RFS: opencbm
Dear mentors,
I humbly beseech thee for sponsorship (or, failing that, helpful
criticism) of the following package:
Package name : opencbm
Version : 0.4.3~rc0-1~fbriere+1
ITP : <http://bugs.debian.org/437316>
Section : contrib/otherosfs [almost main, on a technicality]
Description : $FOO for communicating with Commodore IEC serial bus devices
Upstream Authors: Spiro Trikaliotis <strik@users.sourceforge.net>
Michael Klein <michael.klein@puffin.lb.shuttle.de>
(and others)
URL : <http://sourceforge.net/projects/opencbm/>
License : GPL
Programming Lang: C
Lintian Status : Sparkling clean
Build System : CDBS [you have been warned <g>]
OpenCBM is a collection of utilities, a library and a kernel driver that
allows for communicating with and controlling devices via the Commodore
(CBM) IEC serial bus. This bus was used by such computers as the Commodore
VIC-20 and the Commodore 64 for connecting disk drives and printers through
a round 6-pin DIN connector.
The following binary packages are built:
libopencbm-dev - development files for communicating with Commodore IEC serial bus
libopencbm0 - library for communicating with Commodore IEC serial bus devices
libopencbm0-dbg - debugging symbols for libopencbm0
opencbm - utilities for communicating with Commodore IEC serial bus devices
opencbm-doc - documentation for OpenCBM
opencbm-modules-dkms - source for the OpenCBM kernel module (DKMS)
opencbm-modules-source - source for the OpenCBM kernel module
The source package can be found, as always, on mentors.debian.net:
- URL: http://mentors.debian.net/debian/pool/contrib/o/opencbm
- Source repository: deb-src http://mentors.debian.net/debian unstable main contrib non-free
- dget http://mentors.debian.net/debian/pool/contrib/o/opencbm/opencbm_0.4.3~rc0-1~fbriere+1.dsc
And now for the sales pitch:
As the description says, OpenCBM allows you to communicate with those
old (and desperately slow) Commodore floppy drives and printers, which
can be connected to a parallel port via a custom cable.
So, if you have a box of floppies from your C=64 days (and a 1541 that
still works), you can copy them over to your Debian box for posterity.
And with an emulator such as VICE, you're now set for a trip down
nostalgia lane, looking amusedly at all those BASIC games you created in
high school.
Now, doesn't that sound like a fun piece of software that deserves its
place in Debian?
(Truth be told, I'm guessing that 99% of this package's users will
uninstall it once their floppy collection is safe. Nevertheless, if it
proves to be useful, however briefly, then isn't it worth it? Besides,
you never know -- I myself once pulled my old C=64 printer out of
retirement when my bubblejet clogged its head.)
If this whets your sponsorship appetite, great! But even if it doesn't,
I'd be grateful for any comments/criticism you may have over the
packaging. In particular, here are a few additional notes/questions:
- This package is technically in contrib, even though it builds/runs
just fine in main, due to the presence of DFSG-free, pre-built but
non-rebuildable 6502 code. See
<http://lists.debian.org/debian-mentors/2007/12/msg00030.html> for a
more thorough explanation. (So, don't let that put you down if you
only sponsor packages in main.)
- I'm uncertain about debian/copyright, where I chose to list only the
names of the two main authors. (I figured that if linux-2.6 was doing
it, it must be okay. But then, nothing is clear-cut when we're
talking copyright. <g>)
On closer examination, there are probably no more than a dozen
different names throughout the source, so I could afford to list them
all. However, should I also list them all as upstream authors? Or
should I only list the active maintainer as a contact point? (If all
copyright holders are also upstream authors, what is the point in
duplicating this information?)
- I hesitated a bit before splitting the library from the main package,
but VICE (the Commodore emulator) can now be linked against it to
directly access floppy drives and printers. I doubt the vice
maintainers would opt to do this, but packaging the library separately
would provide them (or users) with the option to do so.
- Having split the binary and the lib, I felt obligated to split the
docs as well. Was I overzealous? (I'm starting to have second
thoughts, given the number of resulting packages. Still, the -doc
package is much bigger than the binary, so it may be worth it.)
Now, if you are on the fence about sponsoring this package, I would be
remiss not to mention a few possible caveats:
- As you may have noticed, this package builds a binary, a library, an
arch:all *and* a kernel module. This will probably require more time
and effort from a sponsor than your typical package, at least
initially. (Me, I like the challenge. <g>)
- While it is not necessary to own any IEC devices in order to sponsor
this package, you may find it frustrating not to be able to fully
appreciate the fruits of your labor.
- My OpenPGP key isn't currently signed by a DD -- or anyone else
connected to the web of trust for that matter. (I understand this
might be a problem for some sponsors.) I'm sure something can be
arranged, but it may take a while before that happens.
If you are not deterred by the above, drop me a line so that we can
start working together!
And to you all, my thanks for your patience in reading all of this. :)
--
< asuffield> a workstation is anything you can stick on somebodies desk
and con them into using
-- in #debian-devel
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