Re: debian source format

[Raul Miller <moth@magenta.com>]

Matt Birkholz:
	 * Original distribution tarchives sometimes unpack into the current
	   directory.  This may torture the novice.

	 * An extra "patch" step is needed to build the package.  (Why isn't
	   this step in the debian.rules makefile?)

Hmm..

Since the "orig" target has been phased out as an official
requirement for debian.rules, I've been putting an orig target into my
own packages that will ftp the original sources and unpack them.
Naturally, by the time it gets to the "build" target, the sources have
been patched (should this be necessary) for a proper build.

However, while I technically know how to deail with a "working
directory" of edittable sources, I'm still a little foggy on the
"right way" to integrate editted sources with an automated build such
as this.

The simplest idea I've come up with so far is: most recent change is
the most valid.  However, this can loose under some circumstances.  So
a better idea would be to include a concept that the working directory
is sacred -- once built, only manual intervention will update it.

Finally, there's the little issue of the tools that the developer will
use.  If the developer is using emacs, identical files in different
directories may be hard linked to the same inode.  However, if the
developer is using vi (or emacs in a non-default configuration) then
the files in the working directory should be distinct copies from the
other directories.  So, probably, the initial creation of the working
directory should be manual -- but this makes it a bit obscure to set
up makefile targets [not impossible, just obscure].

Anyways, if anyone has any better answers than me, I'd be more than
happy to hear them.

-- 
Raul