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Re: DEP1: Clarifying policies and workflows for Non Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)



On Mon, 26 May 2008, Giacomo A. Catenazzi wrote:
> Bas Wijnen wrote:
>> 5.11.2 NMUs, from the maintainer's point of view
> (...)
>> When a package has been NMUed, the maintainer should acknowledge it in
>> the next upload. This makes clear that the changes were accepted in the
>> maintainer's packaging, and that they aren't lost again. For this, you
>> must first incorporate the changes into your packaging, by applying the
>> patch that was sent. Make sure to include the NMU's changelog entry in
>> your own changelog. This is important to allow the BTS version tracking
>> to work.

NMUs can be accepted *partially*.  This means you merge the NMU, add the
entire changelog (if something has been uploaded to the archive, it is
to STAY in the changelog), then in the changelog entry for the new
version, you clearly specify which parts of the NMU where ACKed, and
which parts of it were rejected.  And you revert the changes you
rejected, of course.

If the DEP1 has to hand-hold the DDs on how not to botch an NMU ACK, it
better be complete IMHO.

> What do "changelog entry" mean?
> - Is it a entire version entry, so the maintainer will simply add
>   a new debian version to the nmu changelog?
> - or a changlelog line, so that the new changelog (from maintainer)
>   will not mention the nmu version, but only the nmu lines.

The rule for changelogs is: avoid information loss.  So, it is the first
one.

> What about a new fix? Sometime maintainer does a real/clean
> fix, instead of the work-around of nmu maintainer, considering
> that the maintainer know better the structure of the program.
> In this case, what should a maintainer do, without seeming
> rude against nmu?

You don't assume we're all a bunch of emotional wrecks without a life
who would make a fuss about it, and write something sensible for those
who will WORK on the package later on (that's what the changelog is
about), like "Rewrite fix for #2310410" or somesuch.  Do we really have
to get to this kind of detail?  I sure hope not...

-- 
  "One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
  them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
  where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
  Henrique Holschuh


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