Bug#775318: Bug#796529: ITP: local-apt-repository -- Ready to use local apt repository
* Joachim Breitner <nomeata@debian.org> [150823 07:24]:
> With pow-priority, you mean one that does not get shown by default? But
> is that much better than allowing the interested admin to change the
> configuration afterwards?
Actually, I was thinking it should be similar to postfix, which looks
like it is using medium priority for most questions (sorry, that was my
mistake).
> Note that my package does _not_ touch or put files in /srv. It merely
> uses files that are put in a certain directory that, that the admin has
> to create first. Does that mitigate your concerns?
Somewhat. Still, it mandates that a specific directory in /srv be used.
Current practice in Debian, based on a very small sample, is to use a
subdirectory of /var, such as /var/www or /var/lib/pkgname. You would
certainly be following precedent if you did something like this.
However, after reading bug #775318 (CC'ed, as the rest of this message
pertains to this specific package as well as the debian-policy bug), I
am forming some new opinions.
First, it now appears to me that the FHS authors:
1. intended for /srv to be used for things like this.
2. intended for the structure of /srv to be primarily under control of
the local admin.
3. recognized that this directory was relatively new and best practices
had not been established. They intentionally left the details
unspecified to allow distributions to arrive at a consensus.
In order for both distributions and local admins to safely share /srv,
there must be some rules about how the namespace is divided. For /usr
and /var, distributions were alloted all except one subdirectory of
each: /usr/local and /var/local. This gives distributions primary
control over these two top-level directories.
To give local admins primary control of /srv, we should do the converse,
and reserve one top-level subdirectory for distributions (perhaps
/srv/pkg; other suggestions welcome), and leave the remainder of the
/srv namespace available for the local admin. So you might use
/srv/pkg/local-apt-repository.
There currently does not appear to be any precedent in Debian for a
package to use /srv as a default, so it would be nice for the first
package to do so to "get it right". Once packages start usurping
top-level subdirectories of /srv, it will be difficult to ebb the tide.
I do think that for packages where it makes sense to use a subdirectory
of /srv, it also makes sense to ask the admin what directory to use,
giving a sensible suggestion as a default.
...Marvin
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