Bug#397939: clean rule behavior underspecified and inconsistent with common practice

[Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@gmail.com>]

Bernhard R. Link wrote:
> * Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@gmail.com> [120911 05:45]:

>>                                 The requirements in policy for
>> "debian/rules clean" are very stringent --- to avoid the
>> "unrepresentable changes" it would be enough to _remove_ the modified
>> (regenerated) files, but policy requires undoing everything the build
>> target did, or in other words restoring the original files.
[...]
> It does not do it must undo "everything". Undoing everything would be
> impossible (like, how do you revert the timestamps of directories that
> got a newer timestamp because there was a file created and then removed
> in there?).
>
> Policy only speaks about the "effects" those targets had.
>
> And I think common understanding of this was (at least was in the past)
> that removing files not needed for the build is a simple and effective
> way to undo those effects, as it results in a working dir aquivalent
> for all practical purposes to one where build and binary never ran.

I'm happy to hear that, though I don't see how the wording in policy
can support it.  Perhaps a simple footnote that mentions that adding
or modifying files is not allowed but removing them is allowed would
take care of that distraction, then?

Thanks,
Jonathan