1 developers-reference (3.4.7) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
4 * Document some best practices for meta-packages. Extend those for
5 transitional packages. Based on a patch by Luca Falavigna
6 <dktrkranz@debian.org> (thanks!). Closes: #569219
7 * Update license pointer to correctly point to GPL-2. Closes: #643929
8 Thanks to Luca Falavigna.
9 * Update URL of Debian Mentors FAQ. Closes: #643930
10 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
11 * Refresh some release-specific information. Closes: #643931
12 Based on a patch by Luca Falavigna.
13 * Refresh some ftpmaster-related information. Closes: #643932
14 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
15 * Update minimal GPG key length to match current requirements.
16 Closes: #643933 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
17 * Update login information for rt.debian.org. Closes: #643934
18 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
19 * Drop section about yada. Its usage is highly discouraged. Closes: #643935
20 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
23 * Add doc-base file for the German translation.
24 * Update French translation.
26 -- David Prévot <taffit@debian.org> Sat, 22 Oct 2011 09:55:17 -0400
28 developers-reference (3.4.6) unstable; urgency=low
31 * Update the NMU rules to take into account the 0-day NMU rule
32 instituted by the release managers. Closes: #625449
35 * Update my email address.
36 * Encourage the use of RT to contact the security team.
37 Patch from Thijs Kinkhorst. Closes: #610782
38 * Document the process of returning after retirement.
39 Patch from Serafeim Zanikolas. Closes: #540249
40 * Add instructions how to mark a non-free package as auto-buildable.
41 Patch from Moritz Muehlenhoff, ACKed by Andreas Barth.
44 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@debian.org> Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:52:10 +0200
46 developers-reference (3.4.5) unstable; urgency=low
51 * Remove part about -v for package uploads from experimental to unstable,
52 version tracking removed that requirement.
55 * Rework section on "sponsoring packages" and include a basic
56 checklist for the sponsor. Closes: #453313
57 * Update the "Debian Developer's Duties" chapter to be more explicit
58 about duties of package maintainers. Closes: #548867
59 * Update references to merkel (which is decommissionned) where
60 needed. Closes: #619990
61 Thanks to Charles Plessy for the patch.
62 * Many typos fixed by Chris Leick <c.leick@vollbio.de>. Closes: #623512
65 * Initial German translation.
68 * Activate German package. Closes: #623489
69 * Update French translation.
70 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.9.2. No changes needed.
71 * Add build-arch and build-indep targets.
72 * Explicitly refer to GPL-2 file in debian/copyright.
75 * Update Japanese translation.
77 -- David Prévot <taffit@debian.org> Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:56:46 -0400
79 developers-reference (3.4.4) unstable; urgency=low
82 * Document the new derivatives-bugs PTS keyword.
83 * Removed hp.debian.or.jp reference. Closes: 561597
86 * Update description of the PTS "summary" keyword. Thanks to
87 Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the patch. Closes: #469154
88 * Add accent on my first name in debian/control.
89 * Use "3.0 (native)" source format with bzip2 compression.
90 Created debian/source/{format,options} for this.
91 * Update guideline for override change to point to BTS
92 instead of email. Thanks to Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the
93 patch. Closes: #540231
94 * Include full URL to the README of the upload queue. Thanks to Simon
95 McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the patch. Closes: #540974
96 * The key protecting #debian-private is now stored on a file
97 on master.debian.org, it's no more required to search into
98 the debian-private archives. Thanks to gregor herrmann <gregoa@debian.org>
99 for the patch. Closes: #548823
100 * Update information about upload queues. Thanks to Simon McVittie
101 <smcv@debian.org> for the patches:
102 - point to official names {ftp,ssh}.upload.debian.org. Closes: #554054
103 - drop references to non-working queues. Closes: #554077
104 * Mention docbook, POD and reST as convenient formats to write new manual
105 pages. Thanks to Charles Plessy and the debian-mentors list
106 for the idea and the patch. Closes: #557298
107 * Update several sections to take into account the new source formats “3.0
108 (quilt)” and “3.0 (native)”. Closes: #561952
109 * Drop reference to “dbs” in the section about including binary files.
110 * Fix typo “transfered“ → “transferred”. Closes: #555685
111 * Fix typo “programms“ → “programs”. Closes: #560808
112 * Drop section about debmake, it has been removed of Debian since lenny.
113 * Update URL of the security tracker. Thanks to Salvatore Bonaccorso.
115 * Update URL of Packages-arch-specific. Closes: #553974
116 * Update section about Alioth to mention FusionForge instead of GForge.
117 Drop mention of separate cvs.debian.org it's managed by Alioth too.
119 * Document new "buildd" keyword from the PTS.
120 * Update URL explaining the "Debian Maintainer" status, it's now at
121 http://wiki.debian.org/DebianMaintainer. Closes: #564414
122 * Update number of source packages. Thanks Karl Goetz. Closes: #567235
123 * Update and simplify list of architectures. Thanks Karl Goetz.
125 * Small typo fixes and clarifications/rewordings suggested by Karl Goetz.
127 * Document the notion of "team upload": it looks like an NMU but it's not
128 really one because the uploader is an implicit co-maintainer since he's
129 part of the maintenance team. Thanks to Charles Plessy for the initial
130 patch. Closes: #573110
131 * Update standards-version to 3.9.1 and add missing ${misc:Depends} in
133 * Fix debian/tocsubstvars to cope with the new way dpkg-dev handles
134 multi-lines substitution variables.
137 * Update outdated mentions, typos and tags. Closes: #578664
138 * French translation updated from the 2006 debiandoc version.
139 * Apply updated patch from Nicolas François. Closes: #257150
140 * dinstall run happens four times a day. Closes: #585161
141 * Activate Japanese package.
142 * Handle addendum if it exists.
144 -- Raphaël Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org> Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:28:03 -0400
146 developers-reference (3.4.3) unstable; urgency=low
148 * Fixed working of the repackaged tarballs section to avoid giving the
149 impression that it's a standard packages must comply with. Closes:
151 * Specify that bugs from removed packages must be closed in foo+rm.
153 * Change the maintainer address to debian-policy@, based on discussion
155 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.3. No changes needed.
156 * Update copyright notices and list of authors.
158 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:56:19 +0200
160 developers-reference (3.4.2) unstable; urgency=low
162 * Applied patch from Justin B Rye that improves the discussion on writing
163 package descriptions. Closes: #516436.
164 * Lenny has been released, update the list of codenames. Closes: #527008.
165 * Applied patch from Paul Wise that adds a paragraph about hostile
166 upstreams. Closes: #523985.
167 * Applied patch from Charles Plessy about providing information to the
168 ftpmasters. Closes: #526410.
169 * In the section about patch systems, mention quilt (wasn not
170 mentionned before) and describe it as the recommended patch system.
171 also mention dpatch and cdbs' patch system. drop dbs. Closes: #525668.
172 * Added a note in the wanna-build section to mention
173 http://release.debian.org/wanna-build.txt. Closes: #516375.
174 * Clarified NMU versioning to reflect existing practices. Closes: #532945.
175 * s/README.Debian-source/README.source/ in the section
176 about repackaged upstream tarballs.
177 * Mention the Gandi.net hosting discount in section 4.13.
178 Applied patch from Tim Retout. Closes: #538245.
179 * Reduce length of title of L10N section so that it is no longer split.
180 Applied patch from Justin B Rye. Closes: #534688.
181 * Bumped debhelper compat level to 5 (4 was deprecated)
182 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.2. No changes needed.
183 * Added pointer to debian-project@ post about the wanna-build team.
185 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:28:04 +0200
187 developers-reference (3.4.1) unstable; urgency=low
190 * Create a publish target in the Makefile to reenable builds on the
194 * Commited DEP1: rework the whole NMU section.
195 The most important changes are:
196 + NMUs are now explicitely allowed for all bugs, not just "serious bugs".
197 + It is recommended to use the DELAYED queue, and some example delays are
200 + Describe the process of acknowleding NMUs in a way that works
201 with the BTS's version-tracking. Closes: #480723.
202 + No longer mention that only DDs can do NMU. Don't make any
203 distinction. Closes: #464230.
204 + Switch to +nmu for NMU versioning. Closes: #437392.
205 + Mention nmudiff. Closes: #483227.
206 * Mention docbook-xml, and that debiandoc-sgml is deprecated. Thanks to
207 W. Martin Borgert for the patch. Closes: #485689.
208 * Fixed typo and example in the blurb about debug packages.
209 Thanks to Theppitak Karoonboonyanan for the patch.
211 * Update instructions on the delayed queue.
212 Thanks to Thijs Kinkhorst for the patch.
214 * Clarify wording about repackaged .orig.tar.gz.
215 Thanks to Cyril Brulebois for the patch.
217 * Improved README.contrib. Mention command to checkout the SVN
218 version. Thanks to Christine Spang for the patch.
220 * Document usertags. Thanks to Chris Lamb for the patch.
222 * Updated documentation on translation updates.
223 Thanks to Christian Perrier for the patch.
225 * Update instructions on handling of security issues.
226 Thanks to Thijs Kinkhorst for the patch.
227 Closes: #512620, #510783.
229 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:57:54 +0100
231 developers-reference (3.4.0) unstable; urgency=low
234 * Update Vcs-* fields after DDP's SVN restructuring. Closes: #483428.
235 * Fix conditions for updates from unstable to testing. Closes: #470754.
236 * linda has been removed. Remove section A.2.2. Closes: #483242.
237 * Co-maintainers are listed in the Uploaders field. Closes: #483230.
238 * Collaborative Maintenance: the 'global part' of debian/control
239 is the first paragraph, about the source package. Closes: #483231.
240 * debian-private archives are on master. Closes: #475531.
241 * Mention Debian Maintainers and the debian-maintainers package.
243 * README.contrib: document that short lines are preferred.
245 * build-rdeps allows to list reverse build-dependencies.
248 [ Marc 'HE' Brockschmidt ]
249 * Replace abused <emphasis> tags with <literal> tags.
250 * In the same spirit, wrap all uses of stable/testing/unstable and
251 release codenames in <literal>
252 * Remove reference to upload queue on auric in section 5.6.5, auric
253 doesn't exist anymore.
254 * Fix several typesetting errors and typos noticed by Sandro Tosi,
255 thanks for the notes! Closes: #483223
256 * Update several bits about release management/testing transitions
257 and release-critical bugs. Closes: #483237, #456494
258 * Update and rewrite the porting guidelines in chapter 5, bringing
259 the dev-ref up to the state of porting in the year 2008. Also
260 fixes several wording issues, such as possible misunderstandings
261 about the need to rebuild uploads. Closes: #483226
262 * Update the instructions for uploads to the (old)stable
263 distributions. Emphasize the importance of contacting the SRM
264 team before upload. Closes: #459343
265 * Update instructions for package removal requests. Closes: #454216
266 * Clarify instructions for bug reassignment, emphasizing the
267 need to inform the maintainers you reassign the bug to. Also
268 hint to using cloned bugs to avoid re-reporting. Heavily based
269 on patch by Marc Haber - thanks for the work! Closes: #484806
270 * Clarify instructions for replacing/renaming binary packages,
271 pointing out that using Provides is sometimes advisable. Closes:
273 * Update description of the madison tool (by replacing it with a
274 description of the dak ls tool). Update the example while we're
276 * Update explanation of best practice for closing bugs, seems to
277 have been forgotten when everything was upgraded to use
278 debbugs version-tracking. Closes: #485969
279 * Clarify ITP instructions and emphasize our wish that people send
280 ITPs, explaining a few of the reasons. Thanks for the note,
281 Thomas. Closes: #485837
283 + Update Uploaders to include Lucas, Raphael and me.
284 + Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.0. No changes needed!
286 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:45:49 +0200
288 developers-reference (3.3.9) unstable; urgency=low
292 - bump standards-version to 3.7.3 (no change)
293 - fix debian/copyright
294 - move debhelper to Build-Depends.
295 - add pdf for French version.
296 * Document changes to stable release management. Closes: #414291
297 * Debconf error templates no longer discouraged. Thanks,
298 Christian Perrier. Closes: #427832
299 * Keyring now uses RT. Closes: #428846
300 * Document -dbg-packages within BPs. Thanks, Joey Hess. Closes: #420540
301 * NMUs now also close bugs. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum. Closes: #419507
302 * Fix documentation about gender neutral. Closes: #384178
303 * Fix typo. Closes: #405453
304 * More details on how to write documentation. Thanks, Josh Triplett.
306 * Add XS-Vcs-*. Thanks to Stefano Zacchiroli. Closes: #391023
307 * Small brushup to debconf description. Thanks, Thomas Huriaux.
309 * Document Team-Maintainence better. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum.
311 * Add link to more removal ressources. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt,
312 Justin Pryzby. Closes: #412757, #356720
313 * Repacking source packages need to be documented in copyright.
314 Thanks, Russ Allbery. Closes: #413320
315 * Better describe version of debian native packages NMUs. Closes: #405818
316 * Source, HTML and text are now encoded in UTF-8. Thanks, Jörg Sommer.
318 * Source is now DocBook XML instead of debiandoc. Closes: #374220
321 * Add a link to enrico's excellent Debian Community Guidelines.
322 * Recommend the use of DSA's request tracker instead of mailing them.
323 * Remove reference to #debian-sf, #debian-bsd which don't exist anymore. Put
324 a reference to #debian-dpkg instead.
325 * Remove all stuff concerning non-US.
326 * Update information concerning Alioth.
327 * Update information concerning the Package Tracking System.
328 * Mention Alioth as the main resource for VCS repositories and deprecate
330 * Remove XS- prefix for Vcs-* fields since dpkg now supports them.
331 * Document the Homepage field. Thanks, Christian Perrier. Closes:
333 * Add Vcs-Svn and Vcs-Browser fields pointing to the new SVN
336 -- W. Martin Borgert <debacle@debian.org> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:16:40 +0000
338 developers-reference (3.3.8) unstable; urgency=low
340 * mia-history is replaced by mia-query. Thanks, Christoph Berg.
342 * fix missing quite. Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #365994
343 * use gnugp instead of gpg. Thanks, Justin Pryzby, Jon Dowland.
345 * better destinction between maintainer and developer. Thanks for
346 the suggestion to Colin Tuckley. Closes: #380458
347 * irc.d.o points to oftc. Thanks, Christoph Biedl, Jon Dowland.
349 * Bugs are now always closed thanks to version tracking.
350 Closes: #339552, #353447, #376199
351 * Clarify what "a conflicts b" means in testing migration.
353 * Packages in testing disappear if they're removed from unstable.
354 Thanks, Frank Küster, Al Stone. Closes: #365993
355 * Document only the most recent changelog entry is used. Thanks
356 to Kevin Glynn to the suggestion. Closes: #374738
357 * Add more tools for reverse depends. Close: #376582
358 * delayed-queue on gluck is uploaded more often now. Closes: #397907
359 * stop using capitals, minor fixes, language fixes.
360 Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Colin Tuckley, Russ Allbery.
361 Closes: #368046, #378929, #361744
362 * add CVE Ids to your changelog. Closes: #376961
363 * add reasoning why debconf questions shouldn't be longer than
364 20 lines. Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Christian Perrier, Russ Allbery.
366 * section changing needs re-uploading orig.tar.gz.
367 Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #387154
368 * binary files in diffs could be en/decoded with perl.
369 Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #397786
370 * Add pointer to new-reject-FAQ. Closes: #324967
371 * Hint to dd-list/whodepends. Closes: #353874
372 * Don't use too generic mail ids. Closes: #355725
373 * pts/summary is actually used. Thanks, Holger Levsen. Closes: #387108
374 * clarify that one should append the NMU-diff to a bug. Closes: #394033
375 * more detailed instructions on binary package removals.
379 - French translation updated to version 3.3.8
381 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sat, 11 Nov 2006 10:55:44 -0700
383 developers-reference (3.3.7) unstable; urgency=low
386 - adjust information about distributions with reality.
387 - add note on alioth accounts. Thanks, Phillip Kern. Closes: #306630
388 - correct manpage section of dpkg-scanpackages. Closes: #297069
389 - fix RFC 2440 URL. Closes: #308103
390 - add $arch@buildd information. Closes: #295483
391 - link to keyring.d.o for key replacement. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
393 - add information about Packages-arch-specific. Thanks, Frank Küster.
395 - add hint about LWN subscription. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
397 - more about debconf-style translation. Thanks, Christian Perrier.
399 - non-us discontinued.
400 - document nmu changes wrt version tracking. Thanks, Justin Pryzby.
402 - fix spelling issues. Thanks to various people.
403 Closes: #336146, #326857, #338660
404 - update menu policy helpers. Thanks, Florian Ernst. Closes: #340024
405 - send mia-mail to mia@qa. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #341568
406 - Joerg Jaspert is now freenode contact. Closes: #344303
407 - give a clearer description of the gpg v4-key issues. Thanks,
408 Martin Michlmayr and Peter Palfrader. Closes: #317411
409 - more verbose about Homepage. Closes: #339826
410 - add sarge and etch. Closes: #327682
411 - document severity of RoM-request bugs. Closes: #305947
412 - update FSF address. Closes: #334820
413 - fix P-a-s link. Closes: #341195
414 - reflect binNMU changes. Closes: #349493
415 - new security upload queue. Closes: #352749
416 - fix experimental's sources.list entry. Closes: #347229
417 - remove deprecated "Closes:..." to ACK NMU bug fixes. Closes: #353447
418 - when resigning, gpg-sign your mail. Closes: #348160
419 - make pristine source and repackaged origtargz anchors work.
421 - same number of RC bugs is ok. Closes: #351944
422 - dpkg-source doesn't keep permissions. Thanks, Enrico Zini.
424 - also mention aspell. Closes: #320981
427 - French translation updated to version 3.3.7, proofread by Bernard Adrian
429 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 09 Apr 2006 11:31:52 -0600
431 developers-reference (3.3.6) unstable; urgency=low
434 - closes: and NMUs/experimental uploads. Closes: #284714
435 - madison is on merkel.
436 - more gender-neutral. Closes: #290583, #290584, #263114
437 - explain current incoming. Closes: #290019
438 - remove broken sponsoring URL. Closes: #291698
439 - add handling hints about orig.tar.gz. Thanks, Frank. Closes: #278524
440 - duplicate bug reports should be merged. Closes: #285381
441 - if you're on vacation, please check whether someone needs keysigning.
443 - freenode has developer cloacks. Closes: #285687
444 - cleaned up uploaders / maintainer field
445 - explain how dak detects NMUs. Closes: #292354
446 - add "mass" to lots of bugs. Closes: #292946
447 - sync NM rules with reality.
449 - French translation updated to version 3.3.6
451 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:08:49 -0700
453 developers-reference (3.3.5) unstable; urgency=low
456 - uploads to more than one dist are not possible.
457 - updated upload queues. Closes: #235213
458 - updated URL of vanilla rules files. Closes: #237557, #252048
459 - please speak with stable RM before uploading to stable. Closes: #261464
460 - information on wnpp usage synced with wnpp. Closes: #255298
461 - spelling, grammer fixes.
462 Closes: #202444, #202499, #203202, #203378, #221902, #226208
463 - add hint about partitial key id. Closes: #243968
464 - spohr is restriced, and also ftp-master. Closes: #255814
465 - bpp: Hint about locale generation as non-root. Closes: #208021
466 - bpp: deborphan-compliant transition packages. Closes: #183654
467 - add myself to uploaders.
468 - add chapter about i10n. Closes: #208156
469 - add information about dchroot. Closes: #211845
470 - add information about NEWS.Debian. Closes: #212402
471 - add information about mia-database. Closes: #213961
472 - add link to debian-mentors FAQ.
473 - add verbose information about the package description. Closes: #214792
474 - add hint about -v<version> to experimental. Closes: #232930
475 - update information about yada. Closes: #217956
476 - urgency is sticky. Closes: #261914
477 - updated information about testing distribution. Closes: #266649.
478 - rewrote the NMU section, and
479 + made the possible severities of "target bugs" clearer. Closes: #233088.
480 + mention QA uploads. Closes: #202416.
481 + add -B for binNMUs, and local debsign usage. Closes: #208839.
482 + warning about breaking all-packages by binNMU. Closes: #213348.
483 - add information about gpg usage. Closes: #175815.
484 - make key replacement instructions more details. Closes: #275921
485 - typo and language fixes. Thanks, Era Eriksson. Closes: #277576
486 - add hints about debconf templates from Christian Perrier.
488 - Security uploads get urgency=high
489 - Be even more explicit about not uploading security updates
491 - French translation updated to version 3.3.5
493 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Mon, 22 Nov 2004 19:07:26 +0100
495 developers-reference (3.3.4) unstable; urgency=low
498 - fixed language in the PTS section, prompted by a patch from
499 Romain FRANCOISE, thank you; closes: #197741
500 - updated the mailing lists section (again)
501 - documented Alioth, somewhat
503 - French translation updated to version 3.3.3 (more or less)
504 - proofread by Patrice Karatchentzeff
506 - Don't upload security updates directly to stable
507 - Always include an external reference in security changelog entries
508 - Be careful not to re-use a version number in security uploads
509 - More explicit instructions about what is appropriate for a security
513 - replace <!entity...> with <!ENTITY...> and other SGML hygenics
515 - Release this package as is to flush changes between June and now.
516 Yes, its been an age between releases here, for which I apologize.
517 Since CVS upstream for this package is back, I'm working on closing
518 bugs in this package now, I just wanted to get it out as is before I
521 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 29 Feb 2004 14:09:48 -0500
523 developers-reference (3.3.3) unstable; urgency=low
526 - corrections by Michel Grentzinger
528 - updated documentation concerning the PTS
529 - added a paragraph about the PTS web interface
530 - documented how to add custom news item in the PTS
532 - updates and clarifications to instructions for security bugs
533 - deprecate uploads to stable for security fixes, reference
534 section on security bugs; closes: #196516
535 - use dpkg-buildpackage -B to test binary-arch, not -b;
538 - Sec "Managing sponsored packages": remove unnecessary 'debsign' cmd;
540 - fix debconf-devel(7) man page section; closes: #189512
541 - Sec "Responding to bugs": mention what FTBFS means; closes: #186605
542 - Sec "Distribution directories" renamed "Distributions"
543 - Sec "The testing distribution" moved under Sec "Distribution
544 directories" and renamed "More information about the testing
546 - Secs "Uploads to {stable,testing-proposed-updates}" retitled to make
547 it clear these are special cases
548 - Sec "Uploading to ftp-master": xref to "Delayed incoming";
550 - check compliance with Policy version 3.5.10
552 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Jun 2003 04:08:29 -0400
554 developers-reference (3.3.2) unstable; urgency=low
557 - French translation updated to version 3.3.1
558 - proofread by Philippe Batailler and Patrice Karatchentzeff
560 - French translation requires debiandoc-sgml 1.1.76 or better
562 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Apr 2003 09:48:59 -0400
564 developers-reference (3.3.1) unstable; urgency=low
567 - package description said it contained French and Japanese, fixed,
569 - Sec "Experimental": sources.list entries
570 - Sec "Basic rules for [mailing list] use": cosmetic, link to this sec
571 - Sec "Handling bugs": retitle and expand section
573 - more improvements to package synopsis and description
574 - the synopsis formula changed to either
575 <package-name> is a <synopsis>
577 <package-name> is <synopsis>
579 <package-name> are <synopsis>
581 - the synopsis itself should not start with an article
582 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control": expand intro
583 - fix doc-check URL; closes: #187144
584 - Sec "Multiple binary packages": fix awkward wording about vim source
585 package; closes: #187143
587 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 4 Apr 2003 14:26:52 -0500
589 developers-reference (3.3) unstable; urgency=low
592 - French translation updated to version 3.2.2 (more or less)
593 - proofread by Philippe Batailler
595 - added "ddtp" keyword in the PTS documentation
597 - split out the doc-files per language, closes: #177448
598 - shuffled stuff around in the packages chapter
599 - added a section describing how to handle large amounts of
600 architecture-independent data bundled with programs
601 - added best practices on debian/changelog files, based on a patch
602 kindly provided by Daniel Kobras, closes: #166388
603 - described debdiff and dpkg-depcheck, and linked to them from the
604 right places in the document, closes: #172897
605 - describe the current practice in writing synopsis lines,
609 - convert to debhelper (compat mode 4); maintainer scripts no longer
611 - split -ja and -fr versions out into separate packages
612 - top-level makefile deletes targets on error; clean is cleaner
613 - replace the manual debian/control processing to show the document's
614 table of contents (TOC) with a new script 'debian/tocsubstvars';
615 note that the TOC displayed in the developers-reference-{fr,ja}
616 package descriptions are in English until UTF8 control files are
617 allowed; proper escaping of single quotes here requires newest
619 - editorial changes on material added in this version
620 - reorder "Best Packaging Practices" a bit
621 - rework "Best practices for debian/control" based on contributions
622 from Colin Walters, Branden Robinson, Sebastian Rittau and others;
623 closes: #139957, #108416
624 - primary author is developers-reference@packages.debian.org; remove
625 emails from other authors to prevent spam and confusion
627 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:29:07 -0500
629 developers-reference (3.2.2) unstable; urgency=low
632 - slightly rewrote and updated links in the mirrors section
634 - Policy compliance checked and updated to 3.5.8, no changes needed
635 - TODO: remove some tasks which are done
636 - ship README-contrib and TODO in the doc dir
637 - Sec "Upstream home page": some revisions based on discussion on
639 - Sec "Documentation" added under Sec "Common packaging situations"
640 for best practices for documentation
641 - Add tools entries for autotools-dev, dpkg-repack, alien, debsums;
642 new Sec "Documentation and information", add entries there for
643 debview, debiandoc-sgml, debian-keyring; we believe this manual now
644 covers all of the established, general Debian maintainer tool
646 - spell-checking pass
648 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Dec 2002 13:45:23 -0500
650 developers-reference (3.2.1) unstable; urgency=low
653 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control" added, Sec "Writing useful
654 descriptions" moved under there
655 - Sec "Upstream home page" added in debian/control section
656 - Sec "Miscellaneous advice" empty, removed
657 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": tools now categorized into
658 subgroups; do cross-linking from this section into other parts of
659 the document where these tools are discussed
660 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": add entries for sbuild,
661 build-essential, linda; improved entries for pbuilder, devscripts
662 - Sec "Tools for porters" renamed and readapted to "Porting
663 infrastructure and automation"; move tool discussion down to the
664 appendix; improve Sec "buildd" a bit
665 - README-contrib added giving information for authors, contributors,
667 - eliminate the ByHand stuff, I'm pretty sure it's not needed now
668 with the DDP builder process, or if it is needed, it's a probably
669 that can be fixed by DDP folks
670 - stop shipping SGML source -- use 'apt-get source developers-reference'
671 after all, this is supposed to be a binary package, right?
672 - simply PS and PDF building rules
674 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 9 Dec 2002 03:04:19 -0500
676 developers-reference (3.2) unstable; urgency=low
679 - merged a bit misplaced lintian-reports section within the lintian
680 section and adjusted links
681 - added the missing description of dh-make and adjusted links
683 - ChangeLog attribution updates
684 - fix typos, closes: #171781
685 - expand the doc-base abstract and authors
686 - Ch "Packaging Practices" rewritten intro
687 - Sec "Packaging tools and common cases" renamed to "Best Practices
688 for debian/rules", and write an intro
689 - Sec "Helper scripts" in practices section rewritten, giving
690 arguments for and against debhelper, mostly for :)
691 - Sec "Package with multiple patches" renamed to "Patching source
692 versus patching at build time" and rewritten
693 - Sec "Multiple binary packages" rewritten
694 - Sec "Handling debconf translations" moved under an
695 "Internationalization" section, and some edits
696 - Sec "Internationalized Documentation" added under Sec
697 "Internationalization"
698 - Sec "Specific packaging practices" renamed to "Common packaging situations"
699 - Sec "Packages using autoconf/automake" rewritten
700 - Sec "Configuration management" moved forward in practices chapter
701 - Sec "Other specific packages" renamed to "Specific types of
702 packages", add info for SGML/XML and Lisp packages
703 - Sec "Writing useful descriptions" heavily edited
704 - Sec "Best practices for maintainer scripts" added, special credit
705 here to Charles Briscoe-Smith for work dating back to 1998; include
706 a POSIX shell snippet showing how to check if a command is the PATH,
708 - Apdx "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove debget, it's
709 rather useless and broken
710 - normalize up-casing on sections, which should only up-case proper
711 names and the first word
712 - new 'translation-status' script to check status of translations,
713 adapted from doc-check in boot-floppies, source pkg only --
714 oh my, French translation is 54 CVS revisions behind, and Japanese
716 - postinst: don't set /usr/doc symlink, aesthetics
717 - prerm: don't use 'command -v', it's not POSIX
718 - rules: produce md5sums file; break out a 'test' target
720 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 7 Dec 2002 02:28:06 -0500
722 developers-reference (3.1.2) unstable; urgency=low
725 - DDP publishing update
727 - doc-base file includes French and Japanese files
728 - debsign invocation was slightly wrong, closes: #170523
729 - Sec "Handling debconf translations", updates from Martin Quinson
730 for po-debconf with minimal editorial changes, closes: #169007
732 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 27 Nov 2002 21:16:30 -0500
734 developers-reference (3.1.1) unstable; urgency=low
737 - updated IRC stuff, thanks to Ben Armstrong, closes: #161403
738 - fixed/updated/extended stuff about bugs, hoping to address the
739 issue of people abusing the changelog bug closing feature
741 - added myself as co-author
742 - fix a typo in Sec "Collaborative maintenance", closes: #161488
744 - updated security information, merging in Joey's stuff from the
745 Security Team FAQ and various updates and clarifications
747 - fix some bad URLs, closes: #168357
748 - fix a grammar typo, closes: #166098
750 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 12 Nov 2002 23:15:03 -0500
752 developers-reference (3.1) unstable; urgency=low
755 - Corrected several errors with —
756 - Applied patch from Peter Palfrader, correcting
757 the URL for the Debian Voting Information page. closes: #150427
758 - Applied patch from Matej Vela, dpkg-buildpackage does no more
759 require -sa for version -0.1. closes: #150861
760 - Applied the reformulations proposed by David Kimdon. closes: #150572
761 - Applied the patch of Matt Zimmerman. Thanks Matt! closes: #145287
762 - Added the explanation about how to replace an .orig.tar.gz.
764 - Mostly deleted the paragraph about security upload in the
765 section explaining source NMU. Just added a link to point to
766 "Handling security-related bugs". closes: #159935
767 - Added a link to the Technical Committee web page (in the "Bug
768 housekeeping" section). closes: #151365
769 - Explain uploads to testing-proposed-updates, mentions briefly
770 stable-security and testing-security. closes: #149666
771 Removed the comment about uploads to frozen.
772 - Documented the "Developer's packages overview" web portal.
774 - Added a reference to debian-l10n-english in "Writing useful
775 descriptions". closes: #158609
776 - Added a Best Packaging Practice section for "Packages using
777 autoconf/automake". closes: #158045
778 - Documented associated features to db.debian.org like SSH key
779 replication and *.debian.net DNS entry. closes: #155389
780 - Added a section about "Bug Squashing Parties".
782 - removed obsolete, needless dupload variables
783 - applied linguistic fixes from David Kimdon, closes: #150572
784 - random proofreading, mostly changing he -> they
785 - added people.d.o and non-us.d.o to the Debian servers section, and
786 mostly rewrote it to exclude real machine names and be better organized
787 - updated the mailing lists section
789 - debian/changelog: remove obsolete Emacs variables
790 - editorial review of the changes above, minor tagging changes,
793 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 10 Sep 2002 21:57:41 -0400
795 developers-reference (3.0) unstable; urgency=low
798 - welcome Manoj Srivastava as a co-maintainer
799 - welcome Raphael Hertzog as a co-maintainer
801 - new Chapter "Resource for Debian Developers", incorporating
803 Ch "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines"
804 Ch "The Debian Archive"
806 - new Chapter "Managing Packages", incorporating former chapters
808 Ch "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
809 Ch "Porting and Being Ported"
810 Ch "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning Packages"
811 Ch "Handling Bugs" (retitled "Handling package bugs")
812 Sec "Bug housekeeping" (new section, some parts stubbed out)
814 - new Chapter "Beyond Packaging" recommends ways to contribute
815 to Debian beyond issues of package maintenance; incoporates
816 Ch "Interaction with Prospective Developers", retitled to
817 Sec "Interacting with Prospective Debian Developers"
818 Sec "Submitting Bugs", renamed to "Reporting Bugs"
819 Sec "QA" moved here from old Sec "Quality Assurance effort"
820 Sec "Dealing with unreachable maintainers"
822 - Sec "The Developers Database" added under Resources
823 - new Sec "Collaborative Maintenance" concerning multiple maintainers
826 - Sec "Getting started": add link to New Maintainers' Guide
827 - Sec "Debian Mentors" renamed to "Debian Mentors and Sponsors",
828 we add some info on sponsoring; also in Sec "Sponsoring packages"
829 - Section's first word capitalized, rest are normal case
830 - purge a reference to the Packaging Manual; closes: #145039
831 - misc. cross-referencing with new or moved sections
832 - change some literal quotes to ‘, ”, etc.
833 - tagging improvements: replace <tt> with <file> for files and
834 directories; since <tt><var> and <example><var> doesn't look right,
835 work-around with <...>
836 - entity'ize master.debian.org, us-upload-dir, non-us-upload-dir
837 - update copyright date
838 - some simplifications on the TeX suffix rule
839 - spell check and grammar corrections
843 - changed -e by -m in the dpkg-buildpackage command line example;
845 - clarify wording between "porter upload", "binary-only NMU", "simple
846 recompile"; closes: #102626
847 - extended "removing a package"; closes: #135560
848 - Ch "Best Packaging Practices": new chapter, including new
849 Sec "Writing useful descriptions" as a first entry in that
850 chapter; closes: #53109, #129848
851 - indicate that the list of subsections is defined in the policy;
853 - removed some cruft in `Announcing package uploads'
854 - document the testing scripts; closes: #129445
855 - explain how to reassign/close bugs of removed packages;
857 - updates the note about software subject to US patents;
859 - new Section "Contacting other maintainers" under "Beyond packaging"
860 Document the package@packages.debian.org alias; closes: #114553
861 - new Section "Package's information" under Resources
862 Document http://packages.debian.org/<package>,
863 http://bugs.debian.org/<package> and the madison utility
864 - Sec "Reporting bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/from:email@isp.com
865 - Sec "Handling bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/login@debian.org
866 - Sec "The Incoming system" in "Resources", describe how it works and
867 also speak of the DELAYED directory; closes: #135562, #136774
869 - Sec "Developer Database": added a sentence about finger
871 - update the total number of packages and the example directory tree
873 - updated the list of available architectures.
874 - commented out the "Subsections" section since it will RSN have nothing
875 to with the Debian archive. It's just a generic information field
876 of the package and nothing more.
877 - added more incentive to use experimental since it doesn't cause
878 any pain to the ftpmasters.
879 - Sec "When to do a source NMU": updated the NMU "protocol" and suggest
880 the use of the delayed queue.
881 - new Section "Acknowledging the NMUs" to explain the need to integrate
882 the changes introduced by NMUs. Insists on the fact that one shouldn't
884 - stubbed in new Section "Collaborative maintenance"
885 - stubbed in new Section "The Package Tracking System"
886 - Sec "The Package Tracking System": filled with content from
887 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, heavily updated by myself
888 - new Section "Managing sponsored packages" contributed by
889 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, slightly updated by myself
890 - new Sec "Bug housekeeping"; closes: #39519
892 - new Sec "Documentation"
893 - added Sec "IRC channels" in the Resources chapter
894 - added Sec "pbuilder" in the appendix. Mention it in the section
895 "Being kind to porter" too
896 - extended Sec "devscripts" with info about "bts" and "uscan"
897 - completed Sec "Helper scripts"
898 - completed Sec "Package with multiple patches",
899 "Multiple binary packages", "Libraries", "Other specific packages",
900 "The wise use of debconf" -- all those are quite simplistic, they
902 - integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
903 Denis Barbier -- thanks, Denis!
906 - update French translation
908 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 14 Jun 2002 01:18:19 -0400
910 developers-reference (2.11) unstable; urgency=low
913 - some grammar corrections
914 - update French translation
916 - changes in upload situation, not possible to remove from Incoming
917 anymore; closes: #135559
918 - also talk about dput a tiny bit
920 - Ch "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools":
922 - Charles Briscoe-Smith deprecates yada (I think new maintainers of
923 that would be welcome)
924 - debconf-doc mentioned for debconf
925 - debhelper: don't talk about debmake; mention how to get info on the dh-* pkgs
926 - dput: new section, closes: #129378
927 - debootstrap: new section, closes: #129377
928 - dpkg-dev-el: new section
929 - other minor wording changes
930 - Sec "Mailing Lists": where to find private archives, closes: #96780
931 - Ch "Package uploads":
932 - new Sec "Adding an entry to debian/changelog"
933 - rename Sec "Announcing new packages" to "New packages"
934 - crypto is in main, non-US is for patent restrictions, so:
935 - excise some text from "Registering as a Debian developer"
936 - changes in Sec "Uploading to ftp-master"
937 - changes in Sec "Uploading to non-US"
938 * old bugs closed out, closes: #110573
940 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 7 Apr 2002 23:34:08 -0700
942 developers-reference (2.10.0) unstable; urgency=low
944 * from Martin Michlmayr
945 - update the "Applying to Become a New Maintainer" section, with
946 review by Raphael Hertzog, closes: #133965
947 - bugs closed in NMUs should uses 'closes' changelog entries,
949 - developers are not required to subscribe to debian-private
951 - some suggestions on places to use the proper term, Debian GNU/Linux,
953 - fix some typos, closes: #133956
955 - frozen doesn't exist anymore, just testing; note, however, that
956 there is a way to upload to 'woody-proposed-updates' -- if I can
957 find some description of that, I'll document it; closes: #133948
960 - isolate a few more language-independent bits
962 - change /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc, and typo in debian/copyright,
965 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 24 Feb 2002 14:46:46 -0500
967 developers-reference (2.9.0) unstable; urgency=low
970 - created a new subsection about uploading to stable, and elaborated
972 - removed a stray sentence about stable from the paragraph about
973 security uploads (which apply to all distributions equally)
974 - replaced the nonexistent term "Security Manager" with "security officer"
975 - uploading to stable and unstable is deprecated; updated the section
976 about the experimental distribution; other fixes in the section
977 talking about uploading to distributions
978 - better organize some subsections in the section about package uploads
979 - replaced some bogus <ftppath>s with <tt>s
980 - noted how there is an upload queue on pandora, too
982 - French translation updated
984 - normalize '--' as — for prettier output
985 - integrate changes from James Troup, part of #102626
986 - typo fix thanks to Mark Hodge
988 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Oct 2001 01:03:01 -0400
990 developers-reference (2.8.8) unstable; urgency=low
993 - a few more strong words about sponsoring
994 - started a new chapter about the relationship between old and new
997 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Jul 2001 17:53:47 -0400
999 developers-reference (2.8.7) unstable; urgency=low
1002 * fix a typo in a link
1003 * dpkg-buildpackage -m<addr> flag was changed for -e<addr> when NMU'ing;
1004 update documentation accordingly
1006 * Matt Zimmerman fixes up some wording in the section talking about
1007 forwarding bugs upstream
1009 * provide proper l10n for SGML date entities; now we have &date-<LANG>
1010 entities which should be used
1011 * debian/rules: fixes for new debiandoc-sgml
1012 * debian/control: depend on debiandoc-sgml 1.1.48 or better
1014 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 21 Jun 2001 14:43:42 -0400
1016 developers-reference (2.8.6) unstable; urgency=low
1018 * fix a typo, thanks to Antoine Hulin
1019 * French version: completely up-to-date now
1020 * Makefile: add a 'validate' target
1021 * prepare and ship "upstream" ChangeLog; move the debian changelog to
1023 * all versions: change the email address to use when orphaning
1026 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 13 Apr 2001 03:32:08 -0400
1028 developers-reference (2.8.5) unstable; urgency=low
1030 * expunge references to the Debian Packaging Manual, which is now in the
1032 * Japanese version: also comment out some references packaging manual;
1033 this translation needs updating
1034 * deny request to shut down non-maintainer bug maintenance bug closure
1035 practices (closes: Bug#88623)
1036 * add some advice about U.S. citizens uploading to non-US
1038 * debian/control: Build-Depends should have been Build-Depends-Indep
1039 * French version: First complete translation of the Debian developer's
1040 reference guide. Much work done by Antoine Hulin. Reviewed by Nicolas
1042 * Portuguese version: work is started by Carlos Laviola, nothing
1043 included yet, however
1045 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 8 Apr 2001 01:25:51 -0400
1047 developers-reference (2.8.4) unstable; urgency=low
1049 * debian/control: remove reference to obsolete packaging-manual package
1051 * debian/control: fill in the description a bit more
1052 * doc-base: index.html corrected to be index.en.html
1054 * Makefile: clean is cleaner
1056 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 25 Feb 2001 12:47:06 -0500
1058 developers-reference (2.8.3) unstable; urgency=low
1060 * build and provide French and Japanese versions
1061 * devolve build logic from debian/rules to top-level Makefile
1062 * developers-reference.jp.sgml: minor changes so it will build (is out
1064 * debian/rules: stop making useless /usr/share/developers-reference dir
1066 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 22 Jan 2001 02:02:02 -0500
1068 developers-reference (2.8.2) unstable; urgency=low
1071 - fix typographic errors reported by David Martinez (closes: Bug#80740)
1072 - common.ent: upped the numbers a little bit, updated lintian reports URL
1073 - updated regarding va->klecker move, and www->people move, changed
1074 most mentions of dinstall to a generic term "archive maintenance
1075 software", removed full path to it because it is in PATH now,
1076 mentioned "dak" and "katie" (somewhat vaguely), changed week to
1077 month regarding FTP archive waiting time since that\'s more often
1078 the case, and changed weeks to hours regarding Maintainers file
1079 updates since that\'s also more often the case now, updated some
1080 URLs to entities, s/debian-doc/doc-debian/
1081 - replaced evil latin1-only quotation marks, replaced mentions of
1082 important severity (in RCB context) with serious severity, some
1084 - common.ent (1.10): fixed email-debian-user alias; updated
1085 sample-dist-dirtree (with more to come)
1086 - described testing; described package pools (this particular part
1087 required quite a bit of changes, and it might be a bit rough, but
1088 it's a start); described the frozen test cycles et al; some other
1090 - another update WRT sid/unstable/testing, from Colin Watson
1092 * debian/control: add Recommends for debian-policy, packaging-manual
1093 * update copyright notice for 2001
1094 * fix for WNPP bug filing severities from David Schleef
1095 * clarify the status of the Developers's reference as "normative"
1096 * add a reference to debconf (closes: Bug#82413)
1098 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Jan 2001 18:10:21 -0500
1100 developers-reference (2.8.1) unstable; urgency=low
1102 * update WNPP instructions, based on patch from Marcelo E. Magallon
1104 * spelling corrections, awkward grammar suggestions from Andreas Krueger
1106 * debian/rules: remove some obsolete source-depends stuff
1108 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 4 Nov 2000 13:22:21 -0500
1110 developers-reference (2.8.0) unstable; urgency=low
1112 * Almost all changes for this release are from Josip Rodin
1113 <joy@debian.org>. Thanks, Josip!
1115 * debian/control, postinst, prerm, rules: Policy 3.2.1 (closes:
1116 Bug#68929, Bug#70384)
1117 * fixed bug closing example (closes: Bug#71198)
1118 * update the perl regexp from current /usr/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog/debian
1119 * updated keyring/keyserver information (closes: Bug#67783)
1120 * updated new-maintainer stuff (closes: Bug#67841)
1121 * updated for master -> ftp-master move (closes: Bug#68369)
1122 * noted www.d.o is the right host for web pages, but all other machines
1123 could be used if necessary
1124 * reorder mentions of scp to come before FTP, as it is more secure;
1125 mention the rsync dupload method
1126 * reorder mentions of pandora <-> non-us, canonical name non-us is
1128 * other small corrections
1129 * fixed orphaning/adopting instructions with regard to the new WNPP
1130 * common.ent: fix urls for cvs.d.o, wnpp, Debian machines page,
1131 lists-archives, www.d.o BTS
1132 * common.ent: changed link for machines from devel/maintainer_contacts
1134 * Makefile: remove unnecessary subshell
1136 * Adam's change: update debian/copyright for new Policy, and put my name
1137 in there a bit with updated years; update doc-base file for FHS
1139 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 15 Oct 2000 03:25:21 -0400
1141 developers-reference (2.7.2) frozen unstable; urgency=medium
1143 * I believe this should go into frozen because (a) it's only
1144 documentation, so it can't introduce RC bugs, and (b) it fixes an
1145 error which prevented it from building properly; however, whatever
1146 ftpmaster feels is best is fine
1148 * include common.ent as well as version.ent
1149 (closes: Bug#52582, Bug#48926)
1150 * debian/rules: fix build error caused by newer debiandoc-sgml; remove
1151 constitution.en.html, since that is now located in the doc-debian
1152 package (closes: Bug#54778, Bug#42014); don't compress .pdf file
1154 * All changes below from Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
1156 * Sec. "Uploading to master" and "Uploading to pandora":
1157 explained dinstall -n (closes: Bug#45079)
1158 * Sec. "Picking a distribution": added reference to the debian-release
1159 team (closes: Bug#52906)
1160 * Sec. "Announcing package uploads": rewrote it to take care of the fact
1161 that dinstall is doing it automatically (closes: Bug#43877)
1162 * Sec. "Mailing lists": added a paragraph about debian-email
1164 * Changed the "Maintaining Your Debian Information" into "Debian
1165 Developer's Duties" (closes: Bug#28908)
1166 - added a section about the LDAP database
1167 - added a section about the "on vacation" message
1168 - added a section about the coordination with upstream developers
1170 - added a section about managing Release Critical bugs
1171 - added a section about Quality Assurance effort
1173 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 16 Apr 2000 23:24:33 -0400
1175 developers-reference (2.7.1) unstable; urgency=low
1177 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": we are transitioning away
1178 from non-free PGP -- remove allusions to non-free software such as
1179 PGPv2 or v5 insofar as possible; recommend use of DSS keys rather than
1181 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": remove PGP-centric stuff
1182 * Sec. "When bugs are closed by new uploads": describe how to close bugs
1183 via a magic changelog entry (closes: Bug#43690)
1184 * Sec. "Generating the changes file": refer to Sec. "When bugs are
1185 closed by new uploads" for closing bugs via a changelog entry
1186 * developers-reference.sgml: re-enable RCS variables in CVS sources
1187 * debian/control,rules: dynamically generate the TOC in the package
1188 description from developers-reference.sgml
1190 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 12 Sep 1999 18:15:59 -0400
1192 developers-reference (2.7.0) unstable; urgency=low
1194 * developers-reference.sgml: separated out language-independant elements
1195 into common.ent (not content changes); misc minor grammar changes
1197 * doc-base: change section for *constitution* to Debian (not 'debian')
1199 * Sec. "Stable, unstable, and sometimes frozen": mention how old stable
1200 releases are available at archive.debian.org
1201 * Sec. "Uploading to pandora (non-us)" added, remove stale
1202 information about the old anonymous ftp area (closes Bug#39541);
1203 Sec. "Other Upload Queues" added about that upload queues, added
1204 samosa and master.debian.org.jp (closes Bug#37804)
1205 * Sec. "Yada": mention that yada might not be as robust as other package
1206 producing systems, at request of the author; Sec. "equivs" added
1207 * Sec. "Moving packages": at the request of Guy Maor, clarify that this
1208 procedure is for moving packages in sections (i.e., free, contrib)
1210 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": talk about RSA keys rather
1211 than PGP keys, since I think GPG can create/handle them now; mention
1212 that the official pkg maintainer address much match an ID on your key;
1213 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": beef up the warnings a bit; point
1215 * Sec. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": clean up and
1216 clarify section; mention that all developers are expected to be
1217 subscribed to debian-private and debian-devel-announce
1218 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": remove list of machines; point to
1219 http://www.debian.org/devel/machines instead
1220 * Sec. "Release code names": potato is 2.2
1221 * Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads": talk about recompile only
1222 uploads and version numbers for this (i.e., foo_2.4-1.0.1), from a
1223 suggestion from James Troup
1224 * Sec. "buildd": mention andrea, and buildd.debian.org
1225 * Sec. "Removing packages": correct apt-cache usage
1226 * debain/rules: update standards to 3.0.1 -- since I'm not moving
1227 /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc yet, no changes were required except in the
1230 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Aug 1999 23:29:45 -0400
1232 developers-reference (2.6.8) unstable; urgency=low
1234 * when applying as a new user, the login name can be *eight* characters,
1235 not seven (thanks to Rafael Caetano dos Santos)
1237 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 21:50:04 -0400
1239 developers-reference (2.6.7) unstable; urgency=low
1241 * SGML'ish: normalize SGML elements, refill paragraphs (closes Bug#37987)
1242 * doc-base: change section to Debian -- hmm, this looks like a doc-base
1243 bug, really, but hey, who am I to refile bugs to another one of my own
1244 packages? (closes Bug#37392)
1245 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": new section for yada (um,
1246 someone who uses this should check my description), correct build ->
1247 debuild in the devscripts section (closes Bug#38053)
1249 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 01:41:45 -0400
1251 developers-reference (2.6.6) unstable; urgency=low
1253 * Sec. "The master server": note that problems on Debian ftp can be sent
1254 to ftpmaster@debian.org also
1255 * Secs. "Uploads via chiark" and "Uploads via erlangen": remove
1256 'cron-driven' (thanks Roman Hodek)
1257 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": typos corrected, note that binary-arch
1258 and binary-indep targets should work independantly (thanks Roman
1260 * Sec. "buildd": remove erroneous reference to debbuild, reorganize the
1261 section and correct typos (thank again Roman -- boy, this is the all
1263 * debian/rules: re-enable letter-sized PDFs
1265 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 9 May 1999 01:17:29 -0400
1267 developers-reference (2.6.5) unstable; urgency=low
1269 * Sec. "Architectures": correction on supported architecture in Linux
1271 * Sec. "Experimental": other reasons to use or not use the experiment
1272 archive "section", from comments by Guy Maor
1273 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": replace x86 with i386 (closes Bug#36485)
1274 * debian/rules: date printing protected from local l10n (closes Bug#36891)
1275 * Ch. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": renamed chapter; add
1277 * Sec. "Debian Servers": new, for talking about the standard servers,
1278 with intro; demoted server sections under that
1279 * Sec. "The FTP servers": was empty, removed
1280 * Sec. "The master server": fill in more info and cross-refs on how to
1282 * Sec. "The CVS server": add some more detail which should be included
1283 when requesting cvs areas; mention the cvsweb URL
1284 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": new section, list the machines for which
1285 a normal developer may have access.
1287 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 4 May 1999 03:32:21 -0400
1289 developers-reference (2.6.4) unstable; urgency=low
1291 * debian/rules: hack 'byhand' file entries to include debian version
1292 number in it, so subsequent uploads of the package into Incoming don't
1293 step all over each other
1295 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 9 Apr 1999 20:04:04 -0400
1297 developers-reference (2.6.3) unstable; urgency=low
1299 * correction from James Troup -- <keyring-maint> is indeed the correct
1300 address for PGP key updates
1302 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 13:28:58 -0400
1304 developers-reference (2.6.2) unstable; urgency=low
1306 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is not replacing anything after all
1307 * developers-reference.sgml: use public declaration
1308 * BTW, if any maintainers of translated versions of this document would
1309 like to talk to me about folding your version into the
1310 developers-reference CVS area, please get in touch with me
1312 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 04:42:29 -0400
1314 developers-reference (2.6.1) unstable; urgency=low
1316 * include Debian constitution (closes Bug#30694)
1317 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is replacing fakeroot, not libtool
1318 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key" -- give email addresses as
1319 {pgp,gpg}-update@debian.org, at James Troup's request (note to Jameas,
1320 if you see this: /usr/doc/debian-keyring/README.gz talks about
1321 <keyring-maint> instead)
1322 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools" -- add Sec. "debget"
1323 * developers-reference.sgml: minor typo correction from Tril
1325 * doc-base stuff: add abstract to developers-reference, new file for
1327 * debian/rules: minor cleanup and consistency; build PDF, not PS file;
1328 ship PDF file;.text file now has .txt extension
1329 * debian/control: set priority to optional, matching archive
1331 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 3 Apr 1999 17:17:06 -0500
1333 developers-reference (2.6.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1335 * would be nice to sneak this into slink; it's just documentation!
1336 * Ch. "Porting and Being Ported": porter information broken out into it's
1337 own chapter, Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads" and "When to do a
1338 source NMU if you are a porter" moved to this chapter; porter tool
1339 descriptions such as 'quinn-diff' moved to this section. Sec. "Being
1340 Kind to Porters" added, with tips for how to avoid making problems for
1342 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)": update for the new chapter, and
1343 tighten up the language a bit
1344 * Sec. "Monitoring bugs": add a little cron job to get an 'index maint'
1345 of outstanding bugs (closes Bug#31259), loosen language a tiny bit
1346 w.r.t. non-maintainers or submitters closing bugs (closes Bug#30394)
1347 * Sec. "Scope of This Document": point out that this file is not
1349 * Ch. "Handling Bugs": renamed from "Handling Bug Reports", incorporate
1350 some suggestions from James Troup, namely, don't mail from your root
1351 account, don't close bugs via control@bugs.debian.org; break out new
1352 sections, "Submitting Bugs" and "Responding to Bugs"
1353 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove attribution for
1354 package maintainers, since I can't keep up; add entries for fakeroot
1356 * Ch. "Maintaining Your Debian Information": new chapter, quite small
1357 right now; it mentions keyring-maint@debian.org for key modification,
1358 warns against putting private keys on multi-user machines, and talks
1359 about how to depart Debian gracefully
1360 * typo correction from Christian Hudon (closes Bug#32052)
1361 * menu file removed, obsoleted by doc-base file
1362 * parameterize some often-changing values with SGML entities, update
1363 number of available packages
1364 * use new way of notating multiple copyrights
1365 * change <tt> elements to <file> where appropriate
1367 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 11 Feb 1999 02:53:55 -0500
1369 developers-reference (2.5.0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1371 * add version.ent to docdir, needed to reconstruct from SGML
1374 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 29 Dec 1998 02:42:50 -0500
1376 developers-reference (2.5.0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1378 * not officially released
1379 * more spelling corrections
1380 * s/ppc/powerpc/ (thanks, James Troup)
1382 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Dec 1998 00:07:40 -0500
1384 developers-reference (2.5.0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1386 * not officially released
1387 * Sec. "Removing a package from Incoming": tiny section added
1388 * some PGP-centricity removed
1389 * Sec. "Adopting a package": point out that hijacking packages is not ok
1390 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": change 'NMU' to
1391 'source NMU', 'port' to 'binary NMU', shorten the window for porters a
1392 tad; fix spelling; stress that non-maintainer patches must be
1393 non-disruptive and that aesthetic issues are not suitable for fixing
1394 by non-maintainers; other fixes as suggested by interested parties
1396 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 25 Nov 1998 00:01:27 -0500
1398 developers-reference (2.5.0.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1400 * not officially released
1401 * maintainer name change (but it's still me)
1402 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": new chapter
1403 discussing NMUs and porters; Section "Interim Releases" integrated out
1404 of existance. New TOC for this section is:
1405 * 6 Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters
1406 + 6.1 Who can do a port or an NMU
1407 + 6.2 When to do a port or an NMU
1408 o 6.2.1 When to do an NMU if you are a porter
1409 + 6.3 How to do an NMU
1410 o 6.3.1 NMU version numbering
1411 o 6.3.2 NMUs must create a changelog entry
1412 o 6.3.3 NMUs must send patches, if any, to the BTS
1413 o 6.3.4 Building the NMU
1414 + 6.4 Guidelines for Porters
1416 * Sec. "Maintainer changes": renamed to "Adopting a package" and moved
1417 to Chapter "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning
1419 * Sec. "Reporting lots of bugs at once": more forcefully deprecate this
1421 * Sec. "Adopting a package": mention that the BTS maintainer update can
1422 take a couple of weeks
1423 * Sec. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": give credit where credit
1424 is due and attribute current maintainers; add `apt'; add `quinn-diff';
1425 add mention of as yet unreleased 'buildd' package, since I'm so
1426 excited about it and can't wait
1427 * Sec. "Removing packages": talk about how apt-cache can be used to look
1428 at reverse depends, a good step to take prior to removing a package
1430 * show *full* TOC, including sect2
1431 * of course the obligatory typo, grammar, and spelling corrections
1433 * Makefile: small changes to accomodate DDP autobuild
1434 * debian/dirs: obsolete, removed
1435 * debian/rules: use changelog date for SGML timestamping, not current date
1437 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Nov 1998 12:27:53 -0500
1439 developers-reference (2.5.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1441 * move to 3-level version number:
1442 top-level version number probably won't change for a while, it is the
1443 "major", the second-level number means significant content changes,
1444 and the third-level change means corrections and minor improvements.
1445 Since this version has significant content changes, we are now 2.5.0.
1446 Since I'm going to put porter instructions in the next major rev, that
1449 * use new <package> tag where appropriate (Ardo, you rock)
1450 * replace 'm86k' with 'm68k'
1451 * rename 'Whirlwind Tour of ...' section to 'Overview of ...' (suggested
1453 * typos and "red-pen" corrections, fix cosmetic problems in PostScript
1455 * remove the one case I use an URL fragment identifier, since
1456 debiandoc-sgml doesn't like it (bug filed against debiandoc-sgml)
1457 * debian/rules: cosmetic cleanups, loosen check for root
1458 * debian/rules: build PostScript version during build, since it's nice
1459 to have all my debiandoc2* scripts together
1460 * debian/control: policy compliant to 2.5.0
1462 * advise against uploading when a package has lintian problems of
1464 * "Mailing Lists and Servers":
1465 - "The master server": mention how master is the home of the BTS;
1466 mention how users need to take care with their accounts on master
1467 - "The WWW servers": fill in www.debian.org, first pass, and discuss
1468 how to put up your own web pages on va or master
1469 - "The CVS server": new section added
1470 - "Mirrors of Debian servers": new section added; point to info about
1472 * "Applying to Become a Maintainer": do not advise resending initial
1473 application; instead, simply mail a followup asking new maintainers
1474 whether they go the initial application (closes Bug #28739); mention
1475 that calls usually come in the evening; mention that if you use PGP
1476 v5, you need to generate an RSA key (right?); clarify our intentions
1477 with respect to GPG.
1478 * "Release code names": Debian 2.2 is 'potato'
1479 * "Distribution directories": give concrete examples, hopefully making
1480 it clearer where to look in Debian archives for specific stuff;
1481 mention that old distributions are moved to archive servers (is there
1482 a canonical location?)
1483 * "The override file": new section, added under "Notification that a new
1484 package has been installed"; fill it out quite a bit
1485 * "Uploading to *": reiterate thrice not to upload export
1486 controlled-software to master, or the European queues on erlangen and
1488 * "Picking a distribution": section broken out from "Generating the
1490 * "Uploading to frozen": new section, almost straight from Brian White
1491 (hope you don't mind!) -- isn't that topical?
1492 * "Interim releases": if you NMU a new upstream version (0.1), run
1493 'dpkg-buildpackage -sa'
1495 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:03:43 -0500
1497 developers-reference (2.4.1.5) unstable; urgency=low
1499 * Fix instructions for new maintainers, incorporating the actual text
1500 sent to prospective new maintainers. Improve this text a bit for
1501 readability, coverage, and organization. Significant changes were
1502 patched back to the new-maintainers group, if they care to use
1503 them. (closes Bug#26948)
1504 * Add an introductory "Scope" chapter which helps delineate what should
1505 and should not be included in this Reference.
1506 * Add a new chapter, "Whirlwind Tour of Debian Maintainer Tools". Let
1507 me know what useful tools I forgot -- remember, Debian-specific
1508 maintainer tools only!
1509 * Add discussion of the "experimental" distribution, culled from an email
1510 from Guy Maor on debian-devel.
1511 * Incorporated suggestions from Branden Robinson (closes Bug#27211).
1512 * Point to doc-debian's mailing list instructions where relevant.
1513 * Made references to online documentation into URLs where possible.
1514 * Little corrections here and there.
1515 * add a Makefile for use in the DDP manual hierarchy
1516 * debian/rules: comment out my 'source-depends' hack; it's just slowing
1519 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 1 Oct 1998 03:42:43 -0400
1521 developers-reference (2.4.1.4) unstable; urgency=low
1523 * fill in Section "The master server" a bit; other servers to follow
1524 * in Section "Distribution directories", mention that distributions
1525 are always in 'dists' subdir of the Debian archive; talk about
1527 * in Section "Release code names", talk about 'sid' a bit
1528 * in Section "Interim releases", talk about how non-maintainers should
1529 use the BTS, and bug severity "fixed" (closes Bug#17524)
1530 * in Section "Generating the changes file", talk about how to set the
1531 distribution in the debian/changelog file (i.e., "frozen unstable")
1532 * add a new Section "Checking the package prior to upload" to Section
1533 "Uploading a package", mentioning lintian and other tests one should
1534 do prior to uploading
1535 * add new Section "Notification that a new package has been installed"
1536 in Section "Uploading a package", talking about dinstall and the
1538 * add new Sections "Moving packages", "Removing packages", "Replacing or
1539 renaming packages", and "Orphaning a package" (closes Bug#26650)
1540 * add new Section "Bugs in your packages", talking about maintainer
1541 duties with respect to bugs
1542 * add new Section "Lintian reports" under "Handling bugs reports",
1543 talking about how maintainers should check their packages with lintian
1544 every now and then, alternatively pointing them to the lintian web
1546 * clarify, a bit, the use of "section" and "subsection", bringing it
1547 into line with the usage in the Policy Manual and Packaging Manual
1548 * grammar and markup changes throughout
1549 * debian/rules: added a crude source-depends rule, which renders more
1550 explicit what is used to build this package
1552 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Mon, 21 Sep 1998 00:51:46 -0400
1554 developers-reference (2.4.1.3) unstable; urgency=low
1557 * version number and date are automatically populated now
1558 * changed doc-base section to "debian"
1559 * debian/rules: better abstraction and organization
1560 * reformat SGML like I happen to like it
1561 * utilize the new URL tag
1562 * build PostScript on letter size, I hear thats better for A4 and US
1565 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 16 Jul 1998 00:52:35 -0400
1567 developers-reference (2.4.1.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1569 * non-maintainer release
1570 * rebuilt since HTML versions of Chapters 1 and 2 were truncated
1571 (important bug, no number yet, bugs.debian.org isn't working;
1572 regardless, this should go in hamm because a broken developers
1573 reference won't win us many friends in hamm, and after all, it's just
1574 text, it can't hurt you.)
1575 * no content changes, except that the version number in the SGML file
1576 reflect this packages version number
1577 * debian/rule: clean is cleaner now
1579 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Tue, 16 Jun 1998 01:35:39 -0400
1581 developers-reference (2.4.1.1) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1585 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Thu, 14 May 1998 21:56:36 +0200
1587 developers-reference (2.4.1.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1589 * New version numbering scheme:
1591 - The version numbers are independent of dpkg now, but all policy
1592 manuals (the Debian Policy Manual, the Debian Packaging Manual, and
1593 the Debian Developer's Reference) share the same version numbering
1596 - The first three digits of the version number specify the
1597 `Standards-Version.' This number is incremented with each policy
1598 change. The fourth digit represents the `patch-level,' which may
1599 differ between the manuals.
1601 If only the patch-level digit is incremented, no changes in policy
1602 have been made, except bug fixes and clarifications. Packages only
1603 have to specify the first three digits of the version number in the
1604 `Standards-Version' field of their source packages.
1606 * Uploaded to frozen and unstable. This is a documentation-only
1607 package and the changes to the manual are relevant for hamm.
1609 * No changes to the Developer's Reference
1611 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Mon, 13 Apr 1998 17:54:43 +0200
1613 developers-reference (0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1615 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1617 - Changed section 1.2 Registering as a Debian developer:
1618 + signatures from formal certification service are _NOT_ accepted
1620 + images of ID documents have to be PGP or RSA signed
1621 (as requested by James Troup)
1623 - Use current date instead of <date> in manual
1625 * Updated FSF's address (reported by Lintian)
1627 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sat, 7 Mar 1998 13:52:15 +0100
1629 developers-reference (0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1631 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1633 - Renamed chapter 4 into `Package uploads'
1635 - New section 4.2.5 Uploading to the non-us server
1637 - Changed section 4.4 Interim releases:
1638 + non-maintainer releases should not close bugs
1639 + normal maintainer must at least read the patch provided with
1640 the non-maintainer release
1642 - New chapter 5 Handling bug reports:
1643 + when reporting more then 10 bugs on the same topic, a message
1644 has to be sent to debian-devel and the `maintonly' address
1647 - Lots of typos fixed
1649 * Compressed SGML source code
1651 * Added support for doc-base to register the Developer's Reference
1652 to the online documentation systems dwww and dhelp
1654 * Upgraded to standards version 2.4.0.0 (no changes)
1656 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Fri, 30 Jan 1998 21:58:34 +0100
1658 developers-reference (0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1660 * Put lost sections from Policy Manual 2.1.3.3 back in:
1661 - Generating the changes file (for uploads)
1662 - Announcing package uploads
1663 * New section about Debian Mentors
1664 * debian/rules: Don't use debstd anymore
1665 * debian/rules: Compress changelog file (fixes:#15441)
1666 * Fixed link to WNPP list (fixes:#16201)
1667 * Added menu entry (fixes:#15708)
1669 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Wed, 24 Dec 1997 13:54:33 +0100
1671 developers-reference (0.2) unstable; urgency=low
1673 * New chapter about `The Debian Archive' describing the structure
1674 of our FTP server and the development process
1675 * Added note that new maintainers have to read the Social Contract
1676 and have to know where to find the Policy and Packaging Manuals
1677 * PGP key ring is not distributed via dpkg but in doc/ of the FTP
1679 * Added note that cross posting between Debian lists is depreciated
1680 * New list of advantages why new packages should be discussed on
1681 debian-devel before they are uploaded
1682 * Added section about how packages are uploaded
1683 * Added note that the Security Managers may do interim releases without
1684 contacting the maintainer
1685 * Removed chapter about bug tracking system (will be included in
1686 a new manual released soon)
1687 * Some minor changes
1688 * Include SGML source in package
1689 * Don't use `2-up' style for PostScript version
1690 * Upgraded to Standards 2.3.0.1
1692 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:53:26 +0100
1694 developers-reference (0.1) unstable; urgency=low
1698 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Tue, 8 Jul 1997 00:19:49 +0200