Bug#707851: debian-policy: soften the wording recommending menu files

[Wouter Verhelst <wouter@debian.org>]

On 15-05-13 08:23, Raphael Hertzog wrote:
> (Your last mail was not sent to the BTS but to the ML directly)
> 
> On Tue, 14 May 2013, Wouter Verhelst wrote:
>> I didn't mean to imply someone other than the relevant UI maintainers
>> would need to write code for this to happen; we could simply add some
>> wording along the lines of
>>
>>   packages that install desktop files must emit the
>>   ``desktop-files-installed'' trigger from their postinst (e.g., by
>>   running ``dpkg-trigger desktop-files-installed''), so that user
>>   interfaces which don't support desktop files directly can listen to
>>   this trigger and update their menus.
> 
> A file trigger on /usr/share/applications does exactly that. There's no
> need to formalize anything more IMO.

Ah, yes, hadn't thought of that.

How about this then:

  Packages providing a menu system should preferably support the desktop
  format (see section <xref>). When such support is absent, as an
  alternative the package should preferably register a file trigger on
  /usr/share/applications and use the desktop files there as a basis to
  be converted to their native menu format.

Should, so as to not make such packages insta-buggy, but still strong
enough that it is clearly something these packages should look into. I
think we should encourage shared menu systems; whether they are menu
files are desktop files does not matter as much.

-- 
This end should point toward the ground if you want to go to space.

If it starts pointing toward space you are having a bad problem and you
will not go to space today.

  -- http://xkcd.com/1133/