Re: Need some tips on building Debian packages
On Fri, 30 May 2008 15:07:57 -0500, Paul Johnson <pauljohn32@gmail.com> said:
> Keep in mind that my background is in RPM building, where the emphasis
> is on distributing "pristine" source code. I was initially
> shocked/dismayed by the Debian approach because the source code gets
> untarred and fiddled with by the packager.
Yes. There is also a viewpoint that Debian is a full participant
in open source development, and some of us DD's participate in the
free software movement by actively developing the software, and some of
the changes get incubated in Debian for a while before being accepted
upstream.
> Some of the example guides that people referred me to may have been
> bad examples--packagers were opening the source directory and
> liberally applying patches and making changes, and all of those
> fiddles were getting wrapped up into the one big diff file, making it
> impossible to figure out who did what.
This sounds like chaotic development. I try and manage my
enhancements to software I develop using separate lines of development,
and I use a sloppy branch for testing new ideas, and an integration
branch to ship the combination of the lines of development I am
working with.
> I eventually found out that these were bad examples. At the end of
> the day, the recommendation for Debian packaging is essentially the
> same as in RedHat: we are aiming to distribute unchanged source that
> is patched in a clear and orderly way. There's not much information on
> how to manage patches in the Debian New Maintainer's Guide, but in
> section 6.4 it does acknowledge the problem and refers to dpatch.
Not all of use stacked patch management systems.
> I keep wondering, "If the goal is to re-distribute 'pristine' source
> code and patches, why doesn't Debian discourage users from untarring
> the sourced code?" Why can't you make it so the debian directory is
> not inside the source tree? One response I've received is that "we
> are not RedHat, try to get over it."
We are also not scared of free software development models,
where users are supposed to be given the sources. If they are to be
discouraged from fiddling with the source cod4e, why get all hot and
bothered about the freedom angle?
manoj
--
Excellent day for drinking heavily. Spike the office water cooler.
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> <http://www.debian.org/~srivasta/>
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