Re: Color-ls package

[Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.chu.cam.ac.uk>]

Syrus Nemat-Nasser writes ("Color-ls package"):
...
> Incidentally, my package consists of the fileutils-3.12 with
> the appropriate color-ls patch.  I've modified the debian.rules
> and other control files to install the correct files and, of
> course, log them with dpkg.  It will replace the debian package
> fileutils-3.12-2 with my package called fileutils-3.12-2c (if
> this is an appropriate name).

I think that, given how badly designed colour-ls is, it should be done
in a separate package and should not replace the standard /bin/ls even
if you install it.  After all, given that dircolors is spouting stuff
to make aliases anyway it might as well include a path to the modifies
ls.

You should certainly not release modified versions of other packages
and change only the version number; especially with fileutils (an
Essential package) you should use the dpkg-divert mechanism *if* you
need to override another package's binary - however, that isn't the
case here.

Ian.