From local source tree to Debian package

[Ben Finney <ben@benfinney.id.au>]

Howdy all,

Most program packages start life as a single source code tree, with
everything conveniently located under a package-specific hierarchy:
programs, library modules, runtime configuration files, data files,
etc. The programs need to allow for those files to be distributed all
over the filesystem hierarchy, and in Debian we have a policy for
where those files should go.

Apart from the runtime programs' concerns, there is also the task of
building the Debian package. Part of this involves taking those files
-- which are still (usually) located under a single package-specific
hierarchy -- and "installing" them to the Debian-specified locations
so they can be packaged by later steps of the build process.

Writing a bunch of 'cp' or 'install' commands in the 'debian/rules'
file seems like drudgery and is certainly prone to error. What tools
are there to assist Debian packagers in making this task more
automated?

-- 
 \    "Imagine a world without hypothetical situations."  -- Anonymous |
  `\                                                                   |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney