Re: Automatic Debug Packages
On Sat, Aug 08, 2009 at 08:33:09PM -0500, Manoj Srivastava wrote:
> > Manoj Srivastava wrote:
> >> On Sat, Aug 08 2009, Emilio Pozuelo Monfort wrote:
> >>> I've documented the .ddeb format in the wiki page [1] ("DDeb Format",
> >>> which is short since the format is basically that of .debs). Do we
> >>> really need this to be documented in policy?
> >> Not if that is all that is. So ddebs are just -dbg packages
> >> renamed to foo_version_arch.ddeb (you do not need ddeb in the name
> >> since they are called .ddebs.)
> > dpkg doesn't know about filenames AFAICS. So you can't coinstall
> > foo_1.0-1_i386.deb and foo_1.0-1_i386.ddeb, right? So we do want the
> > -ddeb suffix.
> If we are going to enshrine ddebs into policy, we might as well
> teach dpkg about ddebs.
I don't have a strong opinion on whether ddebs should be documented in
policy, but I certainly don't agree with requiring dpkg to understand them
as a prerequisite for implementing a general purpose, public archive for
auto-stripped debugging symbols packages. There really is no reason for
dpkg to treat these packages specially - a simple namespace convention
imposed by Policy (i.e., reserving package names ending in "-ddeb" for use
by this archive, which is what has been proposed) is sufficient, and
requires no changes to dpkg, which is as it should be.
I think the .ddeb extension is a red herring. There ought not be anything
new to teach dpkg, here; the only thing of relevance is that there not be
namespace clashes between the ddebs and the debs in the main archive, and
the filename is not relevant to that at all.
> So why are we creating a whole new class of packages which dpkg
> does not know about,
dpkg "knows" about them the same way it "knows" about debs, AFAICS.
> and which are substantially the same as the current -dbg packages? Is it
> to just reduce debian/control file bloat? Or to create debug packages
> whether or not the maintainer cooperates?
To optionally create debug packages without requiring work by individual
package maintainers.
--
Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world.
Ubuntu Developer http://www.debian.org/
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