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Re: [Result] Moving to the FHS: ...



Hi,
>>"Santiago" == Santiago Vila <sanvila@unex.es> writes:

 Santiago> On 5 Sep 1999, Manoj Srivastava wrote:
 can get rid of symlinks later.

 Santiago> Mmm, let's see if I understood this "deprecated vs illegal" thing.

 Santiago> Suppose I decide, for the packages I have not converted
 Santiago> yet, not to move to /usr/share/doc until the "last
 Santiago> minute". Will I get bug reports?  Will my packages be
 Santiago> NMUed?

        Possibley, depending on how things are done. Not immediately,
 since the old way of foing things is not illegal immediately. 

 Santiago> I imagine the following scenario:

 Santiago> slink: everybody uses /usr/doc.

 Santiago> potato: mix /usr/share/doc and /usr/doc but people using
 Santiago>         /usr/share/doc should use symlinks.

        *must*, or be in violation of policy.

 Santiago> potato+1: we deprecate symlinks but still allow them, make /usr/doc
 Santiago>           illegal, and start filing bugs against packages
 Santiago>           still using /usr/doc. [ This is of course not
 Santiago>           decided yet, it's just an hypothesis ].

        What about this: (note that I am nt tying these states to a
 release cycle; they may happen more than one states/cycle, or
 more than one cycle/state)
. 
 Next stage: : /usr/doc is illegal, and we start filing bugs against
           packages still using /usr/doc. Symlinks are still
           required. 
 Next stage: Symlinks are now deprecated, but still legal
 Next stage: we make symlinks illegal and start filing bugs
             against packages using them. 
 Next stage: We create a pacakge/basefile postinst that actively
              removes old symlinks

 Santiago> [ BTW: How do these hypothesis sound as a proposal? ]

        I am not sure. I would rather introduce more states, though
 possibly keeping the same timetable as you did.

 Santiago> Since I don't think maintaining Debian packages should be
 Santiago> *gratuitously* painful, what kind of technical problems
 Santiago> would my packages cause to the average Debian user if I
 Santiago> decide to move from /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc in one shot
 Santiago> and without symlinks during the unstable stage of potato+1?

        If we go your route, possibly none. If we go a more gradual
 route as I show above, your packages would be buggy in between one of
 the states (which may be a reasonable argument for your strategy).

 Santiago> I guess if we are going to be "permissive" about packages
 Santiago> still using /usr/doc in potato, we should probably be
 Santiago> permissive as well about packages not using symlinks when
 Santiago> they are not really needed.

        Depends on whether there is techniocal grounds for using the
 smoother transition scheme detailed above.

        manoj
-- 
 There is no choice before us. Either we must Succeed in providing the
 rational coordination of impulses and guts, or for centuries
 civilization will sink into a mere welter of minor excitements. We
 must provide a Great Age or see the collapse of the upward striving
 of the human race. Alfred North Whitehead
Manoj Srivastava   <srivasta@debian.org>  <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
Key C7261095 fingerprint = CB D9 F4 12 68 07 E4 05  CC 2D 27 12 1D F5 E8 6E


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