Re: Bug#88029: allow rules file to be non-makefile

[Julian Gilbey <J.D.Gilbey@qmw.ac.uk>]

On Wed, Feb 28, 2001 at 04:27:47PM -0800, Alexander Hvostov wrote:
> Julian,
> 
> It can be done the easy way, or the hard way. What you described is the
> hard way. Why can't it be done the easy way?

In general, given the number of example rules files available for
making a package correctly, surely trying to come up with a script
that gets it right which is not a makefile is the hard way?  I would
presume that if an upstream package comes with a build script, it can
just be called from the makefile, and if it's a Debian native package,
why wouldn't someone use a makefile?

So here's the crux of the matter: is this a theoretical question or is
there actually a package in existence with this alternative script?

I certainly think policy should be no less giving than a
SHOULD/RECOMMEND on this matter, but if there's a really good reason
for some package to use some other mechanism, then should we forbid
it?  It would make NMU's potentially much harder, and I pity the
package's future maintainer, should there be one.

   Julian

-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

         Julian Gilbey, Dept of Maths, Queen Mary, Univ. of London
       Debian GNU/Linux Developer,  see http://people.debian.org/~jdg
  Donate free food to the world's hungry: see http://www.thehungersite.com/