Re: New Package: Lejos NXJ
On Tue, 2010-07-20 at 22:10 +0200, Niels Thykier wrote:
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> On 2010-07-20 20:14, Chris Baines wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > My name is Chris and I have just started using Debian. I would like to
> > build a Debian package for the Lejos NXJ project
> > (http://lejos.sourceforge.net/). Its a replacement firmware and java api
> > for a commercially available robotics platform, the Lego NXT. While I
> > understand this is not the easiest program to package, I do want to
> > still try.
> >
>
> Hi Chris and welcome.
>
> Thanks for your interest in Debian and packaging for Debian.
>
> I suspect you are right when you say it is not the easiest; personally I
> can recommend starting with smaller packages until you get the hang of
> general packaging.
> But if you firmly believe that you can handle both the documentation
> for packaging Debian packages in general, Java packages and this
> particular package all in one go, then I will not stop you.
>
> That being said, if you find it all too overwhelming, do not be afraid
> to admit it and take a few smaller packages to get a feel of it. I have
> found myself putting one of my more complex packages on hold in favour
> of some easier packages just to get the steam back up.
>
>
> On a more practical note, you may want to join the Java Team - you
> probably will not find any better place to get help on Java related
> issues and when your package is done, the team also have a number of
> Java interested DDs to review and upload your package. The team have
> also produced a number of helper tools to assist building Java packages
> depending on the build system.
>
> Finally, I am not sure how much documentation you have read about
> general packaging, but if you have not already done so, you will need to
> declare your intend to package this program.
> This is done by either retitling and taking ownership of an existing
> "Request For Package" (RFP) bug on this software or filing a new "Intend
> To Package" (ITP) bug against wnpp. It goes without saying that if there
> already is an ITP bug, then you should ask the owner of that bug if you
> can join as a co-maintainer.
> reportbug has a template for filing an ITP bug, for taking over an RFP
> you may want to look at the bts script or reading [BTS].
>
> There are a few guides on how to do the packaging e.g. [0], [1] and [2].
> Then there is the Java Team info [3] and (once you have gotten an idea
> of how general packaging works) a short set of examples for "how to use
> various Java helper tools" [4]. Reading the Developer's Reference might
> also be useful [5]. Then there is the Debian Policy[6], which formally
> dictates the requirements for your package, plus the Java Policy[7].
>
> I know it is a lot of reading (I have been here as well), but take it a
> little at the time.
>
> Finally if you are new to the Debian Bug Tracker (BTS), then there is an
> IRC lesson on it Thursday at 1800 UTC in the Ubuntu Classroom[8]. They
> may also have other classes they may be interesting/useful for you and
> your packaging. While some things are done differently in Ubuntu, the
> concepts of how to do a package is more or less the same.
>
> > I have however run in to a couple of problems I was hoping you could
> > help me with. Firstly, to compile it requires the cpptasks java library
> > (http://ant-contrib.sourceforge.net/cpptasks/index.html) for ant and
> > currently as far as I can tell this is not included with Debian. It
> > looks to be separate, but part of the ant-contrib project that is
> > included with Debian. I don't want to really package this as well. How
> > should I move forward?
> >
>
> You need to figure out if it is in Debian or not. If it isn't you may
> want to request its inclusion either as a part of the ant-contrib package.
> In that case you probably want to file a bug against ant-contrib,
> asking the maintainers (the Java Team as far as I recall) to include it.
>
> > Secondly, I have little understanding of the usb permissions on Debian.
> > I have done some basic tests and the device can't be accessed without
> > root permissions on a standard installation of Debian. The project
> > readme says:
> > To use udev rules, set up a file such
> > as /etc/udev/rules.d/70-lego.rules and populate it with the
> > following lines:
> > # Lego NXT
> > BUS=="usb", SYSFS{idVendor}=="03eb", GROUP="lego", MODE="0660"
> > BUS=="usb", SYSFS{idVendor}=="0694", GROUP="lego", MODE="0660"
> >
> > This relies on the username you are using being in the lego
> > group. You can modify the file to your requirements. The two
> > vendors are LEGO and Atmel (for the samba driver used in
> > firmware update mode). You may need to reload the rules or
> > restart udev. On some Linux systems, the command to reload the
> > rules is udevadm control --reload-rules.
> >
> > However I don't believe this is the best solution, the device just needs
> > to be accessible by the normal user, does a specific group need to be
> > added just for this purpose?
> >
>
> Cannot help here, sorry :)
>
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Chris
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> Once again, welcome and thanks for your interest - if you have any
> questions, feel free to ask.
>
> ~Niels
>
> [BTS] http://www.debian.org/Bugs/server-control
>
> [0] http://www.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/
>
> [1] http://wiki.debian.org/HowToPackageForDebian
>
> [2] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PackagingGuide
> NB: This is a packaging guide for Ubuntu, since there are differences in
> the Debian and the Ubuntu Infrastructure there are things from this
> guide that may not apply directly or may require adaptation to the
> Debian setup. However the parts of how a package is set up properly is
> fairly consistent between both Distros.
>
> [3] http://pkg-java.alioth.debian.org/
>
> [4] http://pkg-java.alioth.debian.org/examples/
> Note: while not listed here, there also "maven" helper tools. If your
> upstream uses maven as build system (or something not listed), then ask
> and I will point you in the right direction.
>
> [5] http://www.debian.org/doc/developers-reference/index.html
> This is a general reference, so there are parts which may not be
> interesting for you right now.
>
> [6] http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/
> Warning: This is neither to read nor the most exciting document to read.
> Unfortunately, it is /the/ rule book that defines if a package is up to
> Debian's Standards or not.
>
> [7] http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/java-policy/
>
> [8] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Classroom
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Packaging/Training
>
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Thanks for your quick reply, I have now joined the java team's mailing
list and sent them a message about cpptasks. I have tried filing a ITP
package bug however the reportbug gui kept crashing and the bug I
submitted using the cli has yet to appear online.
Thanks again,
Chris
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