Re: Choice between ubuntu or brand new package for Bug#345039
On Fri, Mar 02, 2007 at 06:44:31PM +0100, Holger Levsen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> On Tuesday 20 February 2007 20:42, Matt Zimmerman wrote:
> > > Debian. It is currently already in Ubuntu
> > > (http://packages.ubuntu.com/kzenexplorer). I created a brand new Debian
> > > package (lintian clean except for lack of a man page) before noticing it
> > > was in Ubuntu. Which is preferred, a new package or using the Ubuntu
> > > one? And if the latter, is it simply done by using the Ubuntu
> > > orig.tar.gz/diff.gz/dsc ?
> > You aren't likely to find any useful conventional wisdom about which to
> > prefer; it will always depend on the individual package. The same applies
> > for any package which you might adopt from a third party.
>
> Isn't having the same package in Debian (unstable) and Ubuntu (unstable) the
> prefered status?
Certainly. However, one can reach that status using either package as a
starting point. The right approach is to evaluate both packages, decide
on technical grounds which is closer to the ideal, and use that.
If the Ubuntu packaging is more mature and complete, it would be best to
import that into Debian and begin there. Similarly, if the Ubuntu packaging
is rough, the Debian package might make a better starting point.
In other words, the question was "should I choose package A or package B?"
and the answer is "choose the best package".
Of course, in general, it's best to avoid this situation (and any wasted
effort) entirely by communicating with the maintainer of an existing package
before creating a new one, but it's never too late to make contact and start
discussing it. Emailing the Ubuntu developer who created the package is a
good beginning.
--
- mdz
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