New (?) /usr/share/doc
Looking at the latest /usr/share/doc flamewar, an idea came to me... the
basic problems are all in "dpkg cannot handle foo"... The solution would
seem to be *modifying dpkg*.
Advantages:
Only one place to modify. Always keeps doc files in sync with packages.
Only one place for doc files.
Disadvantages:
Sombody has to write non-trivial (but not very non-trivial) code. More
cruft in dpkg. Dpkg doing some magic out of sight on [de]installs. Breaks
maintainer scripts refering to /usr/doc byhand (none I have installed do,
though this is a small system). (Breaks everything else refering to
/usr/doc, but README should help humans, and everything else should be
upgraded in a reasonable timeframe.)
The details:
Dpkg's postinst should move /usr/doc/* to /usr/share/doc. It should then
add a README to /usr/doc explaning that the files that used to be there were
moved to /usr/share/doc.
During an [un]install run, dpkg should treat all /usr/doc paths as if they
read /usr/share/doc (this may involve decompressing things to the wrong
place and then moving them, which is the major reason that it dosn't become
a symlink).
For increased clenlyness, have base-files do the part in the postinst, and
have dpkg depend on it.
I think that covers it. Please, don't flame me too hard.
-=- James Mastros
--
Little candle-wiccan-bunny fire good. Huge burn-down-house,
bring-Cabal-action fire bad.
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