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Re: How to correctly patch without cdbs?



Le Mon, Jun 19, 2006 at 07:50:11AM -0600, Joseph Smidt a écrit :
> 
>    I tried using dpatch but it complained it couldn't understand
>    the .patch files syntax even when I changed them to have .dpatch endings.

Hi,

Here is something I wrote in an unreleased text:

-----------------------------

Modifications to the upstream sources.

To be redistributable, your modifications need a licence. Do not forget
to mention it in all the files you will include to the source package.
You can use the copyright file to indicate that your patches, packaging
work and new files are freely redistributable. Be careful if you
incorporate parts of the existing documentation in new files, for
instance in a manpage: the licence you chose must be compatible. It is
otfen wise to choose the same licence as the software itself.

To make modifications of the original source as obvious as possible, you
can use the dpatch system. Note that if you use dpatch, you will have to
add it in the buid dependancies of your package. The manpage of dpatch
explains how it works, but here is a few commands for a quick start.

The patches are stored in the debian/patchesdirectory. It contains a
special file, 00list which lists the patches to apply. The following
instruction generates a patch and formats it for dpatch: diff -u
source-tree-original/the-file source-tree/the-file | dpatch
patch-template -p "number_short_desctiption" "What the patch is doing" >
path/to/debian/patches/number_short_desctiption.dpatch.

Try to apply / deapply your patches with the following commands: dpatch
apply-all and dpatch deapply-all (to be run from the sources directory,
not the debian one). Try them on cleaned sources as well. If it works
without errors, you can modify the debian/rules makefile as indicated in
the dpatch manpage.

Patches which you think are of general interest should be submitted to
the upstream author(s). Not only this shares your enhancements, but it
also reduces the complexity of the package when they are accepted.

-----------------------------------

It is unrelease because I am a bit underexperienced and it may contain
errors... beware.

Hope this helps,

-- 
Charles Plessy
Wako, Saitama, Japan



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