Bug#914287: lsb-release: please parse /usr/lib/os-release and deprecate /etc/lsb-release
On 11/21/18 9:12 AM, Simon McVittie wrote:
> Package: lsb-release
> Version: 9.20170808
> Severity: wishlist
>
> Debian's Python implementation of the LSB-standardized lsb_release
> command parses various sources of data, including the non-standardized
> configuration file /etc/lsb-release. That file doesn't exist in Debian,
> but is typically shipped in base-files by derivatives. It is not "API"
> itself, although packages designed for Ubuntu sometimes treat it as
> though it was.
>
> systemd defines a new "API", which has been adopted in Debian even
> for non-systemd systems: the /usr/lib/os-release file (formerly
> /etc/os-release, which is now a symlink). This "API" is defined in terms
> of parsing a text file, not running a Python program, so it's much faster
> to use.
>
> If lsb_release looked at /usr/lib/os-release, then derivatives could edit
> that file and /etc/dpkg/origins/default (which they need to do anyway)
> and wouldn't usually need to add /etc/lsb-release. /usr/lib/os-release
> uses the same subset of shell syntax as /etc/lsb-release.
confirming from the LSB viewpoint: lsb_release should look at whatever
it needs to to make its determinations, and nothing the other side of
lsb_release is in the LSB specification.
Reply to: