Re: GNU polyxmass: brand new lintian-linda-clean packages

[Lionel Elie Mamane <lionel@mamane.lu>]

Hi, Filippo! So, it is "GNU polyxmass", now? You are an official GNU
project and all. Congratulations.

(We'll continue the rest of the discussion by private mail, shall we?)

On Sun, Feb 08, 2004 at 10:19:45AM +0100, Filippo Rusconi wrote:

> Apart from those lintian W/E messages, the packages are clean.

Well, there are problems not caught by linda / lintian.

> I tried this with

> # apt-get install polyxdef

> and it correctly determined the dependencies on a virginal Debian
> GNU/Linux machine, downloading everything needed (what a wonder !).

Welcome to Debian!

> Overall, the fact that I had to prepare Debian packages certainly made
> me improve the upstream material. That's clever, for a packaging
> system!

:-)

Now, on to the problem I found in your packages: They miss
build-depends! The dependencies of binary packages, which permit the
wonder you described, have a correspondence in the source package: The
"Build-Depends:". It _must_ list all (binary) packages that must be
installed for the package to compile, except packages that are in
build-essentials. Missing for polyxcalc are at least:

 - glib2
 - gtk+2
 - libglade-2.0 >= 2.0
 - libpxmutils >= 0.7.0
 - libpxmchem >= 0.7.0

An easy way to test whether no Build-Depend is missing is trying to
build in a pbuilder / sbuild chrrot (see these packages).

Please read on this issue:

 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/build-essential
 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-relationships.html#s-sourcebinarydeps

Additionally, if as it seems, you intend to become a debian packager,
please read _entirely_:

 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/
 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/developers-reference/
 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/
 http://www.pathname.com/fhs/

and the relevant parts of:

 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/menu-policy/
 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/mime-policy/
 http://www.fr.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/debconf_specification.html
 http://www.fr.debian.org/devel/


Would you like me to help you in your packaging of polyxmass? Assuming
you do, fix the build-depends, notify me and I'll take a look at the
packages again. OK?

I took a look at debian/rules of polyxcalc:

 - DH_VERBOSE is useful for you, but why do you activate it in the
   package you distribute?

 - CFLAGS = -g -z -Wl -Wall -Werror -D_REENTRANT
   What is the "-Wl" good for? What is the "-z" good for (I don't see
   it documented in the gcc manual)?

   Doesn't the Makefile / config.status add the -D_REENTRANT by itself?

Do you intend to become a Debian Developer or to have the packages
sponsored on long term? Note I cannot sponsor / advocate you, I'm not
(yet) a DD myself.

-- 
Lionel