Re: Need some tips on building Debian packages
On Fri, 30 May 2008 22:25:44 +0100, Neil Williams <codehelp@debian.org> said:
> On Fri, 2008-05-30 at 15:07 -0500, Paul Johnson wrote:
>> 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.
> Wherever possible, changes should be limited to the debian/ directory.
Unless the Debian package can be enhanced by making changes
outside of ./debian. Many of my packages do carry patches against
upstream sources, and some of them have been long lived.
>> 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.
> dpatch is only one way - CDBS is another, quilt a third and there are
> moves afoot for a new source format, based on the quilt model.
And using a modern version control system is also an alternative.
>> 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?"
That is, obviously, not the goal. At least, not my goal.
>> I wonder how you do your day-to-day work on building debs? I have
>> followed the dh_make approach of opening the source, and dh_make
>> gives me template files in "debian" for control, rules and such.
> Only use dh_make once per package - there should be no need to ever
> run dh_make again.
I have a hand crafted mechanism to build packages.
manoj
--
Perhaps the biggest disappointments were the ones you expected anyway.
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> <http://www.debian.org/~srivasta/>
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