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Re: Contributing?



>> "G" == Gossamer  <gossamer@tertius.net.au> writes:

G> I was just looking at URLview and the url_handler.sh ... it references
G> mutt, netscape, lynx and ncftp directly - shouldn't we be calling
G> the /etc/alternatives/whatever files?

Depends on what the package does now. Alternatives are for packages
which provide a program in different "flavors". Like my package wxftp, 
which is available as a gtk, a dynamic motif and a static motif
version. The packages install a /bin/wxftp link, which is a link
to /etc/alternatives/wxftp, which is a link to
/usr/X11R6/bin/wxftp-gtk or -dmotif or -smotif, depended on what the
user prefers. Of cause you can call "wxftp-gtk" directly, but "wxftp"
will call the default.

So, if there are different versions of lynx, calling "lynx" will
execute the prefered version.

But maybe you want to call the prefered "webbrowser" ? I don't think
the browser install such an alternative yet. Interesting idea. You
should bring this up on debian-devel if you are interested in
it. Maybe three alternatives like webbrowser-X (netscape, amaya,
mosaic, mayday) and webbrowser-text (lynx, are there others?) and
webbrowser (all of them).

G> I must confess to not quite grokking /etc/alternatives :(.

Check man update-alternatives

G> Can I just update the file and submit it as a patch to whoever does
G> URLview?  Or is there another way?

If you are not a maintainer, you can't upload a package. Even as a
maintainer, one first contacts the maintainer of the package. He will
include this himself, if it is reasonable. Only in certain situation
one can do a non-maintainer upload (these are the packages which have
a debian version of -x.y instead of plain -x ).

So if there is a behaviour you can make better, submit a patch to the
bug-tracking system (http://www.debian.org/Bugs/). You could also
contact the author first. Maybe he is already working on that issue.

You can contact a package maintainer through
packagename@packages.debian.org 

Ciao,
	Martin


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