1 developers-reference (3.4.5) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
4 * Remove part about -v for package uploads from experimental to unstable,
5 version tracking removed that requirement.
8 * Rework section on "sponsoring packages" and include a basic
9 checklist for the sponsor. Closes: #453313
10 * Update the "Debian Developer's Duties" chapter to be more explicit
11 about duties of package maintainers. Closes: #548867
13 -- Raphaël Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org> Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:54:39 +0100
15 developers-reference (3.4.4) unstable; urgency=low
18 * Document the new derivatives-bugs PTS keyword.
19 * Removed hp.debian.or.jp reference. Closes: 561597
22 * Update description of the PTS "summary" keyword. Thanks to
23 Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the patch. Closes: #469154
24 * Add accent on my first name in debian/control.
25 * Use "3.0 (native)" source format with bzip2 compression.
26 Created debian/source/{format,options} for this.
27 * Update guideline for override change to point to BTS
28 instead of email. Thanks to Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the
29 patch. Closes: #540231
30 * Include full URL to the README of the upload queue. Thanks to Simon
31 McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the patch. Closes: #540974
32 * The key protecting #debian-private is now stored on a file
33 on master.debian.org, it's no more required to search into
34 the debian-private archives. Thanks to gregor herrmann <gregoa@debian.org>
35 for the patch. Closes: #548823
36 * Update information about upload queues. Thanks to Simon McVittie
37 <smcv@debian.org> for the patches:
38 - point to official names {ftp,ssh}.upload.debian.org. Closes: #554054
39 - drop references to non-working queues. Closes: #554077
40 * Mention docbook, POD and reST as convenient formats to write new manual
41 pages. Thanks to Charles Plessy and the debian-mentors list
42 for the idea and the patch. Closes: #557298
43 * Update several sections to take into account the new source formats “3.0
44 (quilt)” and “3.0 (native)”. Closes: #561952
45 * Drop reference to “dbs” in the section about including binary files.
46 * Fix typo “transfered“ → “transferred”. Closes: #555685
47 * Fix typo “programms“ → “programs”. Closes: #560808
48 * Drop section about debmake, it has been removed of Debian since lenny.
49 * Update URL of the security tracker. Thanks to Salvatore Bonaccorso.
51 * Update URL of Packages-arch-specific. Closes: #553974
52 * Update section about Alioth to mention FusionForge instead of GForge.
53 Drop mention of separate cvs.debian.org it's managed by Alioth too.
55 * Document new "buildd" keyword from the PTS.
56 * Update URL explaining the "Debian Maintainer" status, it's now at
57 http://wiki.debian.org/DebianMaintainer. Closes: #564414
58 * Update number of source packages. Thanks Karl Goetz. Closes: #567235
59 * Update and simplify list of architectures. Thanks Karl Goetz.
61 * Small typo fixes and clarifications/rewordings suggested by Karl Goetz.
63 * Document the notion of "team upload": it looks like an NMU but it's not
64 really one because the uploader is an implicit co-maintainer since he's
65 part of the maintenance team. Thanks to Charles Plessy for the initial
66 patch. Closes: #573110
67 * Update standards-version to 3.9.1 and add missing ${misc:Depends} in
69 * Fix debian/tocsubstvars to cope with the new way dpkg-dev handles
70 multi-lines substitution variables.
73 * Update outdated mentions, typos and tags. Closes: #578664
74 * French translation updated from the 2006 debiandoc version.
75 * Apply updated patch from Nicolas François. Closes: #257150
76 * dinstall run happens four times a day. Closes: #585161
77 * Activate Japanese package.
78 * Handle addendum if it exists.
80 -- Raphaël Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org> Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:28:03 -0400
82 developers-reference (3.4.3) unstable; urgency=low
84 * Fixed working of the repackaged tarballs section to avoid giving the
85 impression that it's a standard packages must comply with. Closes:
87 * Specify that bugs from removed packages must be closed in foo+rm.
89 * Change the maintainer address to debian-policy@, based on discussion
91 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.3. No changes needed.
92 * Update copyright notices and list of authors.
94 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:56:19 +0200
96 developers-reference (3.4.2) unstable; urgency=low
98 * Applied patch from Justin B Rye that improves the discussion on writing
99 package descriptions. Closes: #516436.
100 * Lenny has been released, update the list of codenames. Closes: #527008.
101 * Applied patch from Paul Wise that adds a paragraph about hostile
102 upstreams. Closes: #523985.
103 * Applied patch from Charles Plessy about providing information to the
104 ftpmasters. Closes: #526410.
105 * In the section about patch systems, mention quilt (wasn not
106 mentionned before) and describe it as the recommended patch system.
107 also mention dpatch and cdbs' patch system. drop dbs. Closes: #525668.
108 * Added a note in the wanna-build section to mention
109 http://release.debian.org/wanna-build.txt. Closes: #516375.
110 * Clarified NMU versioning to reflect existing practices. Closes: #532945.
111 * s/README.Debian-source/README.source/ in the section
112 about repackaged upstream tarballs.
113 * Mention the Gandi.net hosting discount in section 4.13.
114 Applied patch from Tim Retout. Closes: #538245.
115 * Reduce length of title of L10N section so that it is no longer split.
116 Applied patch from Justin B Rye. Closes: #534688.
117 * Bumped debhelper compat level to 5 (4 was deprecated)
118 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.2. No changes needed.
119 * Added pointer to debian-project@ post about the wanna-build team.
121 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:28:04 +0200
123 developers-reference (3.4.1) unstable; urgency=low
126 * Create a publish target in the Makefile to reenable builds on the
130 * Commited DEP1: rework the whole NMU section.
131 The most important changes are:
132 + NMUs are now explicitely allowed for all bugs, not just "serious bugs".
133 + It is recommended to use the DELAYED queue, and some example delays are
136 + Describe the process of acknowleding NMUs in a way that works
137 with the BTS's version-tracking. Closes: #480723.
138 + No longer mention that only DDs can do NMU. Don't make any
139 distinction. Closes: #464230.
140 + Switch to +nmu for NMU versioning. Closes: #437392.
141 + Mention nmudiff. Closes: #483227.
142 * Mention docbook-xml, and that debiandoc-sgml is deprecated. Thanks to
143 W. Martin Borgert for the patch. Closes: #485689.
144 * Fixed typo and example in the blurb about debug packages.
145 Thanks to Theppitak Karoonboonyanan for the patch.
147 * Update instructions on the delayed queue.
148 Thanks to Thijs Kinkhorst for the patch.
150 * Clarify wording about repackaged .orig.tar.gz.
151 Thanks to Cyril Brulebois for the patch.
153 * Improved README.contrib. Mention command to checkout the SVN
154 version. Thanks to Christine Spang for the patch.
156 * Document usertags. Thanks to Chris Lamb for the patch.
158 * Updated documentation on translation updates.
159 Thanks to Christian Perrier for the patch.
161 * Update instructions on handling of security issues.
162 Thanks to Thijs Kinkhorst for the patch.
163 Closes: #512620, #510783.
165 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:57:54 +0100
167 developers-reference (3.4.0) unstable; urgency=low
170 * Update Vcs-* fields after DDP's SVN restructuring. Closes: #483428.
171 * Fix conditions for updates from unstable to testing. Closes: #470754.
172 * linda has been removed. Remove section A.2.2. Closes: #483242.
173 * Co-maintainers are listed in the Uploaders field. Closes: #483230.
174 * Collaborative Maintenance: the 'global part' of debian/control
175 is the first paragraph, about the source package. Closes: #483231.
176 * debian-private archives are on master. Closes: #475531.
177 * Mention Debian Maintainers and the debian-maintainers package.
179 * README.contrib: document that short lines are preferred.
181 * build-rdeps allows to list reverse build-dependencies.
184 [ Marc 'HE' Brockschmidt ]
185 * Replace abused <emphasis> tags with <literal> tags.
186 * In the same spirit, wrap all uses of stable/testing/unstable and
187 release codenames in <literal>
188 * Remove reference to upload queue on auric in section 5.6.5, auric
189 doesn't exist anymore.
190 * Fix several typesetting errors and typos noticed by Sandro Tosi,
191 thanks for the notes! Closes: #483223
192 * Update several bits about release management/testing transitions
193 and release-critical bugs. Closes: #483237, #456494
194 * Update and rewrite the porting guidelines in chapter 5, bringing
195 the dev-ref up to the state of porting in the year 2008. Also
196 fixes several wording issues, such as possible misunderstandings
197 about the need to rebuild uploads. Closes: #483226
198 * Update the instructions for uploads to the (old)stable
199 distributions. Emphasize the importance of contacting the SRM
200 team before upload. Closes: #459343
201 * Update instructions for package removal requests. Closes: #454216
202 * Clarify instructions for bug reassignment, emphasizing the
203 need to inform the maintainers you reassign the bug to. Also
204 hint to using cloned bugs to avoid re-reporting. Heavily based
205 on patch by Marc Haber - thanks for the work! Closes: #484806
206 * Clarify instructions for replacing/renaming binary packages,
207 pointing out that using Provides is sometimes advisable. Closes:
209 * Update description of the madison tool (by replacing it with a
210 description of the dak ls tool). Update the example while we're
212 * Update explanation of best practice for closing bugs, seems to
213 have been forgotten when everything was upgraded to use
214 debbugs version-tracking. Closes: #485969
215 * Clarify ITP instructions and emphasize our wish that people send
216 ITPs, explaining a few of the reasons. Thanks for the note,
217 Thomas. Closes: #485837
219 + Update Uploaders to include Lucas, Raphael and me.
220 + Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.0. No changes needed!
222 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:45:49 +0200
224 developers-reference (3.3.9) unstable; urgency=low
228 - bump standards-version to 3.7.3 (no change)
229 - fix debian/copyright
230 - move debhelper to Build-Depends.
231 - add pdf for French version.
232 * Document changes to stable release management. Closes: #414291
233 * Debconf error templates no longer discouraged. Thanks,
234 Christian Perrier. Closes: #427832
235 * Keyring now uses RT. Closes: #428846
236 * Document -dbg-packages within BPs. Thanks, Joey Hess. Closes: #420540
237 * NMUs now also close bugs. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum. Closes: #419507
238 * Fix documentation about gender neutral. Closes: #384178
239 * Fix typo. Closes: #405453
240 * More details on how to write documentation. Thanks, Josh Triplett.
242 * Add XS-Vcs-*. Thanks to Stefano Zacchiroli. Closes: #391023
243 * Small brushup to debconf description. Thanks, Thomas Huriaux.
245 * Document Team-Maintainence better. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum.
247 * Add link to more removal ressources. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt,
248 Justin Pryzby. Closes: #412757, #356720
249 * Repacking source packages need to be documented in copyright.
250 Thanks, Russ Allbery. Closes: #413320
251 * Better describe version of debian native packages NMUs. Closes: #405818
252 * Source, HTML and text are now encoded in UTF-8. Thanks, Jörg Sommer.
254 * Source is now DocBook XML instead of debiandoc. Closes: #374220
257 * Add a link to enrico's excellent Debian Community Guidelines.
258 * Recommend the use of DSA's request tracker instead of mailing them.
259 * Remove reference to #debian-sf, #debian-bsd which don't exist anymore. Put
260 a reference to #debian-dpkg instead.
261 * Remove all stuff concerning non-US.
262 * Update information concerning Alioth.
263 * Update information concerning the Package Tracking System.
264 * Mention Alioth as the main resource for VCS repositories and deprecate
266 * Remove XS- prefix for Vcs-* fields since dpkg now supports them.
267 * Document the Homepage field. Thanks, Christian Perrier. Closes:
269 * Add Vcs-Svn and Vcs-Browser fields pointing to the new SVN
272 -- W. Martin Borgert <debacle@debian.org> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:16:40 +0000
274 developers-reference (3.3.8) unstable; urgency=low
276 * mia-history is replaced by mia-query. Thanks, Christoph Berg.
278 * fix missing quite. Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #365994
279 * use gnugp instead of gpg. Thanks, Justin Pryzby, Jon Dowland.
281 * better destinction between maintainer and developer. Thanks for
282 the suggestion to Colin Tuckley. Closes: #380458
283 * irc.d.o points to oftc. Thanks, Christoph Biedl, Jon Dowland.
285 * Bugs are now always closed thanks to version tracking.
286 Closes: #339552, #353447, #376199
287 * Clarify what "a conflicts b" means in testing migration.
289 * Packages in testing disappear if they're removed from unstable.
290 Thanks, Frank Küster, Al Stone. Closes: #365993
291 * Document only the most recent changelog entry is used. Thanks
292 to Kevin Glynn to the suggestion. Closes: #374738
293 * Add more tools for reverse depends. Close: #376582
294 * delayed-queue on gluck is uploaded more often now. Closes: #397907
295 * stop using capitals, minor fixes, language fixes.
296 Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Colin Tuckley, Russ Allbery.
297 Closes: #368046, #378929, #361744
298 * add CVE Ids to your changelog. Closes: #376961
299 * add reasoning why debconf questions shouldn't be longer than
300 20 lines. Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Christian Perrier, Russ Allbery.
302 * section changing needs re-uploading orig.tar.gz.
303 Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #387154
304 * binary files in diffs could be en/decoded with perl.
305 Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #397786
306 * Add pointer to new-reject-FAQ. Closes: #324967
307 * Hint to dd-list/whodepends. Closes: #353874
308 * Don't use too generic mail ids. Closes: #355725
309 * pts/summary is actually used. Thanks, Holger Levsen. Closes: #387108
310 * clarify that one should append the NMU-diff to a bug. Closes: #394033
311 * more detailed instructions on binary package removals.
315 - French translation updated to version 3.3.8
317 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sat, 11 Nov 2006 10:55:44 -0700
319 developers-reference (3.3.7) unstable; urgency=low
322 - adjust information about distributions with reality.
323 - add note on alioth accounts. Thanks, Phillip Kern. Closes: #306630
324 - correct manpage section of dpkg-scanpackages. Closes: #297069
325 - fix RFC 2440 URL. Closes: #308103
326 - add $arch@buildd information. Closes: #295483
327 - link to keyring.d.o for key replacement. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
329 - add information about Packages-arch-specific. Thanks, Frank Küster.
331 - add hint about LWN subscription. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
333 - more about debconf-style translation. Thanks, Christian Perrier.
335 - non-us discontinued.
336 - document nmu changes wrt version tracking. Thanks, Justin Pryzby.
338 - fix spelling issues. Thanks to various people.
339 Closes: #336146, #326857, #338660
340 - update menu policy helpers. Thanks, Florian Ernst. Closes: #340024
341 - send mia-mail to mia@qa. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #341568
342 - Joerg Jaspert is now freenode contact. Closes: #344303
343 - give a clearer description of the gpg v4-key issues. Thanks,
344 Martin Michlmayr and Peter Palfrader. Closes: #317411
345 - more verbose about Homepage. Closes: #339826
346 - add sarge and etch. Closes: #327682
347 - document severity of RoM-request bugs. Closes: #305947
348 - update FSF address. Closes: #334820
349 - fix P-a-s link. Closes: #341195
350 - reflect binNMU changes. Closes: #349493
351 - new security upload queue. Closes: #352749
352 - fix experimental's sources.list entry. Closes: #347229
353 - remove deprecated "Closes:..." to ACK NMU bug fixes. Closes: #353447
354 - when resigning, gpg-sign your mail. Closes: #348160
355 - make pristine source and repackaged origtargz anchors work.
357 - same number of RC bugs is ok. Closes: #351944
358 - dpkg-source doesn't keep permissions. Thanks, Enrico Zini.
360 - also mention aspell. Closes: #320981
363 - French translation updated to version 3.3.7, proofread by Bernard Adrian
365 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 09 Apr 2006 11:31:52 -0600
367 developers-reference (3.3.6) unstable; urgency=low
370 - closes: and NMUs/experimental uploads. Closes: #284714
371 - madison is on merkel.
372 - more gender-neutral. Closes: #290583, #290584, #263114
373 - explain current incoming. Closes: #290019
374 - remove broken sponsoring URL. Closes: #291698
375 - add handling hints about orig.tar.gz. Thanks, Frank. Closes: #278524
376 - duplicate bug reports should be merged. Closes: #285381
377 - if you're on vacation, please check whether someone needs keysigning.
379 - freenode has developer cloacks. Closes: #285687
380 - cleaned up uploaders / maintainer field
381 - explain how dak detects NMUs. Closes: #292354
382 - add "mass" to lots of bugs. Closes: #292946
383 - sync NM rules with reality.
385 - French translation updated to version 3.3.6
387 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:08:49 -0700
389 developers-reference (3.3.5) unstable; urgency=low
392 - uploads to more than one dist are not possible.
393 - updated upload queues. Closes: #235213
394 - updated URL of vanilla rules files. Closes: #237557, #252048
395 - please speak with stable RM before uploading to stable. Closes: #261464
396 - information on wnpp usage synced with wnpp. Closes: #255298
397 - spelling, grammer fixes.
398 Closes: #202444, #202499, #203202, #203378, #221902, #226208
399 - add hint about partitial key id. Closes: #243968
400 - spohr is restriced, and also ftp-master. Closes: #255814
401 - bpp: Hint about locale generation as non-root. Closes: #208021
402 - bpp: deborphan-compliant transition packages. Closes: #183654
403 - add myself to uploaders.
404 - add chapter about i10n. Closes: #208156
405 - add information about dchroot. Closes: #211845
406 - add information about NEWS.Debian. Closes: #212402
407 - add information about mia-database. Closes: #213961
408 - add link to debian-mentors FAQ.
409 - add verbose information about the package description. Closes: #214792
410 - add hint about -v<version> to experimental. Closes: #232930
411 - update information about yada. Closes: #217956
412 - urgency is sticky. Closes: #261914
413 - updated information about testing distribution. Closes: #266649.
414 - rewrote the NMU section, and
415 + made the possible severities of "target bugs" clearer. Closes: #233088.
416 + mention QA uploads. Closes: #202416.
417 + add -B for binNMUs, and local debsign usage. Closes: #208839.
418 + warning about breaking all-packages by binNMU. Closes: #213348.
419 - add information about gpg usage. Closes: #175815.
420 - make key replacement instructions more details. Closes: #275921
421 - typo and language fixes. Thanks, Era Eriksson. Closes: #277576
422 - add hints about debconf templates from Christian Perrier.
424 - Security uploads get urgency=high
425 - Be even more explicit about not uploading security updates
427 - French translation updated to version 3.3.5
429 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Mon, 22 Nov 2004 19:07:26 +0100
431 developers-reference (3.3.4) unstable; urgency=low
434 - fixed language in the PTS section, prompted by a patch from
435 Romain FRANCOISE, thank you; closes: #197741
436 - updated the mailing lists section (again)
437 - documented Alioth, somewhat
439 - French translation updated to version 3.3.3 (more or less)
440 - proofread by Patrice Karatchentzeff
442 - Don't upload security updates directly to stable
443 - Always include an external reference in security changelog entries
444 - Be careful not to re-use a version number in security uploads
445 - More explicit instructions about what is appropriate for a security
449 - replace <!entity...> with <!ENTITY...> and other SGML hygenics
451 - Release this package as is to flush changes between June and now.
452 Yes, its been an age between releases here, for which I apologize.
453 Since CVS upstream for this package is back, I'm working on closing
454 bugs in this package now, I just wanted to get it out as is before I
457 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 29 Feb 2004 14:09:48 -0500
459 developers-reference (3.3.3) unstable; urgency=low
462 - corrections by Michel Grentzinger
464 - updated documentation concerning the PTS
465 - added a paragraph about the PTS web interface
466 - documented how to add custom news item in the PTS
468 - updates and clarifications to instructions for security bugs
469 - deprecate uploads to stable for security fixes, reference
470 section on security bugs; closes: #196516
471 - use dpkg-buildpackage -B to test binary-arch, not -b;
474 - Sec "Managing sponsored packages": remove unnecessary 'debsign' cmd;
476 - fix debconf-devel(7) man page section; closes: #189512
477 - Sec "Responding to bugs": mention what FTBFS means; closes: #186605
478 - Sec "Distribution directories" renamed "Distributions"
479 - Sec "The testing distribution" moved under Sec "Distribution
480 directories" and renamed "More information about the testing
482 - Secs "Uploads to {stable,testing-proposed-updates}" retitled to make
483 it clear these are special cases
484 - Sec "Uploading to ftp-master": xref to "Delayed incoming";
486 - check compliance with Policy version 3.5.10
488 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Jun 2003 04:08:29 -0400
490 developers-reference (3.3.2) unstable; urgency=low
493 - French translation updated to version 3.3.1
494 - proofread by Philippe Batailler and Patrice Karatchentzeff
496 - French translation requires debiandoc-sgml 1.1.76 or better
498 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Apr 2003 09:48:59 -0400
500 developers-reference (3.3.1) unstable; urgency=low
503 - package description said it contained French and Japanese, fixed,
505 - Sec "Experimental": sources.list entries
506 - Sec "Basic rules for [mailing list] use": cosmetic, link to this sec
507 - Sec "Handling bugs": retitle and expand section
509 - more improvements to package synopsis and description
510 - the synopsis formula changed to either
511 <package-name> is a <synopsis>
513 <package-name> is <synopsis>
515 <package-name> are <synopsis>
517 - the synopsis itself should not start with an article
518 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control": expand intro
519 - fix doc-check URL; closes: #187144
520 - Sec "Multiple binary packages": fix awkward wording about vim source
521 package; closes: #187143
523 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 4 Apr 2003 14:26:52 -0500
525 developers-reference (3.3) unstable; urgency=low
528 - French translation updated to version 3.2.2 (more or less)
529 - proofread by Philippe Batailler
531 - added "ddtp" keyword in the PTS documentation
533 - split out the doc-files per language, closes: #177448
534 - shuffled stuff around in the packages chapter
535 - added a section describing how to handle large amounts of
536 architecture-independent data bundled with programs
537 - added best practices on debian/changelog files, based on a patch
538 kindly provided by Daniel Kobras, closes: #166388
539 - described debdiff and dpkg-depcheck, and linked to them from the
540 right places in the document, closes: #172897
541 - describe the current practice in writing synopsis lines,
545 - convert to debhelper (compat mode 4); maintainer scripts no longer
547 - split -ja and -fr versions out into separate packages
548 - top-level makefile deletes targets on error; clean is cleaner
549 - replace the manual debian/control processing to show the document's
550 table of contents (TOC) with a new script 'debian/tocsubstvars';
551 note that the TOC displayed in the developers-reference-{fr,ja}
552 package descriptions are in English until UTF8 control files are
553 allowed; proper escaping of single quotes here requires newest
555 - editorial changes on material added in this version
556 - reorder "Best Packaging Practices" a bit
557 - rework "Best practices for debian/control" based on contributions
558 from Colin Walters, Branden Robinson, Sebastian Rittau and others;
559 closes: #139957, #108416
560 - primary author is developers-reference@packages.debian.org; remove
561 emails from other authors to prevent spam and confusion
563 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:29:07 -0500
565 developers-reference (3.2.2) unstable; urgency=low
568 - slightly rewrote and updated links in the mirrors section
570 - Policy compliance checked and updated to 3.5.8, no changes needed
571 - TODO: remove some tasks which are done
572 - ship README-contrib and TODO in the doc dir
573 - Sec "Upstream home page": some revisions based on discussion on
575 - Sec "Documentation" added under Sec "Common packaging situations"
576 for best practices for documentation
577 - Add tools entries for autotools-dev, dpkg-repack, alien, debsums;
578 new Sec "Documentation and information", add entries there for
579 debview, debiandoc-sgml, debian-keyring; we believe this manual now
580 covers all of the established, general Debian maintainer tool
582 - spell-checking pass
584 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Dec 2002 13:45:23 -0500
586 developers-reference (3.2.1) unstable; urgency=low
589 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control" added, Sec "Writing useful
590 descriptions" moved under there
591 - Sec "Upstream home page" added in debian/control section
592 - Sec "Miscellaneous advice" empty, removed
593 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": tools now categorized into
594 subgroups; do cross-linking from this section into other parts of
595 the document where these tools are discussed
596 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": add entries for sbuild,
597 build-essential, linda; improved entries for pbuilder, devscripts
598 - Sec "Tools for porters" renamed and readapted to "Porting
599 infrastructure and automation"; move tool discussion down to the
600 appendix; improve Sec "buildd" a bit
601 - README-contrib added giving information for authors, contributors,
603 - eliminate the ByHand stuff, I'm pretty sure it's not needed now
604 with the DDP builder process, or if it is needed, it's a probably
605 that can be fixed by DDP folks
606 - stop shipping SGML source -- use 'apt-get source developers-reference'
607 after all, this is supposed to be a binary package, right?
608 - simply PS and PDF building rules
610 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 9 Dec 2002 03:04:19 -0500
612 developers-reference (3.2) unstable; urgency=low
615 - merged a bit misplaced lintian-reports section within the lintian
616 section and adjusted links
617 - added the missing description of dh-make and adjusted links
619 - ChangeLog attribution updates
620 - fix typos, closes: #171781
621 - expand the doc-base abstract and authors
622 - Ch "Packaging Practices" rewritten intro
623 - Sec "Packaging tools and common cases" renamed to "Best Practices
624 for debian/rules", and write an intro
625 - Sec "Helper scripts" in practices section rewritten, giving
626 arguments for and against debhelper, mostly for :)
627 - Sec "Package with multiple patches" renamed to "Patching source
628 versus patching at build time" and rewritten
629 - Sec "Multiple binary packages" rewritten
630 - Sec "Handling debconf translations" moved under an
631 "Internationalization" section, and some edits
632 - Sec "Internationalized Documentation" added under Sec
633 "Internationalization"
634 - Sec "Specific packaging practices" renamed to "Common packaging situations"
635 - Sec "Packages using autoconf/automake" rewritten
636 - Sec "Configuration management" moved forward in practices chapter
637 - Sec "Other specific packages" renamed to "Specific types of
638 packages", add info for SGML/XML and Lisp packages
639 - Sec "Writing useful descriptions" heavily edited
640 - Sec "Best practices for maintainer scripts" added, special credit
641 here to Charles Briscoe-Smith for work dating back to 1998; include
642 a POSIX shell snippet showing how to check if a command is the PATH,
644 - Apdx "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove debget, it's
645 rather useless and broken
646 - normalize up-casing on sections, which should only up-case proper
647 names and the first word
648 - new 'translation-status' script to check status of translations,
649 adapted from doc-check in boot-floppies, source pkg only --
650 oh my, French translation is 54 CVS revisions behind, and Japanese
652 - postinst: don't set /usr/doc symlink, aesthetics
653 - prerm: don't use 'command -v', it's not POSIX
654 - rules: produce md5sums file; break out a 'test' target
656 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 7 Dec 2002 02:28:06 -0500
658 developers-reference (3.1.2) unstable; urgency=low
661 - DDP publishing update
663 - doc-base file includes French and Japanese files
664 - debsign invocation was slightly wrong, closes: #170523
665 - Sec "Handling debconf translations", updates from Martin Quinson
666 for po-debconf with minimal editorial changes, closes: #169007
668 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 27 Nov 2002 21:16:30 -0500
670 developers-reference (3.1.1) unstable; urgency=low
673 - updated IRC stuff, thanks to Ben Armstrong, closes: #161403
674 - fixed/updated/extended stuff about bugs, hoping to address the
675 issue of people abusing the changelog bug closing feature
677 - added myself as co-author
678 - fix a typo in Sec "Collaborative maintenance", closes: #161488
680 - updated security information, merging in Joey's stuff from the
681 Security Team FAQ and various updates and clarifications
683 - fix some bad URLs, closes: #168357
684 - fix a grammar typo, closes: #166098
686 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 12 Nov 2002 23:15:03 -0500
688 developers-reference (3.1) unstable; urgency=low
691 - Corrected several errors with —
692 - Applied patch from Peter Palfrader, correcting
693 the URL for the Debian Voting Information page. closes: #150427
694 - Applied patch from Matej Vela, dpkg-buildpackage does no more
695 require -sa for version -0.1. closes: #150861
696 - Applied the reformulations proposed by David Kimdon. closes: #150572
697 - Applied the patch of Matt Zimmerman. Thanks Matt! closes: #145287
698 - Added the explanation about how to replace an .orig.tar.gz.
700 - Mostly deleted the paragraph about security upload in the
701 section explaining source NMU. Just added a link to point to
702 "Handling security-related bugs". closes: #159935
703 - Added a link to the Technical Committee web page (in the "Bug
704 housekeeping" section). closes: #151365
705 - Explain uploads to testing-proposed-updates, mentions briefly
706 stable-security and testing-security. closes: #149666
707 Removed the comment about uploads to frozen.
708 - Documented the "Developer's packages overview" web portal.
710 - Added a reference to debian-l10n-english in "Writing useful
711 descriptions". closes: #158609
712 - Added a Best Packaging Practice section for "Packages using
713 autoconf/automake". closes: #158045
714 - Documented associated features to db.debian.org like SSH key
715 replication and *.debian.net DNS entry. closes: #155389
716 - Added a section about "Bug Squashing Parties".
718 - removed obsolete, needless dupload variables
719 - applied linguistic fixes from David Kimdon, closes: #150572
720 - random proofreading, mostly changing he -> they
721 - added people.d.o and non-us.d.o to the Debian servers section, and
722 mostly rewrote it to exclude real machine names and be better organized
723 - updated the mailing lists section
725 - debian/changelog: remove obsolete Emacs variables
726 - editorial review of the changes above, minor tagging changes,
729 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 10 Sep 2002 21:57:41 -0400
731 developers-reference (3.0) unstable; urgency=low
734 - welcome Manoj Srivastava as a co-maintainer
735 - welcome Raphael Hertzog as a co-maintainer
737 - new Chapter "Resource for Debian Developers", incorporating
739 Ch "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines"
740 Ch "The Debian Archive"
742 - new Chapter "Managing Packages", incorporating former chapters
744 Ch "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
745 Ch "Porting and Being Ported"
746 Ch "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning Packages"
747 Ch "Handling Bugs" (retitled "Handling package bugs")
748 Sec "Bug housekeeping" (new section, some parts stubbed out)
750 - new Chapter "Beyond Packaging" recommends ways to contribute
751 to Debian beyond issues of package maintenance; incoporates
752 Ch "Interaction with Prospective Developers", retitled to
753 Sec "Interacting with Prospective Debian Developers"
754 Sec "Submitting Bugs", renamed to "Reporting Bugs"
755 Sec "QA" moved here from old Sec "Quality Assurance effort"
756 Sec "Dealing with unreachable maintainers"
758 - Sec "The Developers Database" added under Resources
759 - new Sec "Collaborative Maintenance" concerning multiple maintainers
762 - Sec "Getting started": add link to New Maintainers' Guide
763 - Sec "Debian Mentors" renamed to "Debian Mentors and Sponsors",
764 we add some info on sponsoring; also in Sec "Sponsoring packages"
765 - Section's first word capitalized, rest are normal case
766 - purge a reference to the Packaging Manual; closes: #145039
767 - misc. cross-referencing with new or moved sections
768 - change some literal quotes to ‘, ”, etc.
769 - tagging improvements: replace <tt> with <file> for files and
770 directories; since <tt><var> and <example><var> doesn't look right,
771 work-around with <...>
772 - entity'ize master.debian.org, us-upload-dir, non-us-upload-dir
773 - update copyright date
774 - some simplifications on the TeX suffix rule
775 - spell check and grammar corrections
779 - changed -e by -m in the dpkg-buildpackage command line example;
781 - clarify wording between "porter upload", "binary-only NMU", "simple
782 recompile"; closes: #102626
783 - extended "removing a package"; closes: #135560
784 - Ch "Best Packaging Practices": new chapter, including new
785 Sec "Writing useful descriptions" as a first entry in that
786 chapter; closes: #53109, #129848
787 - indicate that the list of subsections is defined in the policy;
789 - removed some cruft in `Announcing package uploads'
790 - document the testing scripts; closes: #129445
791 - explain how to reassign/close bugs of removed packages;
793 - updates the note about software subject to US patents;
795 - new Section "Contacting other maintainers" under "Beyond packaging"
796 Document the package@packages.debian.org alias; closes: #114553
797 - new Section "Package's information" under Resources
798 Document http://packages.debian.org/<package>,
799 http://bugs.debian.org/<package> and the madison utility
800 - Sec "Reporting bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/from:email@isp.com
801 - Sec "Handling bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/login@debian.org
802 - Sec "The Incoming system" in "Resources", describe how it works and
803 also speak of the DELAYED directory; closes: #135562, #136774
805 - Sec "Developer Database": added a sentence about finger
807 - update the total number of packages and the example directory tree
809 - updated the list of available architectures.
810 - commented out the "Subsections" section since it will RSN have nothing
811 to with the Debian archive. It's just a generic information field
812 of the package and nothing more.
813 - added more incentive to use experimental since it doesn't cause
814 any pain to the ftpmasters.
815 - Sec "When to do a source NMU": updated the NMU "protocol" and suggest
816 the use of the delayed queue.
817 - new Section "Acknowledging the NMUs" to explain the need to integrate
818 the changes introduced by NMUs. Insists on the fact that one shouldn't
820 - stubbed in new Section "Collaborative maintenance"
821 - stubbed in new Section "The Package Tracking System"
822 - Sec "The Package Tracking System": filled with content from
823 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, heavily updated by myself
824 - new Section "Managing sponsored packages" contributed by
825 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, slightly updated by myself
826 - new Sec "Bug housekeeping"; closes: #39519
828 - new Sec "Documentation"
829 - added Sec "IRC channels" in the Resources chapter
830 - added Sec "pbuilder" in the appendix. Mention it in the section
831 "Being kind to porter" too
832 - extended Sec "devscripts" with info about "bts" and "uscan"
833 - completed Sec "Helper scripts"
834 - completed Sec "Package with multiple patches",
835 "Multiple binary packages", "Libraries", "Other specific packages",
836 "The wise use of debconf" -- all those are quite simplistic, they
838 - integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
839 Denis Barbier -- thanks, Denis!
842 - update French translation
844 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 14 Jun 2002 01:18:19 -0400
846 developers-reference (2.11) unstable; urgency=low
849 - some grammar corrections
850 - update French translation
852 - changes in upload situation, not possible to remove from Incoming
853 anymore; closes: #135559
854 - also talk about dput a tiny bit
856 - Ch "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools":
858 - Charles Briscoe-Smith deprecates yada (I think new maintainers of
859 that would be welcome)
860 - debconf-doc mentioned for debconf
861 - debhelper: don't talk about debmake; mention how to get info on the dh-* pkgs
862 - dput: new section, closes: #129378
863 - debootstrap: new section, closes: #129377
864 - dpkg-dev-el: new section
865 - other minor wording changes
866 - Sec "Mailing Lists": where to find private archives, closes: #96780
867 - Ch "Package uploads":
868 - new Sec "Adding an entry to debian/changelog"
869 - rename Sec "Announcing new packages" to "New packages"
870 - crypto is in main, non-US is for patent restrictions, so:
871 - excise some text from "Registering as a Debian developer"
872 - changes in Sec "Uploading to ftp-master"
873 - changes in Sec "Uploading to non-US"
874 * old bugs closed out, closes: #110573
876 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 7 Apr 2002 23:34:08 -0700
878 developers-reference (2.10.0) unstable; urgency=low
880 * from Martin Michlmayr
881 - update the "Applying to Become a New Maintainer" section, with
882 review by Raphael Hertzog, closes: #133965
883 - bugs closed in NMUs should uses 'closes' changelog entries,
885 - developers are not required to subscribe to debian-private
887 - some suggestions on places to use the proper term, Debian GNU/Linux,
889 - fix some typos, closes: #133956
891 - frozen doesn't exist anymore, just testing; note, however, that
892 there is a way to upload to 'woody-proposed-updates' -- if I can
893 find some description of that, I'll document it; closes: #133948
896 - isolate a few more language-independent bits
898 - change /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc, and typo in debian/copyright,
901 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 24 Feb 2002 14:46:46 -0500
903 developers-reference (2.9.0) unstable; urgency=low
906 - created a new subsection about uploading to stable, and elaborated
908 - removed a stray sentence about stable from the paragraph about
909 security uploads (which apply to all distributions equally)
910 - replaced the nonexistent term "Security Manager" with "security officer"
911 - uploading to stable and unstable is deprecated; updated the section
912 about the experimental distribution; other fixes in the section
913 talking about uploading to distributions
914 - better organize some subsections in the section about package uploads
915 - replaced some bogus <ftppath>s with <tt>s
916 - noted how there is an upload queue on pandora, too
918 - French translation updated
920 - normalize '--' as — for prettier output
921 - integrate changes from James Troup, part of #102626
922 - typo fix thanks to Mark Hodge
924 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Oct 2001 01:03:01 -0400
926 developers-reference (2.8.8) unstable; urgency=low
929 - a few more strong words about sponsoring
930 - started a new chapter about the relationship between old and new
933 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Jul 2001 17:53:47 -0400
935 developers-reference (2.8.7) unstable; urgency=low
938 * fix a typo in a link
939 * dpkg-buildpackage -m<addr> flag was changed for -e<addr> when NMU'ing;
940 update documentation accordingly
942 * Matt Zimmerman fixes up some wording in the section talking about
943 forwarding bugs upstream
945 * provide proper l10n for SGML date entities; now we have &date-<LANG>
946 entities which should be used
947 * debian/rules: fixes for new debiandoc-sgml
948 * debian/control: depend on debiandoc-sgml 1.1.48 or better
950 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 21 Jun 2001 14:43:42 -0400
952 developers-reference (2.8.6) unstable; urgency=low
954 * fix a typo, thanks to Antoine Hulin
955 * French version: completely up-to-date now
956 * Makefile: add a 'validate' target
957 * prepare and ship "upstream" ChangeLog; move the debian changelog to
959 * all versions: change the email address to use when orphaning
962 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 13 Apr 2001 03:32:08 -0400
964 developers-reference (2.8.5) unstable; urgency=low
966 * expunge references to the Debian Packaging Manual, which is now in the
968 * Japanese version: also comment out some references packaging manual;
969 this translation needs updating
970 * deny request to shut down non-maintainer bug maintenance bug closure
971 practices (closes: Bug#88623)
972 * add some advice about U.S. citizens uploading to non-US
974 * debian/control: Build-Depends should have been Build-Depends-Indep
975 * French version: First complete translation of the Debian developer's
976 reference guide. Much work done by Antoine Hulin. Reviewed by Nicolas
978 * Portuguese version: work is started by Carlos Laviola, nothing
979 included yet, however
981 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 8 Apr 2001 01:25:51 -0400
983 developers-reference (2.8.4) unstable; urgency=low
985 * debian/control: remove reference to obsolete packaging-manual package
987 * debian/control: fill in the description a bit more
988 * doc-base: index.html corrected to be index.en.html
990 * Makefile: clean is cleaner
992 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 25 Feb 2001 12:47:06 -0500
994 developers-reference (2.8.3) unstable; urgency=low
996 * build and provide French and Japanese versions
997 * devolve build logic from debian/rules to top-level Makefile
998 * developers-reference.jp.sgml: minor changes so it will build (is out
1000 * debian/rules: stop making useless /usr/share/developers-reference dir
1002 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 22 Jan 2001 02:02:02 -0500
1004 developers-reference (2.8.2) unstable; urgency=low
1007 - fix typographic errors reported by David Martinez (closes: Bug#80740)
1008 - common.ent: upped the numbers a little bit, updated lintian reports URL
1009 - updated regarding va->klecker move, and www->people move, changed
1010 most mentions of dinstall to a generic term "archive maintenance
1011 software", removed full path to it because it is in PATH now,
1012 mentioned "dak" and "katie" (somewhat vaguely), changed week to
1013 month regarding FTP archive waiting time since that\'s more often
1014 the case, and changed weeks to hours regarding Maintainers file
1015 updates since that\'s also more often the case now, updated some
1016 URLs to entities, s/debian-doc/doc-debian/
1017 - replaced evil latin1-only quotation marks, replaced mentions of
1018 important severity (in RCB context) with serious severity, some
1020 - common.ent (1.10): fixed email-debian-user alias; updated
1021 sample-dist-dirtree (with more to come)
1022 - described testing; described package pools (this particular part
1023 required quite a bit of changes, and it might be a bit rough, but
1024 it's a start); described the frozen test cycles et al; some other
1026 - another update WRT sid/unstable/testing, from Colin Watson
1028 * debian/control: add Recommends for debian-policy, packaging-manual
1029 * update copyright notice for 2001
1030 * fix for WNPP bug filing severities from David Schleef
1031 * clarify the status of the Developers's reference as "normative"
1032 * add a reference to debconf (closes: Bug#82413)
1034 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Jan 2001 18:10:21 -0500
1036 developers-reference (2.8.1) unstable; urgency=low
1038 * update WNPP instructions, based on patch from Marcelo E. Magallon
1040 * spelling corrections, awkward grammar suggestions from Andreas Krueger
1042 * debian/rules: remove some obsolete source-depends stuff
1044 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 4 Nov 2000 13:22:21 -0500
1046 developers-reference (2.8.0) unstable; urgency=low
1048 * Almost all changes for this release are from Josip Rodin
1049 <joy@debian.org>. Thanks, Josip!
1051 * debian/control, postinst, prerm, rules: Policy 3.2.1 (closes:
1052 Bug#68929, Bug#70384)
1053 * fixed bug closing example (closes: Bug#71198)
1054 * update the perl regexp from current /usr/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog/debian
1055 * updated keyring/keyserver information (closes: Bug#67783)
1056 * updated new-maintainer stuff (closes: Bug#67841)
1057 * updated for master -> ftp-master move (closes: Bug#68369)
1058 * noted www.d.o is the right host for web pages, but all other machines
1059 could be used if necessary
1060 * reorder mentions of scp to come before FTP, as it is more secure;
1061 mention the rsync dupload method
1062 * reorder mentions of pandora <-> non-us, canonical name non-us is
1064 * other small corrections
1065 * fixed orphaning/adopting instructions with regard to the new WNPP
1066 * common.ent: fix urls for cvs.d.o, wnpp, Debian machines page,
1067 lists-archives, www.d.o BTS
1068 * common.ent: changed link for machines from devel/maintainer_contacts
1070 * Makefile: remove unnecessary subshell
1072 * Adam's change: update debian/copyright for new Policy, and put my name
1073 in there a bit with updated years; update doc-base file for FHS
1075 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 15 Oct 2000 03:25:21 -0400
1077 developers-reference (2.7.2) frozen unstable; urgency=medium
1079 * I believe this should go into frozen because (a) it's only
1080 documentation, so it can't introduce RC bugs, and (b) it fixes an
1081 error which prevented it from building properly; however, whatever
1082 ftpmaster feels is best is fine
1084 * include common.ent as well as version.ent
1085 (closes: Bug#52582, Bug#48926)
1086 * debian/rules: fix build error caused by newer debiandoc-sgml; remove
1087 constitution.en.html, since that is now located in the doc-debian
1088 package (closes: Bug#54778, Bug#42014); don't compress .pdf file
1090 * All changes below from Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
1092 * Sec. "Uploading to master" and "Uploading to pandora":
1093 explained dinstall -n (closes: Bug#45079)
1094 * Sec. "Picking a distribution": added reference to the debian-release
1095 team (closes: Bug#52906)
1096 * Sec. "Announcing package uploads": rewrote it to take care of the fact
1097 that dinstall is doing it automatically (closes: Bug#43877)
1098 * Sec. "Mailing lists": added a paragraph about debian-email
1100 * Changed the "Maintaining Your Debian Information" into "Debian
1101 Developer's Duties" (closes: Bug#28908)
1102 - added a section about the LDAP database
1103 - added a section about the "on vacation" message
1104 - added a section about the coordination with upstream developers
1106 - added a section about managing Release Critical bugs
1107 - added a section about Quality Assurance effort
1109 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 16 Apr 2000 23:24:33 -0400
1111 developers-reference (2.7.1) unstable; urgency=low
1113 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": we are transitioning away
1114 from non-free PGP -- remove allusions to non-free software such as
1115 PGPv2 or v5 insofar as possible; recommend use of DSS keys rather than
1117 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": remove PGP-centric stuff
1118 * Sec. "When bugs are closed by new uploads": describe how to close bugs
1119 via a magic changelog entry (closes: Bug#43690)
1120 * Sec. "Generating the changes file": refer to Sec. "When bugs are
1121 closed by new uploads" for closing bugs via a changelog entry
1122 * developers-reference.sgml: re-enable RCS variables in CVS sources
1123 * debian/control,rules: dynamically generate the TOC in the package
1124 description from developers-reference.sgml
1126 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 12 Sep 1999 18:15:59 -0400
1128 developers-reference (2.7.0) unstable; urgency=low
1130 * developers-reference.sgml: separated out language-independant elements
1131 into common.ent (not content changes); misc minor grammar changes
1133 * doc-base: change section for *constitution* to Debian (not 'debian')
1135 * Sec. "Stable, unstable, and sometimes frozen": mention how old stable
1136 releases are available at archive.debian.org
1137 * Sec. "Uploading to pandora (non-us)" added, remove stale
1138 information about the old anonymous ftp area (closes Bug#39541);
1139 Sec. "Other Upload Queues" added about that upload queues, added
1140 samosa and master.debian.org.jp (closes Bug#37804)
1141 * Sec. "Yada": mention that yada might not be as robust as other package
1142 producing systems, at request of the author; Sec. "equivs" added
1143 * Sec. "Moving packages": at the request of Guy Maor, clarify that this
1144 procedure is for moving packages in sections (i.e., free, contrib)
1146 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": talk about RSA keys rather
1147 than PGP keys, since I think GPG can create/handle them now; mention
1148 that the official pkg maintainer address much match an ID on your key;
1149 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": beef up the warnings a bit; point
1151 * Sec. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": clean up and
1152 clarify section; mention that all developers are expected to be
1153 subscribed to debian-private and debian-devel-announce
1154 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": remove list of machines; point to
1155 http://www.debian.org/devel/machines instead
1156 * Sec. "Release code names": potato is 2.2
1157 * Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads": talk about recompile only
1158 uploads and version numbers for this (i.e., foo_2.4-1.0.1), from a
1159 suggestion from James Troup
1160 * Sec. "buildd": mention andrea, and buildd.debian.org
1161 * Sec. "Removing packages": correct apt-cache usage
1162 * debain/rules: update standards to 3.0.1 -- since I'm not moving
1163 /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc yet, no changes were required except in the
1166 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Aug 1999 23:29:45 -0400
1168 developers-reference (2.6.8) unstable; urgency=low
1170 * when applying as a new user, the login name can be *eight* characters,
1171 not seven (thanks to Rafael Caetano dos Santos)
1173 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 21:50:04 -0400
1175 developers-reference (2.6.7) unstable; urgency=low
1177 * SGML'ish: normalize SGML elements, refill paragraphs (closes Bug#37987)
1178 * doc-base: change section to Debian -- hmm, this looks like a doc-base
1179 bug, really, but hey, who am I to refile bugs to another one of my own
1180 packages? (closes Bug#37392)
1181 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": new section for yada (um,
1182 someone who uses this should check my description), correct build ->
1183 debuild in the devscripts section (closes Bug#38053)
1185 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 01:41:45 -0400
1187 developers-reference (2.6.6) unstable; urgency=low
1189 * Sec. "The master server": note that problems on Debian ftp can be sent
1190 to ftpmaster@debian.org also
1191 * Secs. "Uploads via chiark" and "Uploads via erlangen": remove
1192 'cron-driven' (thanks Roman Hodek)
1193 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": typos corrected, note that binary-arch
1194 and binary-indep targets should work independantly (thanks Roman
1196 * Sec. "buildd": remove erroneous reference to debbuild, reorganize the
1197 section and correct typos (thank again Roman -- boy, this is the all
1199 * debian/rules: re-enable letter-sized PDFs
1201 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 9 May 1999 01:17:29 -0400
1203 developers-reference (2.6.5) unstable; urgency=low
1205 * Sec. "Architectures": correction on supported architecture in Linux
1207 * Sec. "Experimental": other reasons to use or not use the experiment
1208 archive "section", from comments by Guy Maor
1209 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": replace x86 with i386 (closes Bug#36485)
1210 * debian/rules: date printing protected from local l10n (closes Bug#36891)
1211 * Ch. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": renamed chapter; add
1213 * Sec. "Debian Servers": new, for talking about the standard servers,
1214 with intro; demoted server sections under that
1215 * Sec. "The FTP servers": was empty, removed
1216 * Sec. "The master server": fill in more info and cross-refs on how to
1218 * Sec. "The CVS server": add some more detail which should be included
1219 when requesting cvs areas; mention the cvsweb URL
1220 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": new section, list the machines for which
1221 a normal developer may have access.
1223 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 4 May 1999 03:32:21 -0400
1225 developers-reference (2.6.4) unstable; urgency=low
1227 * debian/rules: hack 'byhand' file entries to include debian version
1228 number in it, so subsequent uploads of the package into Incoming don't
1229 step all over each other
1231 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 9 Apr 1999 20:04:04 -0400
1233 developers-reference (2.6.3) unstable; urgency=low
1235 * correction from James Troup -- <keyring-maint> is indeed the correct
1236 address for PGP key updates
1238 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 13:28:58 -0400
1240 developers-reference (2.6.2) unstable; urgency=low
1242 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is not replacing anything after all
1243 * developers-reference.sgml: use public declaration
1244 * BTW, if any maintainers of translated versions of this document would
1245 like to talk to me about folding your version into the
1246 developers-reference CVS area, please get in touch with me
1248 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 04:42:29 -0400
1250 developers-reference (2.6.1) unstable; urgency=low
1252 * include Debian constitution (closes Bug#30694)
1253 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is replacing fakeroot, not libtool
1254 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key" -- give email addresses as
1255 {pgp,gpg}-update@debian.org, at James Troup's request (note to Jameas,
1256 if you see this: /usr/doc/debian-keyring/README.gz talks about
1257 <keyring-maint> instead)
1258 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools" -- add Sec. "debget"
1259 * developers-reference.sgml: minor typo correction from Tril
1261 * doc-base stuff: add abstract to developers-reference, new file for
1263 * debian/rules: minor cleanup and consistency; build PDF, not PS file;
1264 ship PDF file;.text file now has .txt extension
1265 * debian/control: set priority to optional, matching archive
1267 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 3 Apr 1999 17:17:06 -0500
1269 developers-reference (2.6.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1271 * would be nice to sneak this into slink; it's just documentation!
1272 * Ch. "Porting and Being Ported": porter information broken out into it's
1273 own chapter, Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads" and "When to do a
1274 source NMU if you are a porter" moved to this chapter; porter tool
1275 descriptions such as 'quinn-diff' moved to this section. Sec. "Being
1276 Kind to Porters" added, with tips for how to avoid making problems for
1278 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)": update for the new chapter, and
1279 tighten up the language a bit
1280 * Sec. "Monitoring bugs": add a little cron job to get an 'index maint'
1281 of outstanding bugs (closes Bug#31259), loosen language a tiny bit
1282 w.r.t. non-maintainers or submitters closing bugs (closes Bug#30394)
1283 * Sec. "Scope of This Document": point out that this file is not
1285 * Ch. "Handling Bugs": renamed from "Handling Bug Reports", incorporate
1286 some suggestions from James Troup, namely, don't mail from your root
1287 account, don't close bugs via control@bugs.debian.org; break out new
1288 sections, "Submitting Bugs" and "Responding to Bugs"
1289 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove attribution for
1290 package maintainers, since I can't keep up; add entries for fakeroot
1292 * Ch. "Maintaining Your Debian Information": new chapter, quite small
1293 right now; it mentions keyring-maint@debian.org for key modification,
1294 warns against putting private keys on multi-user machines, and talks
1295 about how to depart Debian gracefully
1296 * typo correction from Christian Hudon (closes Bug#32052)
1297 * menu file removed, obsoleted by doc-base file
1298 * parameterize some often-changing values with SGML entities, update
1299 number of available packages
1300 * use new way of notating multiple copyrights
1301 * change <tt> elements to <file> where appropriate
1303 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 11 Feb 1999 02:53:55 -0500
1305 developers-reference (2.5.0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1307 * add version.ent to docdir, needed to reconstruct from SGML
1310 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 29 Dec 1998 02:42:50 -0500
1312 developers-reference (2.5.0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1314 * not officially released
1315 * more spelling corrections
1316 * s/ppc/powerpc/ (thanks, James Troup)
1318 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Dec 1998 00:07:40 -0500
1320 developers-reference (2.5.0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1322 * not officially released
1323 * Sec. "Removing a package from Incoming": tiny section added
1324 * some PGP-centricity removed
1325 * Sec. "Adopting a package": point out that hijacking packages is not ok
1326 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": change 'NMU' to
1327 'source NMU', 'port' to 'binary NMU', shorten the window for porters a
1328 tad; fix spelling; stress that non-maintainer patches must be
1329 non-disruptive and that aesthetic issues are not suitable for fixing
1330 by non-maintainers; other fixes as suggested by interested parties
1332 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 25 Nov 1998 00:01:27 -0500
1334 developers-reference (2.5.0.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1336 * not officially released
1337 * maintainer name change (but it's still me)
1338 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": new chapter
1339 discussing NMUs and porters; Section "Interim Releases" integrated out
1340 of existance. New TOC for this section is:
1341 * 6 Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters
1342 + 6.1 Who can do a port or an NMU
1343 + 6.2 When to do a port or an NMU
1344 o 6.2.1 When to do an NMU if you are a porter
1345 + 6.3 How to do an NMU
1346 o 6.3.1 NMU version numbering
1347 o 6.3.2 NMUs must create a changelog entry
1348 o 6.3.3 NMUs must send patches, if any, to the BTS
1349 o 6.3.4 Building the NMU
1350 + 6.4 Guidelines for Porters
1352 * Sec. "Maintainer changes": renamed to "Adopting a package" and moved
1353 to Chapter "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning
1355 * Sec. "Reporting lots of bugs at once": more forcefully deprecate this
1357 * Sec. "Adopting a package": mention that the BTS maintainer update can
1358 take a couple of weeks
1359 * Sec. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": give credit where credit
1360 is due and attribute current maintainers; add `apt'; add `quinn-diff';
1361 add mention of as yet unreleased 'buildd' package, since I'm so
1362 excited about it and can't wait
1363 * Sec. "Removing packages": talk about how apt-cache can be used to look
1364 at reverse depends, a good step to take prior to removing a package
1366 * show *full* TOC, including sect2
1367 * of course the obligatory typo, grammar, and spelling corrections
1369 * Makefile: small changes to accomodate DDP autobuild
1370 * debian/dirs: obsolete, removed
1371 * debian/rules: use changelog date for SGML timestamping, not current date
1373 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Nov 1998 12:27:53 -0500
1375 developers-reference (2.5.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1377 * move to 3-level version number:
1378 top-level version number probably won't change for a while, it is the
1379 "major", the second-level number means significant content changes,
1380 and the third-level change means corrections and minor improvements.
1381 Since this version has significant content changes, we are now 2.5.0.
1382 Since I'm going to put porter instructions in the next major rev, that
1385 * use new <package> tag where appropriate (Ardo, you rock)
1386 * replace 'm86k' with 'm68k'
1387 * rename 'Whirlwind Tour of ...' section to 'Overview of ...' (suggested
1389 * typos and "red-pen" corrections, fix cosmetic problems in PostScript
1391 * remove the one case I use an URL fragment identifier, since
1392 debiandoc-sgml doesn't like it (bug filed against debiandoc-sgml)
1393 * debian/rules: cosmetic cleanups, loosen check for root
1394 * debian/rules: build PostScript version during build, since it's nice
1395 to have all my debiandoc2* scripts together
1396 * debian/control: policy compliant to 2.5.0
1398 * advise against uploading when a package has lintian problems of
1400 * "Mailing Lists and Servers":
1401 - "The master server": mention how master is the home of the BTS;
1402 mention how users need to take care with their accounts on master
1403 - "The WWW servers": fill in www.debian.org, first pass, and discuss
1404 how to put up your own web pages on va or master
1405 - "The CVS server": new section added
1406 - "Mirrors of Debian servers": new section added; point to info about
1408 * "Applying to Become a Maintainer": do not advise resending initial
1409 application; instead, simply mail a followup asking new maintainers
1410 whether they go the initial application (closes Bug #28739); mention
1411 that calls usually come in the evening; mention that if you use PGP
1412 v5, you need to generate an RSA key (right?); clarify our intentions
1413 with respect to GPG.
1414 * "Release code names": Debian 2.2 is 'potato'
1415 * "Distribution directories": give concrete examples, hopefully making
1416 it clearer where to look in Debian archives for specific stuff;
1417 mention that old distributions are moved to archive servers (is there
1418 a canonical location?)
1419 * "The override file": new section, added under "Notification that a new
1420 package has been installed"; fill it out quite a bit
1421 * "Uploading to *": reiterate thrice not to upload export
1422 controlled-software to master, or the European queues on erlangen and
1424 * "Picking a distribution": section broken out from "Generating the
1426 * "Uploading to frozen": new section, almost straight from Brian White
1427 (hope you don't mind!) -- isn't that topical?
1428 * "Interim releases": if you NMU a new upstream version (0.1), run
1429 'dpkg-buildpackage -sa'
1431 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:03:43 -0500
1433 developers-reference (2.4.1.5) unstable; urgency=low
1435 * Fix instructions for new maintainers, incorporating the actual text
1436 sent to prospective new maintainers. Improve this text a bit for
1437 readability, coverage, and organization. Significant changes were
1438 patched back to the new-maintainers group, if they care to use
1439 them. (closes Bug#26948)
1440 * Add an introductory "Scope" chapter which helps delineate what should
1441 and should not be included in this Reference.
1442 * Add a new chapter, "Whirlwind Tour of Debian Maintainer Tools". Let
1443 me know what useful tools I forgot -- remember, Debian-specific
1444 maintainer tools only!
1445 * Add discussion of the "experimental" distribution, culled from an email
1446 from Guy Maor on debian-devel.
1447 * Incorporated suggestions from Branden Robinson (closes Bug#27211).
1448 * Point to doc-debian's mailing list instructions where relevant.
1449 * Made references to online documentation into URLs where possible.
1450 * Little corrections here and there.
1451 * add a Makefile for use in the DDP manual hierarchy
1452 * debian/rules: comment out my 'source-depends' hack; it's just slowing
1455 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 1 Oct 1998 03:42:43 -0400
1457 developers-reference (2.4.1.4) unstable; urgency=low
1459 * fill in Section "The master server" a bit; other servers to follow
1460 * in Section "Distribution directories", mention that distributions
1461 are always in 'dists' subdir of the Debian archive; talk about
1463 * in Section "Release code names", talk about 'sid' a bit
1464 * in Section "Interim releases", talk about how non-maintainers should
1465 use the BTS, and bug severity "fixed" (closes Bug#17524)
1466 * in Section "Generating the changes file", talk about how to set the
1467 distribution in the debian/changelog file (i.e., "frozen unstable")
1468 * add a new Section "Checking the package prior to upload" to Section
1469 "Uploading a package", mentioning lintian and other tests one should
1470 do prior to uploading
1471 * add new Section "Notification that a new package has been installed"
1472 in Section "Uploading a package", talking about dinstall and the
1474 * add new Sections "Moving packages", "Removing packages", "Replacing or
1475 renaming packages", and "Orphaning a package" (closes Bug#26650)
1476 * add new Section "Bugs in your packages", talking about maintainer
1477 duties with respect to bugs
1478 * add new Section "Lintian reports" under "Handling bugs reports",
1479 talking about how maintainers should check their packages with lintian
1480 every now and then, alternatively pointing them to the lintian web
1482 * clarify, a bit, the use of "section" and "subsection", bringing it
1483 into line with the usage in the Policy Manual and Packaging Manual
1484 * grammar and markup changes throughout
1485 * debian/rules: added a crude source-depends rule, which renders more
1486 explicit what is used to build this package
1488 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Mon, 21 Sep 1998 00:51:46 -0400
1490 developers-reference (2.4.1.3) unstable; urgency=low
1493 * version number and date are automatically populated now
1494 * changed doc-base section to "debian"
1495 * debian/rules: better abstraction and organization
1496 * reformat SGML like I happen to like it
1497 * utilize the new URL tag
1498 * build PostScript on letter size, I hear thats better for A4 and US
1501 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 16 Jul 1998 00:52:35 -0400
1503 developers-reference (2.4.1.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1505 * non-maintainer release
1506 * rebuilt since HTML versions of Chapters 1 and 2 were truncated
1507 (important bug, no number yet, bugs.debian.org isn't working;
1508 regardless, this should go in hamm because a broken developers
1509 reference won't win us many friends in hamm, and after all, it's just
1510 text, it can't hurt you.)
1511 * no content changes, except that the version number in the SGML file
1512 reflect this packages version number
1513 * debian/rule: clean is cleaner now
1515 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Tue, 16 Jun 1998 01:35:39 -0400
1517 developers-reference (2.4.1.1) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1521 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Thu, 14 May 1998 21:56:36 +0200
1523 developers-reference (2.4.1.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1525 * New version numbering scheme:
1527 - The version numbers are independent of dpkg now, but all policy
1528 manuals (the Debian Policy Manual, the Debian Packaging Manual, and
1529 the Debian Developer's Reference) share the same version numbering
1532 - The first three digits of the version number specify the
1533 `Standards-Version.' This number is incremented with each policy
1534 change. The fourth digit represents the `patch-level,' which may
1535 differ between the manuals.
1537 If only the patch-level digit is incremented, no changes in policy
1538 have been made, except bug fixes and clarifications. Packages only
1539 have to specify the first three digits of the version number in the
1540 `Standards-Version' field of their source packages.
1542 * Uploaded to frozen and unstable. This is a documentation-only
1543 package and the changes to the manual are relevant for hamm.
1545 * No changes to the Developer's Reference
1547 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Mon, 13 Apr 1998 17:54:43 +0200
1549 developers-reference (0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1551 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1553 - Changed section 1.2 Registering as a Debian developer:
1554 + signatures from formal certification service are _NOT_ accepted
1556 + images of ID documents have to be PGP or RSA signed
1557 (as requested by James Troup)
1559 - Use current date instead of <date> in manual
1561 * Updated FSF's address (reported by Lintian)
1563 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sat, 7 Mar 1998 13:52:15 +0100
1565 developers-reference (0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1567 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1569 - Renamed chapter 4 into `Package uploads'
1571 - New section 4.2.5 Uploading to the non-us server
1573 - Changed section 4.4 Interim releases:
1574 + non-maintainer releases should not close bugs
1575 + normal maintainer must at least read the patch provided with
1576 the non-maintainer release
1578 - New chapter 5 Handling bug reports:
1579 + when reporting more then 10 bugs on the same topic, a message
1580 has to be sent to debian-devel and the `maintonly' address
1583 - Lots of typos fixed
1585 * Compressed SGML source code
1587 * Added support for doc-base to register the Developer's Reference
1588 to the online documentation systems dwww and dhelp
1590 * Upgraded to standards version 2.4.0.0 (no changes)
1592 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Fri, 30 Jan 1998 21:58:34 +0100
1594 developers-reference (0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1596 * Put lost sections from Policy Manual 2.1.3.3 back in:
1597 - Generating the changes file (for uploads)
1598 - Announcing package uploads
1599 * New section about Debian Mentors
1600 * debian/rules: Don't use debstd anymore
1601 * debian/rules: Compress changelog file (fixes:#15441)
1602 * Fixed link to WNPP list (fixes:#16201)
1603 * Added menu entry (fixes:#15708)
1605 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Wed, 24 Dec 1997 13:54:33 +0100
1607 developers-reference (0.2) unstable; urgency=low
1609 * New chapter about `The Debian Archive' describing the structure
1610 of our FTP server and the development process
1611 * Added note that new maintainers have to read the Social Contract
1612 and have to know where to find the Policy and Packaging Manuals
1613 * PGP key ring is not distributed via dpkg but in doc/ of the FTP
1615 * Added note that cross posting between Debian lists is depreciated
1616 * New list of advantages why new packages should be discussed on
1617 debian-devel before they are uploaded
1618 * Added section about how packages are uploaded
1619 * Added note that the Security Managers may do interim releases without
1620 contacting the maintainer
1621 * Removed chapter about bug tracking system (will be included in
1622 a new manual released soon)
1623 * Some minor changes
1624 * Include SGML source in package
1625 * Don't use `2-up' style for PostScript version
1626 * Upgraded to Standards 2.3.0.1
1628 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:53:26 +0100
1630 developers-reference (0.1) unstable; urgency=low
1634 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Tue, 8 Jul 1997 00:19:49 +0200