<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
- "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
+ "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd" [
+ <!ENTITY % commondata SYSTEM "common.ent" > %commondata;
+]>
<chapter id="pkgs">
<title>Managing Packages</title>
<para>
<title>New packages</title>
<para>
If you want to create a new package for the Debian distribution, you should
-first check the <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/">Work-Needing and
+first check the <ulink url="&url-wnpp;">Work-Needing and
Prospective Packages (WNPP)</ulink> list. Checking the WNPP list ensures that
no one is already working on packaging that software, and that effort is not
-duplicated. Read the <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/">WNPP web
+duplicated. Read the <ulink url="&url-wnpp;">WNPP web
pages</ulink> for more information.
</para>
<para>
You should set the subject of the bug to ``ITP: <replaceable>foo</replaceable>
-- <replaceable>short description</replaceable>'', substituting the name of the
new package for <replaceable>foo</replaceable>. The severity of the bug report
-must be set to <emphasis>wishlist</emphasis>. If you feel it's necessary, send
-a copy to <email>debian-devel@lists.debian.org</email> by putting the address
-in the <literal>X-Debbugs-CC:</literal> header of the message (no, don't use
+must be set to <literal>wishlist</literal>. If you feel it's necessary, send
+a copy to &email-debian-devel; by putting the address in the
+<literal>X-Debbugs-CC:</literal> header of the message (no, don't use
<literal>CC:</literal>, because that way the message's subject won't indicate
the bug number).
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
-Please see <ulink url="http://ftp-master.debian.org/REJECT-FAQ.html"></ulink>
+Please see <ulink url="http://&ftp-master-host;/REJECT-FAQ.html"></ulink>
for common rejection reasons for a new package.
</para>
</section>
<para>
The <filename>debian/changelog</filename> file conforms to a certain structure,
with a number of different fields. One field of note, the
-<emphasis>distribution</emphasis>, is described in <xref
+<literal>distribution</literal>, is described in <xref
linkend="distribution"/> . More information about the structure of this file
can be found in the Debian Policy section titled
<filename>debian/changelog</filename>.
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
-the so-called <emphasis>native</emphasis> packages, where there is no
+the so-called <literal>native</literal> packages, where there is no
distinction between the original sources and the patches applied for Debian
</para>
</listitem>
<para>
There are several possible values for this field: `stable', `unstable',
`testing-proposed-updates' and `experimental'. Normally, packages are uploaded
-into <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>.
+into <literal>unstable</literal>.
</para>
<para>
Actually, there are two other possible distributions: `stable-security' and
time.
</para>
<section id="upload-stable">
-<title>Special case: uploads to the <emphasis>stable</emphasis> distribution</title>
+<title>Special case: uploads to the <literal>stable</literal> distribution</title>
<para>
-Uploading to <emphasis>stable</emphasis> means that the package will transfered
-to the <emphasis>p-u-new</emphasis>-queue for review by the stable release
-managers, and if approved will be installed in
+Uploading to <literal>stable</literal> means that the package will transfered
+to the <literal>proposed-updates-new</literal>-queue for review by the stable
+release managers, and if approved will be installed in
<filename>stable-proposed-updates</filename> directory of the Debian archive.
-From there, it will be included in <emphasis>stable</emphasis> with the next
+From there, it will be included in <literal>stable</literal> with the next
point release.
</para>
<para>
-Extra care should be taken when uploading to <emphasis>stable</emphasis>.
+Extra care should be taken when uploading to <literal>stable</literal>.
Basically, a package should only be uploaded to stable if one of the following
happens:
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>
-In the past, uploads to <emphasis>stable</emphasis> were used to address
+In the past, uploads to <literal>stable</literal> were used to address
security problems as well. However, this practice is deprecated, as uploads
used for Debian security advisories are automatically copied to the appropriate
<filename>proposed-updates</filename> archive when the advisory is released.
because even trivial fixes can cause bugs later on.
</para>
<para>
-Packages uploaded to <emphasis>stable</emphasis> need to be compiled on systems
-running <emphasis>stable</emphasis>, so that their dependencies are limited to
-the libraries (and other packages) available in <emphasis>stable</emphasis>;
-for example, a package uploaded to <emphasis>stable</emphasis> that depends on
+Packages uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> need to be compiled on systems
+running <literal>stable</literal>, so that their dependencies are limited to
+the libraries (and other packages) available in <literal>stable</literal>;
+for example, a package uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> that depends on
a library package that only exists in unstable will be rejected. Making
changes to dependencies of other packages (by messing with
<literal>Provides</literal> or shlibs files), possibly making those other
</para>
<para>
The Release Team (which can be reached at
-<email>debian-release@lists.debian.org</email>) will regularly evaluate the
-uploads To <emphasis>stable-proposed-updates</emphasis> and decide if your
-package can be included in <emphasis>stable</emphasis>. Please be clear (and
-verbose, if necessary) in your changelog entries for uploads to
-<emphasis>stable</emphasis>, because otherwise the package won't be considered
+&email-debian-release;) will regularly evaluate the uploads to
+<literal>stable-proposed-updates</literal> and decide if your package can be
+included in <literal>stable</literal>. Please be clear (and verbose, if
+necessary) in your changelog entries for uploads to
+<literal>stable</literal>, because otherwise the package won't be considered
for inclusion.
</para>
<para>
It's best practice to speak with the stable release manager
<emphasis>before</emphasis> uploading to
-<emphasis>stable</emphasis>/<emphasis>stable-proposed-updates</emphasis>, so
+<literal>stable</literal>/<literal>stable-proposed-updates</literal>, so
that the uploaded package fits the needs of the next point release.
</para>
</section>
<section id="upload-t-p-u">
-<title>Special case: uploads to <emphasis>testing/testing-proposed-updates</emphasis></title>
+<title>Special case: uploads to <literal>testing/testing-proposed-updates</literal></title>
<para>
Please see the information in the <link linkend="t-p-u">testing
section</link> for details.
<title>Uploading to <literal>ftp-master</literal></title>
<para>
To upload a package, you should upload the files (including the signed changes
-and dsc-file) with anonymous ftp to <literal>ftp-master.debian.org</literal> in
+and dsc-file) with anonymous ftp to <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal> in
the directory <ulink
-url="ftp://ftp-master.debian.org/pub/UploadQueue/">/pub/UploadQueue/</ulink>.
+url="ftp://&ftp-master-host;&upload-queue;">&upload-queue;</ulink>.
To get the files processed there, they need to be signed with a key in the
-debian keyring.
+Debian Developers keyring or the Debian Maintainers keyring
+(see <ulink url="&url-wiki-dm;"></ulink>).
</para>
<para>
Please note that you should transfer the changes file last. Otherwise, your
</para>
</section>
-<section id="upload-non-us">
-<title>Uploading to <literal>non-US</literal></title>
-<para>
-<emphasis>Note:</emphasis> non-us was discontinued with the release of sarge.
-</para>
-</section>
-
<section id="delayed-incoming">
<title>Delayed uploads</title>
<para>
-Delayed uploads are done for the moment via the delayed queue at gluck. The
-upload-directory is <literal>gluck:~tfheen/DELAYED/[012345678]-day</literal>.
-0-day is uploaded multiple times per day to ftp-master.
+Delayed uploads are done for the moment via the delayed queue at <literal>gluck
+</literal>. The upload-directory is
+<literal>gluck:~tfheen/DELAYED/[012345678]-day</literal>. 0-day is uploaded
+multiple times per day to <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>.
</para>
<para>
With a fairly recent dput, this section
incoming = ~tfheen
</screen>
<para>
-in ~/.dput.cf should work fine for uploading to the DELAYED queue.
+in <filename>~/.dput.cf</filename> should work fine for uploading to the
+<literal>DELAYED</literal> queue.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Note:</emphasis> Since this upload queue goes to
-<literal>ftp-master</literal>, the prescription found in <xref
+<literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>, the prescription found in <xref
linkend="upload-ftp-master"/> applies here as well.
</para>
</section>
<section id="s5.6.5">
<title>Other upload queues</title>
<para>
-The scp queues on ftp-master, and security are mostly unusable due to the login
-restrictions on those hosts.
+The scp queues on <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>, and security are mostly
+unusable due to the login restrictions on those hosts.
</para>
<para>
The anonymous queues on ftp.uni-erlangen.de and ftp.uk.debian.org are currently
The queue in Japan will be replaced with a new queue on hp.debian.or.jp some
day.
</para>
-<para>
-For the time being, the anonymous ftp queue on auric.debian.org (the former
-ftp-master) works, but it is deprecated and will be removed at some point in
-the future.
-</para>
</section>
<section id="upload-notification">
</para>
<para>
The archive maintainers keep track of the canonical sections and priorities for
-packages in the <emphasis>override file</emphasis>. If there is a disparity
-between the <emphasis>override file</emphasis> and the package's fields as
+packages in the <literal>override file</literal>. If there is a disparity
+between the <literal>override file</literal> and the package's fields as
indicated in <filename>debian/control</filename>, then you will receive an
email noting the divergence when the package is installed into the archive.
You can either correct your <filename>debian/control</filename> file for your
-next upload, or else you may wish to make a change in the <emphasis>override
-file</emphasis>.
+next upload, or else you may wish to make a change in the <literal>override
+file</literal>.
</para>
<para>
To alter the actual section that a package is put in, you need to first make
sure that the <filename>debian/control</filename> file in your package is
-accurate. Next, send an email <email>override-change@debian.org</email> or
-submit a bug against <systemitem role="package">ftp.debian.org</systemitem>
-requesting that the section or priority for your package be changed from the
-old section or priority to the new one. Be sure to explain your reasoning.
+accurate. Next, send an email &email-override; or submit a
+bug against <systemitem role="package">ftp.debian.org</systemitem> requesting
+that the section or priority for your package be changed from the old section
+or priority to the new one. Be sure to explain your reasoning.
</para>
<para>
-For more information about <emphasis>override files</emphasis>, see
+For more information about <literal>override files</literal>, see
<citerefentry> <refentrytitle>dpkg-scanpackages</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> and <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer#maintincorrect"></ulink>.
+url="&url-bts-devel;#maintincorrect"></ulink>.
</para>
<para>
Note that the <literal>Section</literal> field describes both the section as
well as the subsection, which are described in <xref
linkend="archive-sections"/> . If the section is main, it should be omitted.
The list of allowable subsections can be found in <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-archive.html#s-subsections"></ulink>.
+url="&url-debian-policy;ch-archive.html#s-subsections"></ulink>.
</para>
</section>
<title>Handling bugs</title>
<para>
Every developer has to be able to work with the Debian <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/">bug tracking system</ulink>. This includes
+url="&url-bts;">bug tracking system</ulink>. This includes
knowing how to file bug reports properly (see <xref linkend="submit-bug"/> ),
how to update them and reorder them, and how to process and close them.
</para>
<para>
The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer">BTS documentation for
+url="&url-bts-devel;">BTS documentation for
developers</ulink>. This includes closing bugs, sending followup messages,
assigning severities and tags, marking bugs as forwarded, and other issues.
</para>
reports about the same issue, or reopening bugs when they are prematurely
closed, are handled using the so-called control mail server. All of the
commands available on this server are described in the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/server-control">BTS control server
+url="&url-bts-control;">BTS control server
documentation</ulink>.
</para>
<section id="bug-monitoring">
<title>Monitoring bugs</title>
<para>
If you want to be a good maintainer, you should periodically check the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/">Debian bug tracking system (BTS)</ulink> for
+url="&url-bts;">Debian bug tracking system (BTS)</ulink> for
your packages. The BTS contains all the open bugs against your packages. You
can check them by browsing this page:
-<literal>http://bugs.debian.org/<replaceable>yourlogin</replaceable>@debian.org</literal>.
+<literal>http://&bugs-host;/<replaceable>yourlogin</replaceable>@debian.org</literal>.
</para>
<para>
Maintainers interact with the BTS via email addresses at
-<literal>bugs.debian.org</literal>. Documentation on available commands can be
-found at <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/"></ulink>, or, if you have
-installed the <systemitem role="package">doc-debian</systemitem> package, you
-can look at the local files <filename>/usr/share/doc/debian/bug-*</filename>.
+<literal>&bugs-host;</literal>. Documentation on available
+commands can be found at <ulink url="&url-bts;"></ulink>, or,
+if you have installed the <systemitem role="package">doc-debian</systemitem>
+package, you can look at the local files &file-bts-docs;.
</para>
<para>
Some find it useful to get periodic reports on open bugs. You can add a cron
</para>
<screen>
# ask for weekly reports of bugs in my packages
-0 17 * * fri echo index maint <replaceable>address</replaceable> | mail request@bugs.debian.org
+&cron-bug-report;
</screen>
<para>
Replace <replaceable>address</replaceable> with your official Debian maintainer
<para>
When responding to bugs, make sure that any discussion you have about bugs is
sent both to the original submitter of the bug, and to the bug itself (e.g.,
-<email>123@bugs.debian.org</email>). If you're writing a new mail and you
+<email>123@&bugs-host;</email>). If you're writing a new mail and you
don't remember the submitter email address, you can use the
-<email>123-submitter@bugs.debian.org</email> email to contact the submitter
+<email>123-submitter@&bugs-host;</email> email to contact the submitter
<emphasis>and</emphasis> to record your mail within the bug log (that means you
-don't need to send a copy of the mail to <email>123@bugs.debian.org</email>).
+don't need to send a copy of the mail to <email>123@&bugs-host;</email>).
</para>
<para>
If you get a bug which mentions FTBFS, this means Fails to build from source.
</para>
<para>
Once you've dealt with a bug report (e.g. fixed it), mark it as
-<emphasis>done</emphasis> (close it) by sending an explanation message to
-<email>123-done@bugs.debian.org</email>. If you're fixing a bug by changing
+<literal>done</literal> (close it) by sending an explanation message to
+<email>123-done@&bugs-host;</email>. If you're fixing a bug by changing
and uploading the package, you can automate bug closing as described in <xref
linkend="upload-bugfix"/> .
</para>
<para>
You should <emphasis>never</emphasis> close bugs via the bug server
-<literal>close</literal> command sent to
-<email>control@bugs.debian.org</email>. If you do so, the original submitter
-will not receive any information about why the bug was closed.
+<literal>close</literal> command sent to &email-bts-control;.
+If you do so, the original submitter will not receive any information about why
+the bug was closed.
</para>
</section>
As a package maintainer, you will often find bugs in other packages or have
bugs reported against your packages which are actually bugs in other packages.
The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer">BTS documentation for Debian
+url="&url-bts-devel;">BTS documentation for Debian
developers</ulink>. Operations such as reassigning, merging, and tagging bug
reports are described in the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/server-control">BTS control server
+url="&url-bts-control;">BTS control server
documentation</ulink>. This section contains some guidelines for managing your
own bugs, based on the collective Debian developer experience.
</para>
technical committee by reassigning the bug to <systemitem
role="package">tech-ctte</systemitem> (you may use the clone command of the BTS
if you wish to keep it reported against your package). Before doing so, please
-read the <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/devel/tech-ctte">recommended
+read the <ulink url="&url-tech-ctte;">recommended
procedure</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
If the bug is real but it's caused by another package, just reassign the bug to
the right package. If you don't know which package it should be reassigned to,
you should ask for help on <link linkend="irc-channels">IRC</link> or
-on <email>debian-devel@lists.debian.org</email>. Please make sure that the
+on &email-debian-devel;. Please make sure that the
maintainer(s) of the package the bug is reassigned to know why you reassigned
it.
</para>
<para>
If the bug is related to the packaging, you just fix it. If you are not able
to fix it yourself, then tag the bug as <literal>help</literal>. You can also
-ask for help on <email>debian-devel@lists.debian.org</email> or
-<email>debian-qa@lists.debian.org</email>. If it's an upstream problem, you
-have to forward it to the upstream author. Forwarding a bug is not enough, you
-have to check at each release if the bug has been fixed or not. If it has, you
-just close it, otherwise you have to remind the author about it. If you have
-the required skills you can prepare a patch that fixes the bug and send it to
-the author at the same time. Make sure to send the patch to the BTS and to tag
-the bug as <literal>patch</literal>.
+ask for help on &email-debian-devel; or
+&email-debian-qa;. If it's an upstream problem, you have to
+forward it to the upstream author. Forwarding a bug is not enough, you have to
+check at each release if the bug has been fixed or not. If it has, you just
+close it, otherwise you have to remind the author about it. If you have the
+required skills you can prepare a patch that fixes the bug and send it to the
+author at the same time. Make sure to send the patch to the BTS and to tag the
+bug as <literal>patch</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
-Once a corrected package is available in the <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>
+Once a corrected package is available in the <literal>unstable</literal>
distribution, you can close the bug. This can be done automatically, read
<xref linkend="upload-bugfix"/> .
</para>
close the bugs for you. For example:
</para>
<screen>
--cannon (3.1415) unstable; urgency=low
+acme-cannon (3.1415) unstable; urgency=low
* Frobbed with options (closes: Bug#98339)
* Added safety to prevent operator dismemberment, closes: bug#98765,
don't hesitate to undo any damage the error caused. To reopen wrongly closed
bugs, send a <literal>reopen <replaceable>XXX</replaceable></literal> command
to the bug tracking system's control address,
-<email>control@bugs.debian.org</email>. To close any remaining bugs that were
+&email-bts-control;. To close any remaining bugs that were
fixed by your upload, email the <filename>.changes</filename> file to
-<email>XXX-done@bugs.debian.org</email>, where <replaceable>XXX</replaceable>
+<email>XXX-done@&bugs-host;</email>, where <replaceable>XXX</replaceable>
is the bug number, and put Version: YYY and an empty line as the first two
lines of the body of the email, where <replaceable>YYY</replaceable> is the
first version where the bug has been fixed.
Bear in mind that it is not obligatory to close bugs using the changelog as
described above. If you simply want to close bugs that don't have anything to
do with an upload you made, do it by emailing an explanation to
-<email>XXX-done@bugs.debian.org</email>. Do <emphasis
+<email>XXX-done@&bugs-host;</email>. Do <emphasis
role="strong">not</emphasis> close bugs in the changelog entry of a version if
the changes in that version of the package don't have any bearing on the bug.
</para>
fixing them themselves, sending security advisories, and maintaining
security.debian.org.
</para>
+<!-- information about the security database goes here once it's ready -->
+<!-- (mdz) -->
<para>
When you become aware of a security-related bug in a Debian package, whether or
not you are the maintainer, collect pertinent information about the problem,
and promptly contact the security team at
-<email>team@security.debian.org</email> as soon as possible. <emphasis
+&email-security-team; as soon as possible. <emphasis
role="strong">DO NOT UPLOAD</emphasis> any packages for stable; the security
team will do that. Useful information includes, for example:
</para>
Security advisories are only issued for the current, released stable
distribution, and <emphasis>not</emphasis> for testing or unstable. When
released, advisories are sent to the
-<email>debian-security-announce@lists.debian.org</email> mailing list and
-posted on <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/security/">the security web
+&email-debian-security-announce; mailing list and posted on
+<ulink url="&url-debian-security-advisories;">the security web
page</ulink>. Security advisories are written and posted by the security team.
However they certainly do not mind if a maintainer can supply some of the
information for them, or write part of the text. Information that should be in
For stable this is <literal>stable-security</literal> and for testing this is
<literal>testing-security</literal>, and for the previous stable release, this
is <literal>oldstable-security</literal>. Do not target
-<replaceable>distribution</replaceable>-proposed-updates or
+<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal> or
<literal>stable</literal>!
</para>
</listitem>
package, but less than package versions in later distributions. If in doubt,
test it with <literal>dpkg --compare-versions</literal>. Be careful not to
re-use a version number that you have already used for a previous upload. For
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis>, there must be a higher version in
-<emphasis>unstable</emphasis>. If there is none yet (for example, if
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> and <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> have the same
+<literal>testing</literal>, there must be a higher version in
+<literal>unstable</literal>. If there is none yet (for example, if
+<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>unstable</literal> have the same
version) you must upload a new version to unstable first.
</para>
</listitem>
<para>
If a member of the security team accepts a package, it will be installed on
security.debian.org as well as proposed for the proper
-<replaceable>distribution</replaceable>-proposed-updates on ftp-master.
+<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal>
+on <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>.
</para>
</section>
Sometimes a package will change its section. For instance, a package from the
`non-free' section might be GPL'd in a later version, in which case the package
should be moved to `main' or `contrib'.<footnote><para> See the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for
+url="&url-debian-policy;">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for
guidelines on what section a package belongs in. </para> </footnote>
</para>
<para>
If you need to change the section for one of your packages, change the package
control information to place the package in the desired section, and re-upload
the package (see the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for
+url="&url-debian-policy;">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for
details). You must ensure that you include the
<filename>.orig.tar.gz</filename> in your upload (even if you are not uploading
a new upstream version), or it will not appear in the new section together with
understand what happened.
</para>
<para>
-If, on the other hand, you need to change the <emphasis>subsection</emphasis>
+If, on the other hand, you need to change the <literal>subsection</literal>
of one of your packages (e.g., ``devel'', ``admin''), the procedure is slightly
different. Correct the subsection as found in the control file of the package,
and re-upload that. Also, you'll need to get the override file updated, as
against <literal>ftp.debian.org</literal> asking that the package be removed;
as all bugs, this bug should normally have normal severity. Make sure you
indicate which distribution the package should be removed from. Normally, you
-can only have packages removed from <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> and
-<emphasis>experimental</emphasis>. Packages are not removed from
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> directly. Rather, they will be removed
+can only have packages removed from <literal>unstable</literal> and
+<literal>experimental</literal>. Packages are not removed from
+<literal>testing</literal> directly. Rather, they will be removed
automatically after the package has been removed from
-<emphasis>unstable</emphasis> and no package in <emphasis>testing</emphasis>
+<literal>unstable</literal> and no package in <literal>testing</literal>
depends on it.
</para>
<para>
<para>
Further information relating to these and other package removal related topics
may be found at <ulink url="http://wiki.debian.org/ftpmaster_Removals"></ulink>
-and <ulink url="http://qa.debian.org/howto-remove.html"></ulink>.
+and <ulink url="&url-debian-qa;howto-remove.html"></ulink>.
</para>
<para>
If in doubt concerning whether a package is disposable, email
-<email>debian-devel@lists.debian.org</email> asking for opinions. Also of
-interest is the <command>apt-cache</command> program from the <systemitem
+&email-debian-devel; asking for opinions. Also of interest is
+the <command>apt-cache</command> program from the <systemitem
role="package">apt</systemitem> package. When invoked as <literal>apt-cache
showpkg <replaceable>package</replaceable></literal>, the program will show
details for <replaceable>package</replaceable>, including reverse depends.
Other useful programs include <literal>apt-cache rdepends</literal>,
<command>apt-rdepends</command> and <command>grep-dctrl</command>. Removal of
-orphaned packages is discussed on <email>debian-qa@lists.debian.org</email>.
+orphaned packages is discussed on &email-debian-qa;.
</para>
<para>
Once the package has been removed, the package's bugs should be handled. They
incoming system, this is no longer possible. Instead, you have to upload a new
revision of your package with a higher version than the package you want to
replace. Both versions will be installed in the archive but only the higher
-version will actually be available in <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> since the
+version will actually be available in <literal>unstable</literal> since the
previous version will immediately be replaced by the higher. However, if you
do proper testing of your packages, the need to replace a package should not
occur too often anyway.
When you make a mistake naming your package, you should follow a two-step
process to rename it. First, set your <filename>debian/control</filename> file
to replace and conflict with the obsolete name of the package (see the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for
+url="&url-debian-policy;">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for
details). Once you've uploaded the package and the package has moved into the
archive, file a bug against <literal>ftp.debian.org</literal> asking to remove
the package with the obsolete name. Do not forget to properly reassign the
<para>
If you can no longer maintain a package, you need to inform others, and see
that the package is marked as orphaned. You should set the package maintainer
-to <literal>Debian QA Group <packages@qa.debian.org></literal> and submit
-a bug report against the pseudo package <systemitem
+to <literal>Debian QA Group &orphan-address;</literal> and
+submit a bug report against the pseudo package <systemitem
role="package">wnpp</systemitem>. The bug report should be titled <literal>O:
<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short
description</replaceable></literal> indicating that the package is now
orphaned. The severity of the bug should be set to
-<emphasis>normal</emphasis>; if the package has a priority of standard or
+<literal>normal</literal>; if the package has a priority of standard or
higher, it should be set to important. If you feel it's necessary, send a copy
-to <email>debian-devel@lists.debian.org</email> by putting the address in the
+to &email-debian-devel; by putting the address in the
X-Debbugs-CC: header of the message (no, don't use CC:, because that way the
message's subject won't indicate the bug number).
</para>
role="package">wnpp</systemitem> and title it <literal>RFA:
<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short
description</replaceable></literal>. <literal>RFA</literal> stands for
-<emphasis>Request For Adoption</emphasis>.
+<literal>Request For Adoption</literal>.
</para>
<para>
-More information is on the <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/">WNPP
+More information is on the <ulink url="&url-wnpp;">WNPP
web pages</ulink>.
</para>
</section>
<title>Adopting a package</title>
<para>
A list of packages in need of a new maintainer is available in the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/">Work-Needing and Prospective Packages
+url="&url-wnpp;">Work-Needing and Prospective Packages
list (WNPP)</ulink>. If you wish to take over maintenance of any of the
packages listed in the WNPP, please take a look at the aforementioned page for
information and procedures.
mailing list. If the discussion doesn't end with a positive conclusion, and
the issue is of a technical nature, consider bringing it to the attention of
the technical committee (see the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/devel/tech-ctte">technical committee web
-page</ulink> for more information).
+url="&url-tech-ctte;">technical committee web page</ulink> for
+more information).
</para>
<para>
If you take over an old package, you probably want to be listed as the
different from the original architecture of the package maintainer's binary
package. It is a unique and essential activity. In fact, porters do most of
the actual compiling of Debian packages. For instance, for a single
-<emphasis>i386</emphasis> binary package, there must be a recompile for each
-architecture, which amounts to 12 more builds.
+<literal>i386</literal> binary package, there must be a recompile for each
+architecture, which amounts to &number-of-arches; more builds.
</para>
<section id="kind-to-porters">
<title>Being kind to porters</title>
assistance (see <xref linkend="dpkg-depcheck"/> ).
</para>
<para>
-See the <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/">Debian Policy
+See the <ulink url="&url-debian-policy;">Debian Policy
Manual</ulink> for instructions on setting build dependencies.
</para>
</listitem>
<para>
Don't set architecture to a value other than ``all'' or ``any'' unless you
really mean it. In too many cases, maintainers don't follow the instructions
-in the <ulink url="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/">Debian Policy
+in the <ulink url="&url-debian-policy;">Debian Policy
Manual</ulink>. Setting your architecture to ``i386'' is usually incorrect.
</para>
</listitem>
<title>Mailing lists and web pages</title>
<para>
Web pages containing the status of each port can be found at <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/ports/"></ulink>.
+url="&url-debian-ports;"></ulink>.
</para>
<para>
Each port of Debian has a mailing list. The list of porting mailing lists can
-be found at <ulink url="http://lists.debian.org/ports.html"></ulink>. These
+be found at <ulink url="&url-debian-port-lists;"></ulink>. These
lists are used to coordinate porters, and to connect the users of a given port
with the porters.
</para>
<para>
The <systemitem role="package">buildd</systemitem> system is used as a
distributed, client-server build distribution system. It is usually used in
-conjunction with <emphasis>auto-builders</emphasis>, which are ``slave'' hosts
+conjunction with <literal>build daemons</literal>, which are ``slave'' hosts
which simply check out and attempt to auto-build packages which need to be
ported. There is also an email interface to the system, which allows porters
to ``check out'' a source package (usually one which cannot yet be auto-built)
<para>
Some of the data produced by <systemitem role="package">buildd</systemitem>
which is generally useful to porters is available on the web at <ulink
-url="http://buildd.debian.org/"></ulink>. This data includes nightly updated
+url="&url-buildd;"></ulink>. This data includes nightly updated
information from <command>andrea</command> (source dependencies) and
<systemitem role="package">quinn-diff</systemitem> (packages needing
recompilation).
it must be included in <filename>packages-arch-specific</filename>, a list used
by the <command>wanna-build</command> script. The current version is available
as <ulink
-url="http://cvs.debian.org/srcdep/Packages-arch-specific?cvsroot=dak"></ulink>;
+url="&url-cvsweb;srcdep/Packages-arch-specific?cvsroot=dak"></ulink>;
please see the top of the file for whom to contact for changes.
</para>
</listitem>
Unless you know the maintainer is still active, it is wise to check the package
to see if it has been orphaned. The current list of orphaned packages which
haven't had their maintainer set correctly is available at <ulink
-url="http://qa.debian.org/orphaned.html"></ulink>. If you perform an NMU on an
-improperly orphaned package, please set the maintainer to ``Debian QA Group
-<packages@qa.debian.org>''.
+url="&url-debian-qa-orphaned;"></ulink>. If you perform an NMU on an
+improperly orphaned package, please set the maintainer to <literal>Debian QA Group
+<packages@qa.debian.org></literal>.
</para>
</section>
throughout this document. Both binary-only and source NMUs are similar, since
they involve an upload of a package by a developer who is not the official
maintainer of that package. That is why it's a
-<emphasis>non-maintainer</emphasis> upload.
+<literal>non-maintainer</literal> upload.
</para>
<para>
A source NMU is an upload of a package by a developer who is not the official
Generally there is a primary maintainer and one or more co-maintainers. The
primary maintainer is the person whose name is listed in the
<literal>Maintainer</literal> field of the <filename>debian/control</filename>
-file. Co-maintainers are all the other maintainers.
+file. Co-maintainers are all the other maintainers,
+usually listed in the <literal>Uploaders</literal> field of the
+<filename>debian/control</filename> file.
</para>
<para>
In its most basic form, the process of adding a new co-maintainer is quite
<listitem>
<para>
Add the co-maintainer's correct maintainer name and address to the
-<literal>Uploaders</literal> field in the global part of the
+<literal>Uploaders</literal> field in the first paragraph of the
<filename>debian/control</filename> file.
</para>
<screen>
-: John Buzz <jbuzz@debian.org>, Adam Rex <arex@debian.org>
+Uploaders: John Buzz <jbuzz@debian.org>, Adam Rex <arex@debian.org>
</screen>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<section id="testing-unstable">
<title>Updates from unstable</title>
<para>
-The scripts that update the <emphasis>testing</emphasis> distribution are run
+The scripts that update the <literal>testing</literal> distribution are run
each day after the installation of the updated packages; these scripts are
-called <emphasis>britney</emphasis>. They generate the
-<filename>Packages</filename> files for the <emphasis>testing</emphasis>
+called <literal>britney</literal>. They generate the
+<filename>Packages</filename> files for the <literal>testing</literal>
distribution, but they do so in an intelligent manner; they try to avoid any
inconsistency and to use only non-buggy packages.
</para>
<para>
-The inclusion of a package from <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> is conditional on
+The inclusion of a package from <literal>unstable</literal> is conditional on
the following:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
-The package must have been available in <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> for 2, 5
+The package must have been available in <literal>unstable</literal> for 2, 5
or 10 days, depending on the urgency (high, medium or low). Please note that
the urgency is sticky, meaning that the highest urgency uploaded since the
previous testing transition is taken into account. Those delays may be doubled
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
-It must have the same number or fewer release-critical bugs than the version
-currently available in <emphasis>testing</emphasis>;
+It must not have new release-critical bugs (RC bugs affecting the version
+available in <literal>unstable</literal>, but not affecting the version in
+<literal>testing</literal>);
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
It must not break any dependency of a package which is already available in
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis>;
+<literal>testing</literal>;
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
The packages on which it depends must either be available in
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> or they must be accepted into
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> at the same time (and they will be if they fulfill
+<literal>testing</literal> or they must be accepted into
+<literal>testing</literal> at the same time (and they will be if they fulfill
all the necessary criteria);
</para>
</listitem>
<para>
To find out whether a package is progressing into testing or not, see the
testing script output on the <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/devel/testing">web page of the testing
+url="&url-testing-maint;">web page of the testing
distribution</ulink>, or use the program <command>grep-excuses</command> which
is in the <systemitem role="package">devscripts</systemitem> package. This
utility can easily be used in a <citerefentry>
<refentrytitle>crontab</refentrytitle> <manvolnum>5</manvolnum> </citerefentry>
to keep yourself informed of the progression of your packages into
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis>.
+<literal>testing</literal>.
</para>
<para>
The <filename>update_excuses</filename> file does not always give the precise
reason why the package is refused; you may have to find it on your own by
looking for what would break with the inclusion of the package. The <ulink
-url="http://www.debian.org/devel/testing">testing web page</ulink> gives some
+url="&url-testing-maint;">testing web page</ulink> gives some
more information about the usual problems which may be causing such troubles.
</para>
<para>
-Sometimes, some packages never enter <emphasis>testing</emphasis> because the
+Sometimes, some packages never enter <literal>testing</literal> because the
set of inter-relationship is too complicated and cannot be sorted out by the
scripts. See below for details.
</para>
<section id="outdated">
<title>out-of-date</title>
<para>
+<!-- FIXME: better rename this file than document rampant professionalism? -->
For the testing migration script, outdated means: There are different versions
in unstable for the release architectures (except for the architectures in
fuckedarches; fuckedarches is a list of architectures that don't keep up (in
<para>
Sometimes, a package is removed to allow another package in: This happens only
to allow <emphasis>another</emphasis> package to go in if it's ready in every
-other sense. Suppose e.g. that <emphasis>a</emphasis> cannot be installed
-with the new version of <emphasis>b</emphasis>; then <emphasis>a</emphasis> may
-be removed to allow <emphasis>b</emphasis> in.
+other sense. Suppose e.g. that <literal>a</literal> cannot be installed
+with the new version of <literal>b</literal>; then <literal>a</literal> may
+be removed to allow <literal>b</literal> in.
</para>
<para>
Of course, there is another reason to remove a package from testing: It's just
<title>circular dependencies</title>
<para>
A situation which is not handled very well by britney is if package
-<emphasis>a</emphasis> depends on the new version of package
-<emphasis>b</emphasis>, and vice versa.
+<literal>a</literal> depends on the new version of package
+<literal>b</literal>, and vice versa.
</para>
<para>
An example of this is:
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
<para>
-Neither package <emphasis>a</emphasis> nor package <emphasis>b</emphasis> is
+Neither package <literal>a</literal> nor package <literal>b</literal> is
considered for update.
</para>
<para>
Currently, this requires some manual hinting from the release team. Please
-contact them by sending mail to <email>debian-release@lists.debian.org</email>
-if this happens to one of your packages.
+contact them by sending mail to &email-debian-release; if this
+happens to one of your packages.
</para>
</section>
</para>
<para>
If you want to see more details, you can look it up on
-merkel:/org/ftp.debian.org/testing/update_out/ (or there in
+merkel:/org/&ftp-debian-org;/testing/update_out/ (or there in
~aba/testing/update_out to see a setup with a smaller packages file). Via web,
it's at <ulink
-url="http://ftp-master.debian.org/testing/update_out_code/"></ulink>
+url="http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/update_out_code/"></ulink>
</para>
<para>
The hints are available via <ulink
-url="http://ftp-master.debian.org/testing/hints/"></ulink>.
+url="http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/hints/"></ulink>.
</para>
</section>
The testing distribution is fed with packages from unstable according to the
rules explained above. However, in some cases, it is necessary to upload
packages built only for testing. For that, you may want to upload to
-<emphasis>testing-proposed-updates</emphasis>.
+<literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal>.
</para>
<para>
Keep in mind that packages uploaded there are not automatically processed, they
have to go through the hands of the release manager. So you'd better have a
good reason to upload there. In order to know what a good reason is in the
release managers' eyes, you should read the instructions that they regularly
-give on <email>debian-devel-announce@lists.debian.org</email>.
+give on &email-debian-devel-announce;.
</para>
<para>
-You should not upload to <emphasis>testing-proposed-updates</emphasis> when you
-can update your packages through <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>. If you can't
+You should not upload to <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> when you
+can update your packages through <literal>unstable</literal>. If you can't
(for example because you have a newer development version in unstable), you may
use this facility, but it is recommended that you ask for authorization from
the release manager first. Even if a package is frozen, updates through
<para>
Version numbers are usually selected by adding the codename of the testing
distribution and a running number, like 1.2sarge1 for the first upload through
-testing-proposed-updates of package version 1.2.
+<literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> of package version 1.2.
</para>
<para>
Please make sure you didn't miss any of these items in your upload:
<listitem>
<para>
Make sure that your package really needs to go through
-<emphasis>testing-proposed-updates</emphasis>, and can't go through unstable;
+<literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal>, and can't go through unstable;
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
-Make sure that you've written <emphasis>testing</emphasis> or
-<emphasis>testing-proposed-updates</emphasis> into your target distribution;
+Make sure that you've written <literal>testing</literal> or
+<literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> into your target distribution;
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Make sure that you've built and tested your package in
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis>, not in <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>;
+<literal>testing</literal>, not in <literal>unstable</literal>;
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Make sure that your version number is higher than the version in
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> and <emphasis>testing-proposed-updates</emphasis>,
-and lower than in <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>;
+<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal>,
+and lower than in <literal>unstable</literal>;
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
After uploading and successful build on all platforms, contact the release team
-at <email>debian-release@lists.debian.org</email> and ask them to approve your
-upload.
+at &email-debian-release; and ask them to approve your upload.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
~ianmdlvl / developers-reference.git / blobdiff