Re: Bug#818974: packaging
On Sun, Apr 24, 2016 at 09:06:26AM +0200, Dominique Dumont wrote:
> You can also try "cme update dpkg-copyright".
>
> See https://github.com/dod38fr/config-model/wiki/Updating-debian-copyright-file-with-cme
> for instructions,
Bad advice, I'm afraid.
Here's a typical result of using cme:
https://anonscm.debian.org/cgit/pkg-fonts/ttfautohint.git/commit/?id=8a0a29b8ef50fb4e7316826a916167fd66acdd5f
All of the output is obviously bogus, both the claim that almost everything
is "FTL or GPL-2+" or the oft-repeated Comment: about Freetype license.
It's not an isolated case, too: I tried cme's "scan-copyright" on a few
packages (not many, I admit), and have yet to see a case when cme's output
is fit even as a start for manual review.
It appears that it relies on the dubious practice of copying a page of
licensing boilerplate into every source file. This practice is a source of
controversy, with many arguments for and against so let's not discuss its
merit here (as it's a question for upstream not you). But even if such
boilerplate is included, in most cases it's worthless as it says only who
_started_ coding the given file.
Collecting accurate copyright information is not as easy as running a simple
tool...
--
A tit a day keeps the vet away.
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