Re: [MoM] ProbABEL packaging
Hi Lennart,
thanks for your effort to become a skilled packager in Debian Med team.
As you can see we are a team competing in doing the work of mentoring.
;-)
I just add some more further things to Steffen's answer.
On Wed, Dec 04, 2013 at 07:46:52PM +0100, "Steffen Möller" wrote:
> > Dear list,
> >
> > With this e-mail I'd like to sign up as a student for the Mentoring of
> > the Month program. I'd like to learn how to properly package ProbABEL
> > [1,2].
> >
> >
> > This is what I have so far:
> > - a .deb in an Ubuntu ppa that passes all tests done there. It's based
> > on the source .tar.gz, which uses autotools, and has only one or two
> > lintian warnings.
> > - The debian directory of this package was adapted by hand from the
> > dh_make defaults.
>
> Technically this is about what you need. What remains is someone to
> upload. Steps 1-6 below are meant to help with
> this process, basically an extension to what email can do.
>
> > Is the following the right course of action (please correct where
> > necessary)?
> >
> > 1) File an intent to package bug
>
> Yes, in deep theory this should have been done even prior to
> packaging, just indicating your itention to go for it. This helps
> search engines to pick it up - my personal main motivation.
Steffen has perfectly described the official sense of an ITP. I
*personally* take the freedom to derive from this also by first bringing
the packaging to some pre-release state to be very sure, that I will
really be able to finalise the packaging. This has the advantage that
the Debian bug tracking system does not end up as a collection of never
uploaded ITPs. In our field of specific packages chances, that somebody
else would work at the same time at the very same package are very low -
so no real harm is done. In short: Your way to do the packaging first
and than ITP is not really wrong. And yes, it's fine if you do so now.
> > 2) list package in the task file
>
> Yes. Very promotional. Besides the source code management, this
> is what keeps Debian Med together. Not a requirement for the upload
> per se, the entry produces happy smiley faces everywhere.
I'll care for this if you don't mind. That's a one liner and I'm quite
used to this. I'd like to do this *after* you commited your packaging
to git.debian.org since all needed information is fetched automatically
from there.
> > 3) update my present debian directory to Debian standard and commit it
> > (including source .tar.gz?) to the debian-med git (I have more
> > experience with subversion, but would like to learn more about using git
> > and the git-related packaging tools).
>
> Very helpful for the reviewers of your package.
I would not call this only "helpful" but rather would require it if you
want *me* to sponsor it. I do not sponsor any Debian package which is
not maintained in any team VCS since it has turned out to be very
practical. The rationale is that I take the freedom to do simple
changes myself and just let you know via commit log. That's sometimes
way more efficient than writing to you an e-mail with an extensive
explanation what you should do - sometimes just doing it is way more
instructive and avoids misunderstandings.
> I personally think
> that subversion is doing just fine for packaging. Go for git if you
> feel like it.
Subversion is in dead OK but I'm also enjoying to learn Git from my
Debian team mates. It might happen that I also need to ask for some
Git help - but I know where to ask and teaching this to you by doing
it right in front of problems might be a nice experience for you.
> > 4) let this be reviewed by my mentor
> >
> > 5) improve the package based on the comments by the mentor
>
> > 6) repeat 4) and 5) until the package is deemed good enough for uploading.
>
> Yes. Sounds like right. With 3) done, it is also not unlikely that
> your reviewers just performs smallish changes and then uploads without
> bothering you with it.
... Steffen says it in other words. ;-)
> Sounds great! Steam ahead, please!
Yep. Just go on and create your first Git repository in the Debian Med
space and do not hesitate to ask any question here even if you think that
it is stupidly simple. There is no point in letting you wasting time by
speculating whether this should be asked or not - just ask and we will
answer patiently.
Kind regards
Andreas.
--
http://fam-tille.de
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