Quoting Emilio Pozuelo Monfort (2016-06-28 11:05:08) > On 28/06/16 10:39, Jonas Smedegaard wrote: > > Package: wnpp > > Severity: wishlist > > Owner: Jonas Smedegaard <dr@jones.dk> > > > > * Package name : licensecheck [...] > > This is the licensecheck script from devsripts, refactored and extended. > > > > Upstream code will be maintained in build-common team, and packaging > > in the Perl team. > > What's the reason to fork / split this? Thanks for asking - and sorry I didn't cover that already initially. Licensecheck is quite useful also outside Debian. Licensecheck from devscripts 2.x is sloppy¹. Some uses need it strict - e.g. for having debian/copyright reflect most possible (not least possible) of upstream copyright and licensing statements. Licensecheck from devscripts 2.x scans plain text, using regular expressions. Some uses benefit from also handling other methods - e.g. extracting structured metadata like EXIF from binary formats. Recent releases of licensecheck from devscripts 2.x is slow. Some or all of above can possibly be done within the self-contained script in devscripts, but it is easier and arguably better to maintain the code CPAN-style: Reuse Perl as much as possible, maintain a testsuite written the Perl style, and have a plugin system for extensions so that e.g. those needing only plaintext scanning can skip dependencies for EXIF parsing (and possibly get a speed boost). About a week ago I casually discussed this briefly with James McCoy on IRC, and offered to try maintain a "core" licensecheck in devscripts and have separate more "bloated" package overload it using our "alternatives" mechanism, but he preferred the simpler approach of simply moving licensecheck out of devscripts. I consider this the canonical licensecheck, not a fork. But frankly noone has formally "permitted" me to take over as upstream maintainer of licensecheck, so if someone (soon!) claims ownership and disagree with my plans, I will respect that by either collaborate with that codebase or fork using a different name. - Jonas ¹ As an example, when requested to scan also the tail of files, it does so only when finding licensing info at the top. -- * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt * Tlf.: +45 40843136 Website: http://dr.jones.dk/ [x] quote me freely [ ] ask before reusing [ ] keep private
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