Bug#193748: debian-policy: gcc-3.3 no longer has <varargs.h>

[Colin Watson <cjwatson@debian.org>]

Package: debian-policy
Version: 3.5.10.0
Severity: wishlist

In gcc-3.3, which is now the default C compiler in unstable, <varargs.h>
just does the following:

  #error "GCC no longer implements <varargs.h>."
  #error "Revise your code to use <stdarg.h>."

Policy currently says:

     The include file `<varargs.h>' is provided to support end-users
     compiling very old software; the library `libtermcap' is provided to
     support the execution of software which has been linked against it
     (either old programs or those such as Netscape which are only
     available in binary form).

     Debian packages should be patched to use `<stdarg.h>' and `ncurses'
     instead.

In light of recent changes, I suggest that policy should instead say:

     The include file `<varargs.h>' was once provided to support
     end-users compiling very old software; the library `libtermcap' is
     provided to support the execution of software which has been linked
     against it (either old programs or those such as Netscape which are
     only available in binary form).

     Debian packages using `<varargs.h>' must be patched to use
     `<stdarg.h>' instead; packages using `libtermcap' should be patched
     to use `ncurses' instead.

(The extra "must" is really just informational, since anything that
tries to use <varargs.h> without hacks to build-depend on some older
version of gcc has a serious bug anyway due to not building from
source.)

-- 
Colin Watson                                  [cjwatson@flatline.org.uk]