debhelper "I have no package to build"

["Steve M. Robbins" <steven.robbins@videotron.ca>]

Hi,

I regularly use the template debian/rules file

  /usr/share/doc/debhelper/examples/rules.multi2

that has binary-indep and binary-arch rules that both use a single
binary-common rule.  The binary-common rule has lots of dh_* stuff
there, including dh_compress.  I decided that compressing the HTML
files would be a bad idea, so I modified it to skip that one
package using

	dh_compress -Nlibboost-doc

However, the binary-indep rule sets DH_OPTIONS=-i before building
binary-common meaning that there is *no* package for dh_compress
to act upon when "binary-indep" is invoked.  The build dies with
the complaint of the subject line.

After puzzling this out, I worked around the problem using

	dh_compress -Nlibboost-doc || true

to ignore the error.  

Surely this is not the first time someone has run into this.  Am I
doing something silly?  It seems a bit odd to make the "no package to
build" diagnostic a fatal error.

Thanks,
-Steve

P.S.  Cc's appreciated, as I don't subscribe.

-- 
by Rocket to the Moon,
by Airplane to the Rocket,
by Taxi to the Airport,
by Frontdoor to the Taxi,
by throwing back the blanket and laying down the legs ...
- They Might Be Giants


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