Bug#534408: debian-policy: Installed-Size is defined as "kilobytes" but dpkg-gencontrol fills it in with kibibytes

[Bill Allombert <Bill.Allombert@math.u-bordeaux1.fr>]

On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 07:49:40PM -0700, Russ Allbery wrote:
> Martin Dorey <mdorey@bluearc.com> writes:
> 
> > debian-policy appears to define Installed-Size's units as thousands of
> > bytes:
> >
> >> 5.6.20 Installed-Size
> >> This field appears in the control files of binary packages, and in
> >> the Packages files. It gives the total amount of disk space required
> >> to install the named package.  The disk space is represented in
> >> kilobytes as a simple decimal number.
> >
> > I suspect this is informal language describing an intention to use
> > kibibytes - units of 1024 bytes - as implemented by dpkg-gencontrol's
> > use of du -k:
> 
> Agreed.  At the time Policy was originally written, kilobyte nearly
> universally meant kibibyte in the industry.  I'll change this to:
> 
>     The disk space is given as the integer value of the installed size
>     in bytes divided by 1024 and rounded (in other words, the size in
>     kibibytes).
> 
> for the next release.  (I believe this is an informative change that
> doesn't require seconds.)

I would prefer if the word kibibyte was not used in policy, so I
would strike '(in other words, the size in kibibytes)'.

Cheers,
-- 
Bill. <ballombe@debian.org>

Imagine a large red swirl here.