Re: Debian 3.1 packaging documentation

[Vincent Danjean <Vincent.Danjean@ens-lyon.org>]

robert jennings wrote:
> Thank you Carlo,
> 
> Actually, I was cutting a few corners and did a quick
> read through the Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible as well as
> a few other sites (I like IBM's site for quick answers
> for lots of little tid bits!) and I created the DEBIAN
> directory with associated files and skipped the
> dh_install process as I thought it was primarily for
> when building from source, which I'm not delivering...

It seems you are trying to build a .deb 'by hands'. It is possible
(it is an exercise for new Debian developers), but this is really not
the easiest way to do.

dh_install can be used to install any files (built with 'make' or
already present or ...)
What is important to understand is that the 'source' debian package
can contain already built files. For official Debian package in main,
we do not want that (as we require to have the full sources to be able
to modify/correct/... all programs). But for private package (or
probably even Debian package in the non-free section), it is perfectly
possible to put in the source prebuilt files. In this case, the
debian/rules file only needs to install these files (and not rebuilt
them)

I think the easiest way for you is to create a source package that will
only install your prebuild files in the binary package. And the binary
package (ie the .deb) will be build (as a standard user) with one of
these commands :
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -us -uc
debuild -us -uc

Note: "-us -uc" avoids to sign your package. You can remove them (and
sign your package) if you have a gpg key set up.

Then, the .deb can be installed with "dpkg -i .....deb"

If you want, you can look at one of my old private package
labri-texutils:
http://dept-info.labri.fr/~danjean/deb.html#labri-texutils
It is a package with a debian/rules and a Makefile that only
installs LaTeX files in the binary package.
It is an old package (so it is probably nor up-to-date with
the current debian standards), but it can be a good example
for you to start with.

So see it, go to the web page, download the .orig.tar.gz, .diff.gz and
.dsc files, type "dpkg-source -x .....dsc". You will get a directory
with the source package in it. Enter this directory and type
"debuild -us -uc" to rebuild the binary package. Then, look at the
sources and modify them as you want.

Note: all these actions (except the "dpkg -i ....deb" to install and
test the package) can be done as a user (ie not root).

>  I later started looking again and it seems that I'm
> missing maybe the debconf file to hold the users
> responses for installation.

At first, I do not think you need to bother with debconf.
Try to make your first package without it. If you need to
interact with the user during the package installation, debconf
is the good way to do it, but it is a little harder to set up.
So this should be for a second step.

> I'm really new to Debian (about 5 days) so I'm sorry
> if my learning curve is slow.

You're welcome ;-)

> Do you think I'm on track?

We all started by a first package. If you are motivated, there is
no reason you cannot get your one.

  Best regards,
    Vincent