1 developers-reference (3.4.0) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
4 * Update Vcs-* fields after DDP's SVN restructuring. Closes: #483428.
5 * Fix conditions for updates from unstable to testing. Closes: #470754.
6 * linda has been removed. Remove section A.2.2. Closes: #483242.
7 * Co-maintainers are listed in the Uploaders field. Closes: #483230.
8 * Collaborative Maintenance: the 'global part' of debian/control
9 is the first paragraph, about the source package. Closes: #483231.
10 * debian-private archives are on master. Closes: #475531.
11 * Mention Debian Maintainers and the debian-maintainers package.
13 * README.contrib: document that short lines are preferred.
16 [ Marc 'HE' Brockschmidt ]
17 * Replace abused <emphasis> tags with <literal> tags.
18 * In the same spirit, wrap all uses of stable/testing/unstable and
19 release codenames in <literal>
20 * Remove reference to upload queue on auric in section 5.6.5, auric
21 doesn't exist anymore.
22 * Fix several typesetting errors and typos noticed by Sandro Tosi,
23 thanks for the notes! Closes: #483223
24 * Update several bits about release management/testing transitions.
25 * Update and rewrite the porting guidelines in chapter 5, bringing
26 the dev-ref up to the state of porting in the year 2008. Also
27 fixes several wording issues, such as possible misunderstandments
28 about the need to rebuild uploads. Closes: #483226
30 -- Marc 'HE' Brockschmidt <he@debian.org> Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:26:33 +0200
32 developers-reference (3.3.9) unstable; urgency=low
36 - bump standards-version to 3.7.3 (no change)
37 - fix debian/copyright
38 - move debhelper to Build-Depends.
39 - add pdf for French version.
40 * Document changes to stable release management. Closes: #414291
41 * Debconf error templates no longer discouraged. Thanks,
42 Christian Perrier. Closes: #427832
43 * Keyring now uses RT. Closes: #428846
44 * Document -dbg-packages within BPs. Thanks, Joey Hess. Closes: #420540
45 * NMUs now also close bugs. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum. Closes: #419507
46 * Fix documentation about gender neutral. Closes: #384178
47 * Fix typo. Closes: #405453
48 * More details on how to write documentation. Thanks, Josh Triplett.
50 * Add XS-Vcs-*. Thanks to Stefano Zacchiroli. Closes: #391023
51 * Small brushup to debconf description. Thanks, Thomas Huriaux.
53 * Document Team-Maintainence better. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum.
55 * Add link to more removal ressources. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt,
56 Justin Pryzby. Closes: #412757, #356720
57 * Repacking source packages need to be documented in copyright.
58 Thanks, Russ Allbery. Closes: #413320
59 * Better describe version of debian native packages NMUs. Closes: #405818
60 * Source, HTML and text are now encoded in UTF-8. Thanks, Jörg Sommer.
62 * Source is now DocBook XML instead of debiandoc. Closes: #374220
65 * Add a link to enrico's excellent Debian Community Guidelines.
66 * Recommend the use of DSA's request tracker instead of mailing them.
67 * Remove reference to #debian-sf, #debian-bsd which don't exist anymore. Put
68 a reference to #debian-dpkg instead.
69 * Remove all stuff concerning non-US.
70 * Update information concerning Alioth.
71 * Update information concerning the Package Tracking System.
72 * Mention Alioth as the main resource for VCS repositories and deprecate
74 * Remove XS- prefix for Vcs-* fields since dpkg now supports them.
75 * Document the Homepage field. Thanks, Christian Perrier. Closes:
77 * Add Vcs-Svn and Vcs-Browser fields pointing to the new SVN
80 -- W. Martin Borgert <debacle@debian.org> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:16:40 +0000
82 developers-reference (3.3.8) unstable; urgency=low
84 * mia-history is replaced by mia-query. Thanks, Christoph Berg.
86 * fix missing quite. Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #365994
87 * use gnugp instead of gpg. Thanks, Justin Pryzby, Jon Dowland.
89 * better destinction between maintainer and developer. Thanks for
90 the suggestion to Colin Tuckley. Closes: #380458
91 * irc.d.o points to oftc. Thanks, Christoph Biedl, Jon Dowland.
93 * Bugs are now always closed thanks to version tracking.
94 Closes: #339552, #353447, #376199
95 * Clarify what "a conflicts b" means in testing migration.
97 * Packages in testing disappear if they're removed from unstable.
98 Thanks, Frank Küster, Al Stone. Closes: #365993
99 * Document only the most recent changelog entry is used. Thanks
100 to Kevin Glynn to the suggestion. Closes: #374738
101 * Add more tools for reverse depends. Close: #376582
102 * delayed-queue on gluck is uploaded more often now. Closes: #397907
103 * stop using capitals, minor fixes, language fixes.
104 Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Colin Tuckley, Russ Allbery.
105 Closes: #368046, #378929, #361744
106 * add CVE Ids to your changelog. Closes: #376961
107 * add reasoning why debconf questions shouldn't be longer than
108 20 lines. Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Christian Perrier, Russ Allbery.
110 * section changing needs re-uploading orig.tar.gz.
111 Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #387154
112 * binary files in diffs could be en/decoded with perl.
113 Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #397786
114 * Add pointer to new-reject-FAQ. Closes: #324967
115 * Hint to dd-list/whodepends. Closes: #353874
116 * Don't use too generic mail ids. Closes: #355725
117 * pts/summary is actually used. Thanks, Holger Levsen. Closes: #387108
118 * clarify that one should append the NMU-diff to a bug. Closes: #394033
119 * more detailed instructions on binary package removals.
123 - French translation updated to version 3.3.8
125 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sat, 11 Nov 2006 10:55:44 -0700
127 developers-reference (3.3.7) unstable; urgency=low
130 - adjust information about distributions with reality.
131 - add note on alioth accounts. Thanks, Phillip Kern. Closes: #306630
132 - correct manpage section of dpkg-scanpackages. Closes: #297069
133 - fix RFC 2440 URL. Closes: #308103
134 - add $arch@buildd information. Closes: #295483
135 - link to keyring.d.o for key replacement. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
137 - add information about Packages-arch-specific. Thanks, Frank Küster.
139 - add hint about LWN subscription. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
141 - more about debconf-style translation. Thanks, Christian Perrier.
143 - non-us discontinued.
144 - document nmu changes wrt version tracking. Thanks, Justin Pryzby.
146 - fix spelling issues. Thanks to various people.
147 Closes: #336146, #326857, #338660
148 - update menu policy helpers. Thanks, Florian Ernst. Closes: #340024
149 - send mia-mail to mia@qa. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #341568
150 - Joerg Jaspert is now freenode contact. Closes: #344303
151 - give a clearer description of the gpg v4-key issues. Thanks,
152 Martin Michlmayr and Peter Palfrader. Closes: #317411
153 - more verbose about Homepage. Closes: #339826
154 - add sarge and etch. Closes: #327682
155 - document severity of RoM-request bugs. Closes: #305947
156 - update FSF address. Closes: #334820
157 - fix P-a-s link. Closes: #341195
158 - reflect binNMU changes. Closes: #349493
159 - new security upload queue. Closes: #352749
160 - fix experimental's sources.list entry. Closes: #347229
161 - remove deprecated "Closes:..." to ACK NMU bug fixes. Closes: #353447
162 - when resigning, gpg-sign your mail. Closes: #348160
163 - make pristine source and repackaged origtargz anchors work.
165 - same number of RC bugs is ok. Closes: #351944
166 - dpkg-source doesn't keep permissions. Thanks, Enrico Zini.
168 - also mention aspell. Closes: #320981
171 - French translation updated to version 3.3.7, proofread by Bernard Adrian
173 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 09 Apr 2006 11:31:52 -0600
175 developers-reference (3.3.6) unstable; urgency=low
178 - closes: and NMUs/experimental uploads. Closes: #284714
179 - madison is on merkel.
180 - more gender-neutral. Closes: #290583, #290584, #263114
181 - explain current incoming. Closes: #290019
182 - remove broken sponsoring URL. Closes: #291698
183 - add handling hints about orig.tar.gz. Thanks, Frank. Closes: #278524
184 - duplicate bug reports should be merged. Closes: #285381
185 - if you're on vacation, please check whether someone needs keysigning.
187 - freenode has developer cloacks. Closes: #285687
188 - cleaned up uploaders / maintainer field
189 - explain how dak detects NMUs. Closes: #292354
190 - add "mass" to lots of bugs. Closes: #292946
191 - sync NM rules with reality.
193 - French translation updated to version 3.3.6
195 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:08:49 -0700
197 developers-reference (3.3.5) unstable; urgency=low
200 - uploads to more than one dist are not possible.
201 - updated upload queues. Closes: #235213
202 - updated URL of vanilla rules files. Closes: #237557, #252048
203 - please speak with stable RM before uploading to stable. Closes: #261464
204 - information on wnpp usage synced with wnpp. Closes: #255298
205 - spelling, grammer fixes.
206 Closes: #202444, #202499, #203202, #203378, #221902, #226208
207 - add hint about partitial key id. Closes: #243968
208 - spohr is restriced, and also ftp-master. Closes: #255814
209 - bpp: Hint about locale generation as non-root. Closes: #208021
210 - bpp: deborphan-compliant transition packages. Closes: #183654
211 - add myself to uploaders.
212 - add chapter about i10n. Closes: #208156
213 - add information about dchroot. Closes: #211845
214 - add information about NEWS.Debian. Closes: #212402
215 - add information about mia-database. Closes: #213961
216 - add link to debian-mentors FAQ.
217 - add verbose information about the package description. Closes: #214792
218 - add hint about -v<version> to experimental. Closes: #232930
219 - update information about yada. Closes: #217956
220 - urgency is sticky. Closes: #261914
221 - updated information about testing distribution. Closes: #266649.
222 - rewrote the NMU section, and
223 + made the possible severities of "target bugs" clearer. Closes: #233088.
224 + mention QA uploads. Closes: #202416.
225 + add -B for binNMUs, and local debsign usage. Closes: #208839.
226 + warning about breaking all-packages by binNMU. Closes: #213348.
227 - add information about gpg usage. Closes: #175815.
228 - make key replacement instructions more details. Closes: #275921
229 - typo and language fixes. Thanks, Era Eriksson. Closes: #277576
230 - add hints about debconf templates from Christian Perrier.
232 - Security uploads get urgency=high
233 - Be even more explicit about not uploading security updates
235 - French translation updated to version 3.3.5
237 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Mon, 22 Nov 2004 19:07:26 +0100
239 developers-reference (3.3.4) unstable; urgency=low
242 - fixed language in the PTS section, prompted by a patch from
243 Romain FRANCOISE, thank you; closes: #197741
244 - updated the mailing lists section (again)
245 - documented Alioth, somewhat
247 - French translation updated to version 3.3.3 (more or less)
248 - proofread by Patrice Karatchentzeff
250 - Don't upload security updates directly to stable
251 - Always include an external reference in security changelog entries
252 - Be careful not to re-use a version number in security uploads
253 - More explicit instructions about what is appropriate for a security
257 - replace <!entity...> with <!ENTITY...> and other SGML hygenics
259 - Release this package as is to flush changes between June and now.
260 Yes, its been an age between releases here, for which I apologize.
261 Since CVS upstream for this package is back, I'm working on closing
262 bugs in this package now, I just wanted to get it out as is before I
265 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 29 Feb 2004 14:09:48 -0500
267 developers-reference (3.3.3) unstable; urgency=low
270 - corrections by Michel Grentzinger
272 - updated documentation concerning the PTS
273 - added a paragraph about the PTS web interface
274 - documented how to add custom news item in the PTS
276 - updates and clarifications to instructions for security bugs
277 - deprecate uploads to stable for security fixes, reference
278 section on security bugs; closes: #196516
279 - use dpkg-buildpackage -B to test binary-arch, not -b;
282 - Sec "Managing sponsored packages": remove unnecessary 'debsign' cmd;
284 - fix debconf-devel(7) man page section; closes: #189512
285 - Sec "Responding to bugs": mention what FTBFS means; closes: #186605
286 - Sec "Distribution directories" renamed "Distributions"
287 - Sec "The testing distribution" moved under Sec "Distribution
288 directories" and renamed "More information about the testing
290 - Secs "Uploads to {stable,testing-proposed-updates}" retitled to make
291 it clear these are special cases
292 - Sec "Uploading to ftp-master": xref to "Delayed incoming";
294 - check compliance with Policy version 3.5.10
296 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Jun 2003 04:08:29 -0400
298 developers-reference (3.3.2) unstable; urgency=low
301 - French translation updated to version 3.3.1
302 - proofread by Philippe Batailler and Patrice Karatchentzeff
304 - French translation requires debiandoc-sgml 1.1.76 or better
306 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Apr 2003 09:48:59 -0400
308 developers-reference (3.3.1) unstable; urgency=low
311 - package description said it contained French and Japanese, fixed,
313 - Sec "Experimental": sources.list entries
314 - Sec "Basic rules for [mailing list] use": cosmetic, link to this sec
315 - Sec "Handling bugs": retitle and expand section
317 - more improvements to package synopsis and description
318 - the synopsis formula changed to either
319 <package-name> is a <synopsis>
321 <package-name> is <synopsis>
323 <package-name> are <synopsis>
325 - the synopsis itself should not start with an article
326 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control": expand intro
327 - fix doc-check URL; closes: #187144
328 - Sec "Multiple binary packages": fix awkward wording about vim source
329 package; closes: #187143
331 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 4 Apr 2003 14:26:52 -0500
333 developers-reference (3.3) unstable; urgency=low
336 - French translation updated to version 3.2.2 (more or less)
337 - proofread by Philippe Batailler
339 - added "ddtp" keyword in the PTS documentation
341 - split out the doc-files per language, closes: #177448
342 - shuffled stuff around in the packages chapter
343 - added a section describing how to handle large amounts of
344 architecture-independent data bundled with programs
345 - added best practices on debian/changelog files, based on a patch
346 kindly provided by Daniel Kobras, closes: #166388
347 - described debdiff and dpkg-depcheck, and linked to them from the
348 right places in the document, closes: #172897
349 - describe the current practice in writing synopsis lines,
353 - convert to debhelper (compat mode 4); maintainer scripts no longer
355 - split -ja and -fr versions out into separate packages
356 - top-level makefile deletes targets on error; clean is cleaner
357 - replace the manual debian/control processing to show the document's
358 table of contents (TOC) with a new script 'debian/tocsubstvars';
359 note that the TOC displayed in the developers-reference-{fr,ja}
360 package descriptions are in English until UTF8 control files are
361 allowed; proper escaping of single quotes here requires newest
363 - editorial changes on material added in this version
364 - reorder "Best Packaging Practices" a bit
365 - rework "Best practices for debian/control" based on contributions
366 from Colin Walters, Branden Robinson, Sebastian Rittau and others;
367 closes: #139957, #108416
368 - primary author is developers-reference@packages.debian.org; remove
369 emails from other authors to prevent spam and confusion
371 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:29:07 -0500
373 developers-reference (3.2.2) unstable; urgency=low
376 - slightly rewrote and updated links in the mirrors section
378 - Policy compliance checked and updated to 3.5.8, no changes needed
379 - TODO: remove some tasks which are done
380 - ship README-contrib and TODO in the doc dir
381 - Sec "Upstream home page": some revisions based on discussion on
383 - Sec "Documentation" added under Sec "Common packaging situations"
384 for best practices for documentation
385 - Add tools entries for autotools-dev, dpkg-repack, alien, debsums;
386 new Sec "Documentation and information", add entries there for
387 debview, debiandoc-sgml, debian-keyring; we believe this manual now
388 covers all of the established, general Debian maintainer tool
390 - spell-checking pass
392 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Dec 2002 13:45:23 -0500
394 developers-reference (3.2.1) unstable; urgency=low
397 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control" added, Sec "Writing useful
398 descriptions" moved under there
399 - Sec "Upstream home page" added in debian/control section
400 - Sec "Miscellaneous advice" empty, removed
401 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": tools now categorized into
402 subgroups; do cross-linking from this section into other parts of
403 the document where these tools are discussed
404 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": add entries for sbuild,
405 build-essential, linda; improved entries for pbuilder, devscripts
406 - Sec "Tools for porters" renamed and readapted to "Porting
407 infrastructure and automation"; move tool discussion down to the
408 appendix; improve Sec "buildd" a bit
409 - README-contrib added giving information for authors, contributors,
411 - eliminate the ByHand stuff, I'm pretty sure it's not needed now
412 with the DDP builder process, or if it is needed, it's a probably
413 that can be fixed by DDP folks
414 - stop shipping SGML source -- use 'apt-get source developers-reference'
415 after all, this is supposed to be a binary package, right?
416 - simply PS and PDF building rules
418 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 9 Dec 2002 03:04:19 -0500
420 developers-reference (3.2) unstable; urgency=low
423 - merged a bit misplaced lintian-reports section within the lintian
424 section and adjusted links
425 - added the missing description of dh-make and adjusted links
427 - ChangeLog attribution updates
428 - fix typos, closes: #171781
429 - expand the doc-base abstract and authors
430 - Ch "Packaging Practices" rewritten intro
431 - Sec "Packaging tools and common cases" renamed to "Best Practices
432 for debian/rules", and write an intro
433 - Sec "Helper scripts" in practices section rewritten, giving
434 arguments for and against debhelper, mostly for :)
435 - Sec "Package with multiple patches" renamed to "Patching source
436 versus patching at build time" and rewritten
437 - Sec "Multiple binary packages" rewritten
438 - Sec "Handling debconf translations" moved under an
439 "Internationalization" section, and some edits
440 - Sec "Internationalized Documentation" added under Sec
441 "Internationalization"
442 - Sec "Specific packaging practices" renamed to "Common packaging situations"
443 - Sec "Packages using autoconf/automake" rewritten
444 - Sec "Configuration management" moved forward in practices chapter
445 - Sec "Other specific packages" renamed to "Specific types of
446 packages", add info for SGML/XML and Lisp packages
447 - Sec "Writing useful descriptions" heavily edited
448 - Sec "Best practices for maintainer scripts" added, special credit
449 here to Charles Briscoe-Smith for work dating back to 1998; include
450 a POSIX shell snippet showing how to check if a command is the PATH,
452 - Apdx "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove debget, it's
453 rather useless and broken
454 - normalize up-casing on sections, which should only up-case proper
455 names and the first word
456 - new 'translation-status' script to check status of translations,
457 adapted from doc-check in boot-floppies, source pkg only --
458 oh my, French translation is 54 CVS revisions behind, and Japanese
460 - postinst: don't set /usr/doc symlink, aesthetics
461 - prerm: don't use 'command -v', it's not POSIX
462 - rules: produce md5sums file; break out a 'test' target
464 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 7 Dec 2002 02:28:06 -0500
466 developers-reference (3.1.2) unstable; urgency=low
469 - DDP publishing update
471 - doc-base file includes French and Japanese files
472 - debsign invocation was slightly wrong, closes: #170523
473 - Sec "Handling debconf translations", updates from Martin Quinson
474 for po-debconf with minimal editorial changes, closes: #169007
476 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 27 Nov 2002 21:16:30 -0500
478 developers-reference (3.1.1) unstable; urgency=low
481 - updated IRC stuff, thanks to Ben Armstrong, closes: #161403
482 - fixed/updated/extended stuff about bugs, hoping to address the
483 issue of people abusing the changelog bug closing feature
485 - added myself as co-author
486 - fix a typo in Sec "Collaborative maintenance", closes: #161488
488 - updated security information, merging in Joey's stuff from the
489 Security Team FAQ and various updates and clarifications
491 - fix some bad URLs, closes: #168357
492 - fix a grammar typo, closes: #166098
494 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 12 Nov 2002 23:15:03 -0500
496 developers-reference (3.1) unstable; urgency=low
499 - Corrected several errors with —
500 - Applied patch from Peter Palfrader, correcting
501 the URL for the Debian Voting Information page. closes: #150427
502 - Applied patch from Matej Vela, dpkg-buildpackage does no more
503 require -sa for version -0.1. closes: #150861
504 - Applied the reformulations proposed by David Kimdon. closes: #150572
505 - Applied the patch of Matt Zimmerman. Thanks Matt! closes: #145287
506 - Added the explanation about how to replace an .orig.tar.gz.
508 - Mostly deleted the paragraph about security upload in the
509 section explaining source NMU. Just added a link to point to
510 "Handling security-related bugs". closes: #159935
511 - Added a link to the Technical Committee web page (in the "Bug
512 housekeeping" section). closes: #151365
513 - Explain uploads to testing-proposed-updates, mentions briefly
514 stable-security and testing-security. closes: #149666
515 Removed the comment about uploads to frozen.
516 - Documented the "Developer's packages overview" web portal.
518 - Added a reference to debian-l10n-english in "Writing useful
519 descriptions". closes: #158609
520 - Added a Best Packaging Practice section for "Packages using
521 autoconf/automake". closes: #158045
522 - Documented associated features to db.debian.org like SSH key
523 replication and *.debian.net DNS entry. closes: #155389
524 - Added a section about "Bug Squashing Parties".
526 - removed obsolete, needless dupload variables
527 - applied linguistic fixes from David Kimdon, closes: #150572
528 - random proofreading, mostly changing he -> they
529 - added people.d.o and non-us.d.o to the Debian servers section, and
530 mostly rewrote it to exclude real machine names and be better organized
531 - updated the mailing lists section
533 - debian/changelog: remove obsolete Emacs variables
534 - editorial review of the changes above, minor tagging changes,
537 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 10 Sep 2002 21:57:41 -0400
539 developers-reference (3.0) unstable; urgency=low
542 - welcome Manoj Srivastava as a co-maintainer
543 - welcome Raphael Hertzog as a co-maintainer
545 - new Chapter "Resource for Debian Developers", incorporating
547 Ch "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines"
548 Ch "The Debian Archive"
550 - new Chapter "Managing Packages", incorporating former chapters
552 Ch "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
553 Ch "Porting and Being Ported"
554 Ch "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning Packages"
555 Ch "Handling Bugs" (retitled "Handling package bugs")
556 Sec "Bug housekeeping" (new section, some parts stubbed out)
558 - new Chapter "Beyond Packaging" recommends ways to contribute
559 to Debian beyond issues of package maintenance; incoporates
560 Ch "Interaction with Prospective Developers", retitled to
561 Sec "Interacting with Prospective Debian Developers"
562 Sec "Submitting Bugs", renamed to "Reporting Bugs"
563 Sec "QA" moved here from old Sec "Quality Assurance effort"
564 Sec "Dealing with unreachable maintainers"
566 - Sec "The Developers Database" added under Resources
567 - new Sec "Collaborative Maintenance" concerning multiple maintainers
570 - Sec "Getting started": add link to New Maintainers' Guide
571 - Sec "Debian Mentors" renamed to "Debian Mentors and Sponsors",
572 we add some info on sponsoring; also in Sec "Sponsoring packages"
573 - Section's first word capitalized, rest are normal case
574 - purge a reference to the Packaging Manual; closes: #145039
575 - misc. cross-referencing with new or moved sections
576 - change some literal quotes to ‘, ”, etc.
577 - tagging improvements: replace <tt> with <file> for files and
578 directories; since <tt><var> and <example><var> doesn't look right,
579 work-around with <...>
580 - entity'ize master.debian.org, us-upload-dir, non-us-upload-dir
581 - update copyright date
582 - some simplifications on the TeX suffix rule
583 - spell check and grammar corrections
587 - changed -e by -m in the dpkg-buildpackage command line example;
589 - clarify wording between "porter upload", "binary-only NMU", "simple
590 recompile"; closes: #102626
591 - extended "removing a package"; closes: #135560
592 - Ch "Best Packaging Practices": new chapter, including new
593 Sec "Writing useful descriptions" as a first entry in that
594 chapter; closes: #53109, #129848
595 - indicate that the list of subsections is defined in the policy;
597 - removed some cruft in `Announcing package uploads'
598 - document the testing scripts; closes: #129445
599 - explain how to reassign/close bugs of removed packages;
601 - updates the note about software subject to US patents;
603 - new Section "Contacting other maintainers" under "Beyond packaging"
604 Document the package@packages.debian.org alias; closes: #114553
605 - new Section "Package's information" under Resources
606 Document http://packages.debian.org/<package>,
607 http://bugs.debian.org/<package> and the madison utility
608 - Sec "Reporting bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/from:email@isp.com
609 - Sec "Handling bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/login@debian.org
610 - Sec "The Incoming system" in "Resources", describe how it works and
611 also speak of the DELAYED directory; closes: #135562, #136774
613 - Sec "Developer Database": added a sentence about finger
615 - update the total number of packages and the example directory tree
617 - updated the list of available architectures.
618 - commented out the "Subsections" section since it will RSN have nothing
619 to with the Debian archive. It's just a generic information field
620 of the package and nothing more.
621 - added more incentive to use experimental since it doesn't cause
622 any pain to the ftpmasters.
623 - Sec "When to do a source NMU": updated the NMU "protocol" and suggest
624 the use of the delayed queue.
625 - new Section "Acknowledging the NMUs" to explain the need to integrate
626 the changes introduced by NMUs. Insists on the fact that one shouldn't
628 - stubbed in new Section "Collaborative maintenance"
629 - stubbed in new Section "The Package Tracking System"
630 - Sec "The Package Tracking System": filled with content from
631 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, heavily updated by myself
632 - new Section "Managing sponsored packages" contributed by
633 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, slightly updated by myself
634 - new Sec "Bug housekeeping"; closes: #39519
636 - new Sec "Documentation"
637 - added Sec "IRC channels" in the Resources chapter
638 - added Sec "pbuilder" in the appendix. Mention it in the section
639 "Being kind to porter" too
640 - extended Sec "devscripts" with info about "bts" and "uscan"
641 - completed Sec "Helper scripts"
642 - completed Sec "Package with multiple patches",
643 "Multiple binary packages", "Libraries", "Other specific packages",
644 "The wise use of debconf" -- all those are quite simplistic, they
646 - integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
647 Denis Barbier -- thanks, Denis!
650 - update French translation
652 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 14 Jun 2002 01:18:19 -0400
654 developers-reference (2.11) unstable; urgency=low
657 - some grammar corrections
658 - update French translation
660 - changes in upload situation, not possible to remove from Incoming
661 anymore; closes: #135559
662 - also talk about dput a tiny bit
664 - Ch "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools":
666 - Charles Briscoe-Smith deprecates yada (I think new maintainers of
667 that would be welcome)
668 - debconf-doc mentioned for debconf
669 - debhelper: don't talk about debmake; mention how to get info on the dh-* pkgs
670 - dput: new section, closes: #129378
671 - debootstrap: new section, closes: #129377
672 - dpkg-dev-el: new section
673 - other minor wording changes
674 - Sec "Mailing Lists": where to find private archives, closes: #96780
675 - Ch "Package uploads":
676 - new Sec "Adding an entry to debian/changelog"
677 - rename Sec "Announcing new packages" to "New packages"
678 - crypto is in main, non-US is for patent restrictions, so:
679 - excise some text from "Registering as a Debian developer"
680 - changes in Sec "Uploading to ftp-master"
681 - changes in Sec "Uploading to non-US"
682 * old bugs closed out, closes: #110573
684 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 7 Apr 2002 23:34:08 -0700
686 developers-reference (2.10.0) unstable; urgency=low
688 * from Martin Michlmayr
689 - update the "Applying to Become a New Maintainer" section, with
690 review by Raphael Hertzog, closes: #133965
691 - bugs closed in NMUs should uses 'closes' changelog entries,
693 - developers are not required to subscribe to debian-private
695 - some suggestions on places to use the proper term, Debian GNU/Linux,
697 - fix some typos, closes: #133956
699 - frozen doesn't exist anymore, just testing; note, however, that
700 there is a way to upload to 'woody-proposed-updates' -- if I can
701 find some description of that, I'll document it; closes: #133948
704 - isolate a few more language-independent bits
706 - change /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc, and typo in debian/copyright,
709 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 24 Feb 2002 14:46:46 -0500
711 developers-reference (2.9.0) unstable; urgency=low
714 - created a new subsection about uploading to stable, and elaborated
716 - removed a stray sentence about stable from the paragraph about
717 security uploads (which apply to all distributions equally)
718 - replaced the nonexistent term "Security Manager" with "security officer"
719 - uploading to stable and unstable is deprecated; updated the section
720 about the experimental distribution; other fixes in the section
721 talking about uploading to distributions
722 - better organize some subsections in the section about package uploads
723 - replaced some bogus <ftppath>s with <tt>s
724 - noted how there is an upload queue on pandora, too
726 - French translation updated
728 - normalize '--' as — for prettier output
729 - integrate changes from James Troup, part of #102626
730 - typo fix thanks to Mark Hodge
732 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Oct 2001 01:03:01 -0400
734 developers-reference (2.8.8) unstable; urgency=low
737 - a few more strong words about sponsoring
738 - started a new chapter about the relationship between old and new
741 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Jul 2001 17:53:47 -0400
743 developers-reference (2.8.7) unstable; urgency=low
746 * fix a typo in a link
747 * dpkg-buildpackage -m<addr> flag was changed for -e<addr> when NMU'ing;
748 update documentation accordingly
750 * Matt Zimmerman fixes up some wording in the section talking about
751 forwarding bugs upstream
753 * provide proper l10n for SGML date entities; now we have &date-<LANG>
754 entities which should be used
755 * debian/rules: fixes for new debiandoc-sgml
756 * debian/control: depend on debiandoc-sgml 1.1.48 or better
758 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 21 Jun 2001 14:43:42 -0400
760 developers-reference (2.8.6) unstable; urgency=low
762 * fix a typo, thanks to Antoine Hulin
763 * French version: completely up-to-date now
764 * Makefile: add a 'validate' target
765 * prepare and ship "upstream" ChangeLog; move the debian changelog to
767 * all versions: change the email address to use when orphaning
770 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 13 Apr 2001 03:32:08 -0400
772 developers-reference (2.8.5) unstable; urgency=low
774 * expunge references to the Debian Packaging Manual, which is now in the
776 * Japanese version: also comment out some references packaging manual;
777 this translation needs updating
778 * deny request to shut down non-maintainer bug maintenance bug closure
779 practices (closes: Bug#88623)
780 * add some advice about U.S. citizens uploading to non-US
782 * debian/control: Build-Depends should have been Build-Depends-Indep
783 * French version: First complete translation of the Debian developer's
784 reference guide. Much work done by Antoine Hulin. Reviewed by Nicolas
786 * Portuguese version: work is started by Carlos Laviola, nothing
787 included yet, however
789 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 8 Apr 2001 01:25:51 -0400
791 developers-reference (2.8.4) unstable; urgency=low
793 * debian/control: remove reference to obsolete packaging-manual package
795 * debian/control: fill in the description a bit more
796 * doc-base: index.html corrected to be index.en.html
798 * Makefile: clean is cleaner
800 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 25 Feb 2001 12:47:06 -0500
802 developers-reference (2.8.3) unstable; urgency=low
804 * build and provide French and Japanese versions
805 * devolve build logic from debian/rules to top-level Makefile
806 * developers-reference.jp.sgml: minor changes so it will build (is out
808 * debian/rules: stop making useless /usr/share/developers-reference dir
810 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 22 Jan 2001 02:02:02 -0500
812 developers-reference (2.8.2) unstable; urgency=low
815 - fix typographic errors reported by David Martinez (closes: Bug#80740)
816 - common.ent: upped the numbers a little bit, updated lintian reports URL
817 - updated regarding va->klecker move, and www->people move, changed
818 most mentions of dinstall to a generic term "archive maintenance
819 software", removed full path to it because it is in PATH now,
820 mentioned "dak" and "katie" (somewhat vaguely), changed week to
821 month regarding FTP archive waiting time since that\'s more often
822 the case, and changed weeks to hours regarding Maintainers file
823 updates since that\'s also more often the case now, updated some
824 URLs to entities, s/debian-doc/doc-debian/
825 - replaced evil latin1-only quotation marks, replaced mentions of
826 important severity (in RCB context) with serious severity, some
828 - common.ent (1.10): fixed email-debian-user alias; updated
829 sample-dist-dirtree (with more to come)
830 - described testing; described package pools (this particular part
831 required quite a bit of changes, and it might be a bit rough, but
832 it's a start); described the frozen test cycles et al; some other
834 - another update WRT sid/unstable/testing, from Colin Watson
836 * debian/control: add Recommends for debian-policy, packaging-manual
837 * update copyright notice for 2001
838 * fix for WNPP bug filing severities from David Schleef
839 * clarify the status of the Developers's reference as "normative"
840 * add a reference to debconf (closes: Bug#82413)
842 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Jan 2001 18:10:21 -0500
844 developers-reference (2.8.1) unstable; urgency=low
846 * update WNPP instructions, based on patch from Marcelo E. Magallon
848 * spelling corrections, awkward grammar suggestions from Andreas Krueger
850 * debian/rules: remove some obsolete source-depends stuff
852 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 4 Nov 2000 13:22:21 -0500
854 developers-reference (2.8.0) unstable; urgency=low
856 * Almost all changes for this release are from Josip Rodin
857 <joy@debian.org>. Thanks, Josip!
859 * debian/control, postinst, prerm, rules: Policy 3.2.1 (closes:
860 Bug#68929, Bug#70384)
861 * fixed bug closing example (closes: Bug#71198)
862 * update the perl regexp from current /usr/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog/debian
863 * updated keyring/keyserver information (closes: Bug#67783)
864 * updated new-maintainer stuff (closes: Bug#67841)
865 * updated for master -> ftp-master move (closes: Bug#68369)
866 * noted www.d.o is the right host for web pages, but all other machines
867 could be used if necessary
868 * reorder mentions of scp to come before FTP, as it is more secure;
869 mention the rsync dupload method
870 * reorder mentions of pandora <-> non-us, canonical name non-us is
872 * other small corrections
873 * fixed orphaning/adopting instructions with regard to the new WNPP
874 * common.ent: fix urls for cvs.d.o, wnpp, Debian machines page,
875 lists-archives, www.d.o BTS
876 * common.ent: changed link for machines from devel/maintainer_contacts
878 * Makefile: remove unnecessary subshell
880 * Adam's change: update debian/copyright for new Policy, and put my name
881 in there a bit with updated years; update doc-base file for FHS
883 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 15 Oct 2000 03:25:21 -0400
885 developers-reference (2.7.2) frozen unstable; urgency=medium
887 * I believe this should go into frozen because (a) it's only
888 documentation, so it can't introduce RC bugs, and (b) it fixes an
889 error which prevented it from building properly; however, whatever
890 ftpmaster feels is best is fine
892 * include common.ent as well as version.ent
893 (closes: Bug#52582, Bug#48926)
894 * debian/rules: fix build error caused by newer debiandoc-sgml; remove
895 constitution.en.html, since that is now located in the doc-debian
896 package (closes: Bug#54778, Bug#42014); don't compress .pdf file
898 * All changes below from Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
900 * Sec. "Uploading to master" and "Uploading to pandora":
901 explained dinstall -n (closes: Bug#45079)
902 * Sec. "Picking a distribution": added reference to the debian-release
903 team (closes: Bug#52906)
904 * Sec. "Announcing package uploads": rewrote it to take care of the fact
905 that dinstall is doing it automatically (closes: Bug#43877)
906 * Sec. "Mailing lists": added a paragraph about debian-email
908 * Changed the "Maintaining Your Debian Information" into "Debian
909 Developer's Duties" (closes: Bug#28908)
910 - added a section about the LDAP database
911 - added a section about the "on vacation" message
912 - added a section about the coordination with upstream developers
914 - added a section about managing Release Critical bugs
915 - added a section about Quality Assurance effort
917 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 16 Apr 2000 23:24:33 -0400
919 developers-reference (2.7.1) unstable; urgency=low
921 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": we are transitioning away
922 from non-free PGP -- remove allusions to non-free software such as
923 PGPv2 or v5 insofar as possible; recommend use of DSS keys rather than
925 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": remove PGP-centric stuff
926 * Sec. "When bugs are closed by new uploads": describe how to close bugs
927 via a magic changelog entry (closes: Bug#43690)
928 * Sec. "Generating the changes file": refer to Sec. "When bugs are
929 closed by new uploads" for closing bugs via a changelog entry
930 * developers-reference.sgml: re-enable RCS variables in CVS sources
931 * debian/control,rules: dynamically generate the TOC in the package
932 description from developers-reference.sgml
934 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 12 Sep 1999 18:15:59 -0400
936 developers-reference (2.7.0) unstable; urgency=low
938 * developers-reference.sgml: separated out language-independant elements
939 into common.ent (not content changes); misc minor grammar changes
941 * doc-base: change section for *constitution* to Debian (not 'debian')
943 * Sec. "Stable, unstable, and sometimes frozen": mention how old stable
944 releases are available at archive.debian.org
945 * Sec. "Uploading to pandora (non-us)" added, remove stale
946 information about the old anonymous ftp area (closes Bug#39541);
947 Sec. "Other Upload Queues" added about that upload queues, added
948 samosa and master.debian.org.jp (closes Bug#37804)
949 * Sec. "Yada": mention that yada might not be as robust as other package
950 producing systems, at request of the author; Sec. "equivs" added
951 * Sec. "Moving packages": at the request of Guy Maor, clarify that this
952 procedure is for moving packages in sections (i.e., free, contrib)
954 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": talk about RSA keys rather
955 than PGP keys, since I think GPG can create/handle them now; mention
956 that the official pkg maintainer address much match an ID on your key;
957 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": beef up the warnings a bit; point
959 * Sec. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": clean up and
960 clarify section; mention that all developers are expected to be
961 subscribed to debian-private and debian-devel-announce
962 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": remove list of machines; point to
963 http://www.debian.org/devel/machines instead
964 * Sec. "Release code names": potato is 2.2
965 * Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads": talk about recompile only
966 uploads and version numbers for this (i.e., foo_2.4-1.0.1), from a
967 suggestion from James Troup
968 * Sec. "buildd": mention andrea, and buildd.debian.org
969 * Sec. "Removing packages": correct apt-cache usage
970 * debain/rules: update standards to 3.0.1 -- since I'm not moving
971 /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc yet, no changes were required except in the
974 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Aug 1999 23:29:45 -0400
976 developers-reference (2.6.8) unstable; urgency=low
978 * when applying as a new user, the login name can be *eight* characters,
979 not seven (thanks to Rafael Caetano dos Santos)
981 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 21:50:04 -0400
983 developers-reference (2.6.7) unstable; urgency=low
985 * SGML'ish: normalize SGML elements, refill paragraphs (closes Bug#37987)
986 * doc-base: change section to Debian -- hmm, this looks like a doc-base
987 bug, really, but hey, who am I to refile bugs to another one of my own
988 packages? (closes Bug#37392)
989 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": new section for yada (um,
990 someone who uses this should check my description), correct build ->
991 debuild in the devscripts section (closes Bug#38053)
993 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 01:41:45 -0400
995 developers-reference (2.6.6) unstable; urgency=low
997 * Sec. "The master server": note that problems on Debian ftp can be sent
998 to ftpmaster@debian.org also
999 * Secs. "Uploads via chiark" and "Uploads via erlangen": remove
1000 'cron-driven' (thanks Roman Hodek)
1001 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": typos corrected, note that binary-arch
1002 and binary-indep targets should work independantly (thanks Roman
1004 * Sec. "buildd": remove erroneous reference to debbuild, reorganize the
1005 section and correct typos (thank again Roman -- boy, this is the all
1007 * debian/rules: re-enable letter-sized PDFs
1009 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 9 May 1999 01:17:29 -0400
1011 developers-reference (2.6.5) unstable; urgency=low
1013 * Sec. "Architectures": correction on supported architecture in Linux
1015 * Sec. "Experimental": other reasons to use or not use the experiment
1016 archive "section", from comments by Guy Maor
1017 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": replace x86 with i386 (closes Bug#36485)
1018 * debian/rules: date printing protected from local l10n (closes Bug#36891)
1019 * Ch. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": renamed chapter; add
1021 * Sec. "Debian Servers": new, for talking about the standard servers,
1022 with intro; demoted server sections under that
1023 * Sec. "The FTP servers": was empty, removed
1024 * Sec. "The master server": fill in more info and cross-refs on how to
1026 * Sec. "The CVS server": add some more detail which should be included
1027 when requesting cvs areas; mention the cvsweb URL
1028 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": new section, list the machines for which
1029 a normal developer may have access.
1031 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 4 May 1999 03:32:21 -0400
1033 developers-reference (2.6.4) unstable; urgency=low
1035 * debian/rules: hack 'byhand' file entries to include debian version
1036 number in it, so subsequent uploads of the package into Incoming don't
1037 step all over each other
1039 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 9 Apr 1999 20:04:04 -0400
1041 developers-reference (2.6.3) unstable; urgency=low
1043 * correction from James Troup -- <keyring-maint> is indeed the correct
1044 address for PGP key updates
1046 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 13:28:58 -0400
1048 developers-reference (2.6.2) unstable; urgency=low
1050 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is not replacing anything after all
1051 * developers-reference.sgml: use public declaration
1052 * BTW, if any maintainers of translated versions of this document would
1053 like to talk to me about folding your version into the
1054 developers-reference CVS area, please get in touch with me
1056 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 04:42:29 -0400
1058 developers-reference (2.6.1) unstable; urgency=low
1060 * include Debian constitution (closes Bug#30694)
1061 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is replacing fakeroot, not libtool
1062 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key" -- give email addresses as
1063 {pgp,gpg}-update@debian.org, at James Troup's request (note to Jameas,
1064 if you see this: /usr/doc/debian-keyring/README.gz talks about
1065 <keyring-maint> instead)
1066 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools" -- add Sec. "debget"
1067 * developers-reference.sgml: minor typo correction from Tril
1069 * doc-base stuff: add abstract to developers-reference, new file for
1071 * debian/rules: minor cleanup and consistency; build PDF, not PS file;
1072 ship PDF file;.text file now has .txt extension
1073 * debian/control: set priority to optional, matching archive
1075 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 3 Apr 1999 17:17:06 -0500
1077 developers-reference (2.6.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1079 * would be nice to sneak this into slink; it's just documentation!
1080 * Ch. "Porting and Being Ported": porter information broken out into it's
1081 own chapter, Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads" and "When to do a
1082 source NMU if you are a porter" moved to this chapter; porter tool
1083 descriptions such as 'quinn-diff' moved to this section. Sec. "Being
1084 Kind to Porters" added, with tips for how to avoid making problems for
1086 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)": update for the new chapter, and
1087 tighten up the language a bit
1088 * Sec. "Monitoring bugs": add a little cron job to get an 'index maint'
1089 of outstanding bugs (closes Bug#31259), loosen language a tiny bit
1090 w.r.t. non-maintainers or submitters closing bugs (closes Bug#30394)
1091 * Sec. "Scope of This Document": point out that this file is not
1093 * Ch. "Handling Bugs": renamed from "Handling Bug Reports", incorporate
1094 some suggestions from James Troup, namely, don't mail from your root
1095 account, don't close bugs via control@bugs.debian.org; break out new
1096 sections, "Submitting Bugs" and "Responding to Bugs"
1097 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove attribution for
1098 package maintainers, since I can't keep up; add entries for fakeroot
1100 * Ch. "Maintaining Your Debian Information": new chapter, quite small
1101 right now; it mentions keyring-maint@debian.org for key modification,
1102 warns against putting private keys on multi-user machines, and talks
1103 about how to depart Debian gracefully
1104 * typo correction from Christian Hudon (closes Bug#32052)
1105 * menu file removed, obsoleted by doc-base file
1106 * parameterize some often-changing values with SGML entities, update
1107 number of available packages
1108 * use new way of notating multiple copyrights
1109 * change <tt> elements to <file> where appropriate
1111 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 11 Feb 1999 02:53:55 -0500
1113 developers-reference (2.5.0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1115 * add version.ent to docdir, needed to reconstruct from SGML
1118 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 29 Dec 1998 02:42:50 -0500
1120 developers-reference (2.5.0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1122 * not officially released
1123 * more spelling corrections
1124 * s/ppc/powerpc/ (thanks, James Troup)
1126 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Dec 1998 00:07:40 -0500
1128 developers-reference (2.5.0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1130 * not officially released
1131 * Sec. "Removing a package from Incoming": tiny section added
1132 * some PGP-centricity removed
1133 * Sec. "Adopting a package": point out that hijacking packages is not ok
1134 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": change 'NMU' to
1135 'source NMU', 'port' to 'binary NMU', shorten the window for porters a
1136 tad; fix spelling; stress that non-maintainer patches must be
1137 non-disruptive and that aesthetic issues are not suitable for fixing
1138 by non-maintainers; other fixes as suggested by interested parties
1140 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 25 Nov 1998 00:01:27 -0500
1142 developers-reference (2.5.0.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1144 * not officially released
1145 * maintainer name change (but it's still me)
1146 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": new chapter
1147 discussing NMUs and porters; Section "Interim Releases" integrated out
1148 of existance. New TOC for this section is:
1149 * 6 Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters
1150 + 6.1 Who can do a port or an NMU
1151 + 6.2 When to do a port or an NMU
1152 o 6.2.1 When to do an NMU if you are a porter
1153 + 6.3 How to do an NMU
1154 o 6.3.1 NMU version numbering
1155 o 6.3.2 NMUs must create a changelog entry
1156 o 6.3.3 NMUs must send patches, if any, to the BTS
1157 o 6.3.4 Building the NMU
1158 + 6.4 Guidelines for Porters
1160 * Sec. "Maintainer changes": renamed to "Adopting a package" and moved
1161 to Chapter "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning
1163 * Sec. "Reporting lots of bugs at once": more forcefully deprecate this
1165 * Sec. "Adopting a package": mention that the BTS maintainer update can
1166 take a couple of weeks
1167 * Sec. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": give credit where credit
1168 is due and attribute current maintainers; add `apt'; add `quinn-diff';
1169 add mention of as yet unreleased 'buildd' package, since I'm so
1170 excited about it and can't wait
1171 * Sec. "Removing packages": talk about how apt-cache can be used to look
1172 at reverse depends, a good step to take prior to removing a package
1174 * show *full* TOC, including sect2
1175 * of course the obligatory typo, grammar, and spelling corrections
1177 * Makefile: small changes to accomodate DDP autobuild
1178 * debian/dirs: obsolete, removed
1179 * debian/rules: use changelog date for SGML timestamping, not current date
1181 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Nov 1998 12:27:53 -0500
1183 developers-reference (2.5.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1185 * move to 3-level version number:
1186 top-level version number probably won't change for a while, it is the
1187 "major", the second-level number means significant content changes,
1188 and the third-level change means corrections and minor improvements.
1189 Since this version has significant content changes, we are now 2.5.0.
1190 Since I'm going to put porter instructions in the next major rev, that
1193 * use new <package> tag where appropriate (Ardo, you rock)
1194 * replace 'm86k' with 'm68k'
1195 * rename 'Whirlwind Tour of ...' section to 'Overview of ...' (suggested
1197 * typos and "red-pen" corrections, fix cosmetic problems in PostScript
1199 * remove the one case I use an URL fragment identifier, since
1200 debiandoc-sgml doesn't like it (bug filed against debiandoc-sgml)
1201 * debian/rules: cosmetic cleanups, loosen check for root
1202 * debian/rules: build PostScript version during build, since it's nice
1203 to have all my debiandoc2* scripts together
1204 * debian/control: policy compliant to 2.5.0
1206 * advise against uploading when a package has lintian problems of
1208 * "Mailing Lists and Servers":
1209 - "The master server": mention how master is the home of the BTS;
1210 mention how users need to take care with their accounts on master
1211 - "The WWW servers": fill in www.debian.org, first pass, and discuss
1212 how to put up your own web pages on va or master
1213 - "The CVS server": new section added
1214 - "Mirrors of Debian servers": new section added; point to info about
1216 * "Applying to Become a Maintainer": do not advise resending initial
1217 application; instead, simply mail a followup asking new maintainers
1218 whether they go the initial application (closes Bug #28739); mention
1219 that calls usually come in the evening; mention that if you use PGP
1220 v5, you need to generate an RSA key (right?); clarify our intentions
1221 with respect to GPG.
1222 * "Release code names": Debian 2.2 is 'potato'
1223 * "Distribution directories": give concrete examples, hopefully making
1224 it clearer where to look in Debian archives for specific stuff;
1225 mention that old distributions are moved to archive servers (is there
1226 a canonical location?)
1227 * "The override file": new section, added under "Notification that a new
1228 package has been installed"; fill it out quite a bit
1229 * "Uploading to *": reiterate thrice not to upload export
1230 controlled-software to master, or the European queues on erlangen and
1232 * "Picking a distribution": section broken out from "Generating the
1234 * "Uploading to frozen": new section, almost straight from Brian White
1235 (hope you don't mind!) -- isn't that topical?
1236 * "Interim releases": if you NMU a new upstream version (0.1), run
1237 'dpkg-buildpackage -sa'
1239 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:03:43 -0500
1241 developers-reference (2.4.1.5) unstable; urgency=low
1243 * Fix instructions for new maintainers, incorporating the actual text
1244 sent to prospective new maintainers. Improve this text a bit for
1245 readability, coverage, and organization. Significant changes were
1246 patched back to the new-maintainers group, if they care to use
1247 them. (closes Bug#26948)
1248 * Add an introductory "Scope" chapter which helps delineate what should
1249 and should not be included in this Reference.
1250 * Add a new chapter, "Whirlwind Tour of Debian Maintainer Tools". Let
1251 me know what useful tools I forgot -- remember, Debian-specific
1252 maintainer tools only!
1253 * Add discussion of the "experimental" distribution, culled from an email
1254 from Guy Maor on debian-devel.
1255 * Incorporated suggestions from Branden Robinson (closes Bug#27211).
1256 * Point to doc-debian's mailing list instructions where relevant.
1257 * Made references to online documentation into URLs where possible.
1258 * Little corrections here and there.
1259 * add a Makefile for use in the DDP manual hierarchy
1260 * debian/rules: comment out my 'source-depends' hack; it's just slowing
1263 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 1 Oct 1998 03:42:43 -0400
1265 developers-reference (2.4.1.4) unstable; urgency=low
1267 * fill in Section "The master server" a bit; other servers to follow
1268 * in Section "Distribution directories", mention that distributions
1269 are always in 'dists' subdir of the Debian archive; talk about
1271 * in Section "Release code names", talk about 'sid' a bit
1272 * in Section "Interim releases", talk about how non-maintainers should
1273 use the BTS, and bug severity "fixed" (closes Bug#17524)
1274 * in Section "Generating the changes file", talk about how to set the
1275 distribution in the debian/changelog file (i.e., "frozen unstable")
1276 * add a new Section "Checking the package prior to upload" to Section
1277 "Uploading a package", mentioning lintian and other tests one should
1278 do prior to uploading
1279 * add new Section "Notification that a new package has been installed"
1280 in Section "Uploading a package", talking about dinstall and the
1282 * add new Sections "Moving packages", "Removing packages", "Replacing or
1283 renaming packages", and "Orphaning a package" (closes Bug#26650)
1284 * add new Section "Bugs in your packages", talking about maintainer
1285 duties with respect to bugs
1286 * add new Section "Lintian reports" under "Handling bugs reports",
1287 talking about how maintainers should check their packages with lintian
1288 every now and then, alternatively pointing them to the lintian web
1290 * clarify, a bit, the use of "section" and "subsection", bringing it
1291 into line with the usage in the Policy Manual and Packaging Manual
1292 * grammar and markup changes throughout
1293 * debian/rules: added a crude source-depends rule, which renders more
1294 explicit what is used to build this package
1296 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Mon, 21 Sep 1998 00:51:46 -0400
1298 developers-reference (2.4.1.3) unstable; urgency=low
1301 * version number and date are automatically populated now
1302 * changed doc-base section to "debian"
1303 * debian/rules: better abstraction and organization
1304 * reformat SGML like I happen to like it
1305 * utilize the new URL tag
1306 * build PostScript on letter size, I hear thats better for A4 and US
1309 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 16 Jul 1998 00:52:35 -0400
1311 developers-reference (2.4.1.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1313 * non-maintainer release
1314 * rebuilt since HTML versions of Chapters 1 and 2 were truncated
1315 (important bug, no number yet, bugs.debian.org isn't working;
1316 regardless, this should go in hamm because a broken developers
1317 reference won't win us many friends in hamm, and after all, it's just
1318 text, it can't hurt you.)
1319 * no content changes, except that the version number in the SGML file
1320 reflect this packages version number
1321 * debian/rule: clean is cleaner now
1323 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Tue, 16 Jun 1998 01:35:39 -0400
1325 developers-reference (2.4.1.1) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1329 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Thu, 14 May 1998 21:56:36 +0200
1331 developers-reference (2.4.1.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1333 * New version numbering scheme:
1335 - The version numbers are independent of dpkg now, but all policy
1336 manuals (the Debian Policy Manual, the Debian Packaging Manual, and
1337 the Debian Developer's Reference) share the same version numbering
1340 - The first three digits of the version number specify the
1341 `Standards-Version.' This number is incremented with each policy
1342 change. The fourth digit represents the `patch-level,' which may
1343 differ between the manuals.
1345 If only the patch-level digit is incremented, no changes in policy
1346 have been made, except bug fixes and clarifications. Packages only
1347 have to specify the first three digits of the version number in the
1348 `Standards-Version' field of their source packages.
1350 * Uploaded to frozen and unstable. This is a documentation-only
1351 package and the changes to the manual are relevant for hamm.
1353 * No changes to the Developer's Reference
1355 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Mon, 13 Apr 1998 17:54:43 +0200
1357 developers-reference (0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1359 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1361 - Changed section 1.2 Registering as a Debian developer:
1362 + signatures from formal certification service are _NOT_ accepted
1364 + images of ID documents have to be PGP or RSA signed
1365 (as requested by James Troup)
1367 - Use current date instead of <date> in manual
1369 * Updated FSF's address (reported by Lintian)
1371 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sat, 7 Mar 1998 13:52:15 +0100
1373 developers-reference (0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1375 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1377 - Renamed chapter 4 into `Package uploads'
1379 - New section 4.2.5 Uploading to the non-us server
1381 - Changed section 4.4 Interim releases:
1382 + non-maintainer releases should not close bugs
1383 + normal maintainer must at least read the patch provided with
1384 the non-maintainer release
1386 - New chapter 5 Handling bug reports:
1387 + when reporting more then 10 bugs on the same topic, a message
1388 has to be sent to debian-devel and the `maintonly' address
1391 - Lots of typos fixed
1393 * Compressed SGML source code
1395 * Added support for doc-base to register the Developer's Reference
1396 to the online documentation systems dwww and dhelp
1398 * Upgraded to standards version 2.4.0.0 (no changes)
1400 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Fri, 30 Jan 1998 21:58:34 +0100
1402 developers-reference (0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1404 * Put lost sections from Policy Manual 2.1.3.3 back in:
1405 - Generating the changes file (for uploads)
1406 - Announcing package uploads
1407 * New section about Debian Mentors
1408 * debian/rules: Don't use debstd anymore
1409 * debian/rules: Compress changelog file (fixes:#15441)
1410 * Fixed link to WNPP list (fixes:#16201)
1411 * Added menu entry (fixes:#15708)
1413 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Wed, 24 Dec 1997 13:54:33 +0100
1415 developers-reference (0.2) unstable; urgency=low
1417 * New chapter about `The Debian Archive' describing the structure
1418 of our FTP server and the development process
1419 * Added note that new maintainers have to read the Social Contract
1420 and have to know where to find the Policy and Packaging Manuals
1421 * PGP key ring is not distributed via dpkg but in doc/ of the FTP
1423 * Added note that cross posting between Debian lists is depreciated
1424 * New list of advantages why new packages should be discussed on
1425 debian-devel before they are uploaded
1426 * Added section about how packages are uploaded
1427 * Added note that the Security Managers may do interim releases without
1428 contacting the maintainer
1429 * Removed chapter about bug tracking system (will be included in
1430 a new manual released soon)
1431 * Some minor changes
1432 * Include SGML source in package
1433 * Don't use `2-up' style for PostScript version
1434 * Upgraded to Standards 2.3.0.1
1436 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:53:26 +0100
1438 developers-reference (0.1) unstable; urgency=low
1442 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Tue, 8 Jul 1997 00:19:49 +0200