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Re: Native packages, broken uploads, and debian policy



>>"Brian" == Brian May <bam@debian.org> writes:

>>>>> "Manoj" == Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> writes:
 Manoj> I feel that native packages should not have a debian
 Manoj> revision, but not strongly enough or with reasons to be
 Manoj> able to convincingly argue that feeling be made mandatory
 Manoj> in policy.

 Brian> I disagree.

	The you should not be surprised by my continued disagreement
 with your analysis.

 Brian> The problem here is that the Debian version serves two tasks:

 Brian> 1. has the package changed from the upstream version?
 Brian> 2. has the package been rebuilt?

	Eh?
	
 Brian> So obviously 1 is not relevant but 2 still is. eg. consider a
 Brian> package that was built against a buggy library, and the
 Brian> package has to be rebuilt in order to fix the problem. No
 Brian> source needs to change, so updating the version number is
 Brian> (IMHO) an overkill.

	If nothing else, the changelog needs to be modified to reflect
 that the package was rebuilt, and certainly conflicts need to be
 introduced against the bad version numbers of the buggy library. 

	If I can deduce what you intend, you seem to be trying to
 separate the packaging aspect of native debian packages from the rest
 of the code. In this case, you should go to the full upstream-debian
 versioning system, and produce a debian diff; so that you do not
 upload the whole source for packaging changes.

	I disagree that there is a burning need to have a special
 syntax to define a case where a revision number changes with no
 change in the source _or_ a diff being produced; I hold that the
 latter is buggy, and fails to document the need for the change. 

	I see no need to introduce a whole new syntax for packages to
 accomplish this; we already have a means for decoupling the packaing
 code from the rest of the code.

 Brian> Then again, the current solution isn't very optimal either. As
 Brian> changing the Debian revision number requires changing the name
 Brian> of the source file, even though the source file has not
 Brian> changed.

	You are very mistaken. Indeed, with such an assumption, the
 rest of your analysis is suspect, since it may be founded upon these
 incorrect basis.

	If nothing else, the changelog needs changing, so the source
 has indeed changed (or the diff has)

	manoj
-- 

When I left you, I was but the pupil.  Now, I am the master.  -- Darth
Vader
Manoj Srivastava   <srivasta@debian.org>  <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
1024R/C7261095 print CB D9 F4 12 68 07 E4 05  CC 2D 27 12 1D F5 E8 6E
1024D/BF24424C print 4966 F272 D093 B493 410B  924B 21BA DABB BF24 424C



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