX-compliant shell that is
much smaller than bash.
.
It can be usefully installed as /bin/sh (because it executes scripts
faster than bash), or as the default shell for the superuser. It
depends on fewer libraries than bash, and is therefore less likely to
be affected by an upgrade problem or a disk failure. It is also
useful for checking the POSIX compliance of scripts.
.
This package is used to build Debian Installer.
Package: ash
Architecture: all
Pre-Depends: dash
Description: compatibility package for dash
This package allows upgrading ash to its replacement,
dash. It includes the /bin/ash symlink.
It can be removed as soon as /bin/ash is no longer used.
Attachment:
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