1 # SOME DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
2 # Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
9 "Project-Id-Version: PACKAGE VERSION\n"
10 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
11 "POT-Creation-Date: 2010-01-04 00:20+0100\n"
12 "PO-Revision-Date: 2007-07-01 23:15+0000\n"
13 "Last-Translator: <>\n"
16 "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
17 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: \n"
19 # type: Content of: <chapter><title>
20 #. type: Content of: <chapter><title>
22 msgid "Managing Packages"
23 msgstr "Gestion des paquets"
25 # type: Content of: <chapter><para>
26 #. type: Content of: <chapter><para>
29 "This chapter contains information related to creating, uploading, "
30 "maintaining, and porting packages."
32 "Ce chapitre contient des informations relatives à la création, l'envoi,la "
33 "maintenance et le portage des paquets."
35 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
36 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
39 msgstr "Nouveaux paquets"
41 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
42 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
45 "If you want to create a new package for the Debian distribution, you should "
46 "first check the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">Work-Needing and Prospective "
47 "Packages (WNPP)</ulink> list. Checking the WNPP list ensures that no one is "
48 "already working on packaging that software, and that effort is not "
49 "duplicated. Read the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">WNPP web pages</ulink> for "
53 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
54 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
57 "Assuming no one else is already working on your prospective package, you "
58 "must then submit a bug report (<xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/> ) against the "
59 "pseudo-package <systemitem role=\"package\">wnpp</systemitem> describing "
60 "your plan to create a new package, including, but not limiting yourself to, "
61 "a description of the package, the license of the prospective package, and "
62 "the current URL where it can be downloaded from."
65 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
66 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
69 "You should set the subject of the bug to <literal>ITP: <replaceable>foo</"
70 "replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</replaceable></literal>, "
71 "substituting the name of the new package for <replaceable>foo</"
72 "replaceable>. The severity of the bug report must be set to "
73 "<literal>wishlist</literal>. Please send a copy to &email-debian-devel; by "
74 "using the X-Debbugs-CC header (don't use CC:, because that way the message's "
75 "subject won't indicate the bug number). If you are packaging so many new "
76 "packages (>10) that notifying the mailing list in seperate messages is too "
77 "disruptive, do send a summary after filing the bugs to the debian-devel list "
78 "instead. This will inform the other developers about upcoming packages and "
79 "will allow a review of your description and package name."
82 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
83 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
86 "Please include a <literal>Closes: bug#<replaceable>nnnnn</replaceable></"
87 "literal> entry in the changelog of the new package in order for the bug "
88 "report to be automatically closed once the new package is installed in the "
89 "archive (see <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/> )."
92 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
95 "If you think your package needs some explanations for the administrators of "
96 "the NEW package queue, include them in your changelog, send to "
97 "ftpmaster@debian.org a reply to the email you receive as a maintainer after "
98 "your upload, or reply to the rejection email in case you are already re-"
102 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
103 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
106 "When closing security bugs include CVE numbers as well as the Closes: "
107 "#nnnnn. This is useful for the security team to track vulnerabilities. If "
108 "an upload is made to fix the bug before the advisory ID is known, it is "
109 "encouraged to modify the historical changelog entry with the next upload. "
110 "Even in this case, please include all available pointers to background "
111 "information in the original changelog entry."
114 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
115 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
118 "There are a number of reasons why we ask maintainers to announce their "
122 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
123 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
126 "It helps the (potentially new) maintainer to tap into the experience of "
127 "people on the list, and lets them know if anyone else is working on it "
131 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
132 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
135 "It lets other people thinking about working on the package know that there "
136 "already is a volunteer, so efforts may be shared."
139 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
140 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
143 "It lets the rest of the maintainers know more about the package than the one "
144 "line description and the usual changelog entry ``Initial release'' that gets "
145 "posted to &email-debian-devel-changes;."
148 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
149 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
152 "It is helpful to the people who live off <literal>unstable</literal> (and "
153 "form our first line of testers). We should encourage these people."
156 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
157 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
160 "The announcements give maintainers and other interested parties a better "
161 "feel of what is going on, and what is new, in the project."
164 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
165 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
168 "Please see <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/REJECT-FAQ.html\"></ulink> "
169 "for common rejection reasons for a new package."
172 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
173 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
175 msgid "Recording changes in the package"
178 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
179 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
182 "Changes that you make to the package need to be recorded in the "
183 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>. These changes should provide a "
184 "concise description of what was changed, why (if it's in doubt), and note if "
185 "any bugs were closed. They also record when the package was completed. "
186 "This file will be installed in <filename>/usr/share/doc/"
187 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>/changelog.Debian.gz</filename>, or "
188 "<filename>/usr/share/doc/<replaceable>package</replaceable>/changelog.gz</"
189 "filename> for native packages."
192 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
193 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
196 "The <filename>debian/changelog</filename> file conforms to a certain "
197 "structure, with a number of different fields. One field of note, the "
198 "<literal>distribution</literal>, is described in <xref linkend=\"distribution"
199 "\"/> . More information about the structure of this file can be found in "
200 "the Debian Policy section titled <filename>debian/changelog</filename>."
203 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
204 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
207 "Changelog entries can be used to automatically close Debian bugs when the "
208 "package is installed into the archive. See <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/"
212 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
213 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
216 "It is conventional that the changelog entry of a package that contains a new "
217 "upstream version of the software looks like this:"
220 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><screen>
223 msgid " * new upstream version\n"
226 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
227 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
230 "There are tools to help you create entries and finalize the "
231 "<filename>changelog</filename> for release — see <xref linkend=\"devscripts"
232 "\"/> and <xref linkend=\"dpkg-dev-el\"/> ."
235 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
236 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
238 msgid "See also <xref linkend=\"bpp-debian-changelog\"/> ."
241 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
242 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
244 msgid "Testing the package"
247 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
248 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
251 "Before you upload your package, you should do basic testing on it. At a "
252 "minimum, you should try the following activities (you'll need to have an "
253 "older version of the same Debian package around):"
256 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
257 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
260 "Install the package and make sure the software works, or upgrade the package "
261 "from an older version to your new version if a Debian package for it already "
265 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
266 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
269 "Run <command>lintian</command> over the package. You can run "
270 "<command>lintian</command> as follows: <literal>lintian -v "
271 "<replaceable>package-version</replaceable>.changes</literal>. This will "
272 "check the source package as well as the binary package. If you don't "
273 "understand the output that <command>lintian</command> generates, try adding "
274 "the <literal>-i</literal> switch, which will cause <command>lintian</"
275 "command> to output a very verbose description of the problem."
278 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
279 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
282 "Normally, a package should <emphasis>not</emphasis> be uploaded if it causes "
283 "lintian to emit errors (they will start with <literal>E</literal>)."
286 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
287 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
290 "For more information on <command>lintian</command>, see <xref linkend="
294 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
295 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
298 "Optionally run <xref linkend=\"debdiff\"/> to analyze changes from an older "
299 "version, if one exists."
302 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
303 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
306 "Downgrade the package to the previous version (if one exists) — this tests "
307 "the <filename>postrm</filename> and <filename>prerm</filename> scripts."
310 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
311 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
313 msgid "Remove the package, then reinstall it."
316 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
317 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
320 "Copy the source package in a different directory and try unpacking it and "
321 "rebuilding it. This tests if the package relies on existing files outside "
322 "of it, or if it relies on permissions being preserved on the files shipped "
323 "inside the .diff.gz file."
326 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
327 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
329 msgid "Layout of the source package"
332 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
333 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
335 msgid "There are two types of Debian source packages:"
338 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
339 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
342 "the so-called <literal>native</literal> packages, where there is no "
343 "distinction between the original sources and the patches applied for Debian"
346 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
349 "the (more common) packages where there's an original source tarball file "
350 "accompanied by another file that contains the changes made by Debian"
353 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
356 "For the native packages, the source package includes a Debian source control "
357 "file (<literal>.dsc</literal>) and the source tarball (<literal>.tar.{gz,bz2,"
358 "lzma}</literal>). A source package of a non-native package includes a Debian "
359 "source control file, the original source tarball (<literal>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2,"
360 "lzma}</literal>) and the Debian changes (<literal>.diff.gz</literal> for the "
361 "source format “1.0” or <literal>.debian.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</literal> for the "
362 "source format “3.0 (quilt)”)."
365 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
368 "With source format “1.0”, whether a package is native or not was determined "
369 "by <command>dpkg-source</command> at build time. Nowadays it is recommended "
370 "to be explicit about the desired source format by putting either “3.0 "
371 "(quilt)” or “3.0 (native)” in <filename>debian/source/format</filename>. "
372 "The rest of this section relates only to non-native packages."
375 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
376 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
379 "The first time a version is uploaded which corresponds to a particular "
380 "upstream version, the original source tar file should be uploaded and "
381 "included in the <filename>.changes</filename> file. Subsequently, this very "
382 "same tar file should be used to build the new diffs and <filename>.dsc</"
383 "filename> files, and will not need to be re-uploaded."
386 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
389 "By default, <command>dpkg-genchanges</command> and <command>dpkg-"
390 "buildpackage</command> will include the original source tar file if and only "
391 "if the current changelog entry has a different upstream version from the "
392 "preceding entry. This behavior may be modified by using <literal>-sa</"
393 "literal> to always include it or <literal>-sd</literal> to always leave it "
397 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
398 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
401 "If no original source is included in the upload, the original source tar-"
402 "file used by <command>dpkg-source</command> when constructing the <filename>."
403 "dsc</filename> file and diff to be uploaded <emphasis>must</emphasis> be "
404 "byte-for-byte identical with the one already in the archive."
407 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
410 "Please notice that, in non-native packages, permissions on files that are "
411 "not present in the .orig.tar.{gz,bz2} will not be preserved, as diff does "
412 "not store file permissions in the patch. However when using source format "
413 "“3.0 (quilt)”, permissions of files inside the <filename>debian</filename> "
414 "directory are preserved since they are stored in a tar archive."
417 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
418 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
420 msgid "Picking a distribution"
423 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
424 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
427 "Each upload needs to specify which distribution the package is intended "
428 "for. The package build process extracts this information from the first "
429 "line of the <filename>debian/changelog</filename> file and places it in the "
430 "<literal>Distribution</literal> field of the <literal>.changes</literal> "
434 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
435 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
438 "There are several possible values for this field: <literal>stable</literal>, "
439 "<literal>unstable</literal>, <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> and "
440 "<literal>experimental</literal>. Normally, packages are uploaded into "
441 "<literal>unstable</literal>."
444 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
445 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
448 "Actually, there are two other possible distributions: <literal>stable-"
449 "security </literal> and <literal>testing-security</literal>, but read <xref "
450 "linkend=\"bug-security\"/> for more information on those."
453 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
454 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
457 "It is not possible to upload a package into several distributions at the "
461 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
462 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
465 "Special case: uploads to the <literal>stable</literal> and "
466 "<literal>oldstable</literal> distributions"
469 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
472 "Uploading to <literal>stable</literal> means that the package will "
473 "transferred to the <literal>proposed-updates-new</literal> queue for review "
474 "by the stable release managers, and if approved will be installed in "
475 "<filename>stable-proposed-updates</filename> directory of the Debian "
476 "archive. From there, it will be included in <literal>stable</literal> with "
477 "the next point release."
480 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
481 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
484 "To ensure that your upload will be accepted, you should discuss the changes "
485 "with the stable release team before you upload. For that, send a mail to the "
486 "&email-debian-release; mailing list, including the patch you want to apply "
487 "to the package version currently in <literal>stable</literal>. Always be "
488 "verbose and detailed in your changelog entries for uploads to the "
489 "<literal>stable</literal> distribution."
492 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
493 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
496 "Extra care should be taken when uploading to <literal>stable</literal>. "
497 "Basically, a package should only be uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> if "
498 "one of the following happens:"
501 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
502 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
504 msgid "a truly critical functionality problem"
507 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
508 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
510 msgid "the package becomes uninstallable"
513 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
514 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
516 msgid "a released architecture lacks the package"
519 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
520 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
523 "In the past, uploads to <literal>stable</literal> were used to address "
524 "security problems as well. However, this practice is deprecated, as uploads "
525 "used for Debian security advisories are automatically copied to the "
526 "appropriate <filename>proposed-updates</filename> archive when the advisory "
527 "is released. See <xref linkend=\"bug-security\"/> for detailed information "
528 "on handling security problems. If the security teams deems the problem to be "
529 "too benign to be fixed through a <literal>DSA</literal>, the stable release "
530 "managers are usually willing to include your fix nonetheless in a regular "
531 "upload to <literal>stable</literal>."
534 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
535 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
538 "Changing anything else in the package that isn't important is discouraged, "
539 "because even trivial fixes can cause bugs later on."
542 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
543 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
546 "Packages uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> need to be compiled on "
547 "systems running <literal>stable</literal>, so that their dependencies are "
548 "limited to the libraries (and other packages) available in <literal>stable</"
549 "literal>; for example, a package uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> that "
550 "depends on a library package that only exists in <literal>unstable</literal> "
551 "will be rejected. Making changes to dependencies of other packages (by "
552 "messing with <literal>Provides</literal> or <literal>shlibs</literal> "
553 "files), possibly making those other packages uninstallable, is strongly "
557 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
558 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
561 "Uploads to the <literal>oldstable</literal> distributions are possible as "
562 "long as it hasn't been archived. The same rules as for <literal>stable </"
566 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
567 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
570 "Special case: uploads to <literal>testing/testing-proposed-updates</literal>"
573 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
574 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
577 "Please see the information in the <link linkend=\"t-p-u\">testing section</"
581 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
582 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
584 msgid "Uploading a package"
587 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
588 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
590 msgid "Uploading to <literal>ftp-master</literal>"
593 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
596 "To upload a package, you should upload the files (including the signed "
597 "changes and dsc-file) with anonymous ftp to <literal>&ftp-upload-host;</"
598 "literal> in the directory <ulink url=\"ftp://&ftp-upload-host;&upload-queue;"
599 "\">&upload-queue;</ulink>. To get the files processed there, they need to "
600 "be signed with a key in the Debian Developers keyring or the Debian "
601 "Maintainers keyring (see <ulink url=\"&url-wiki-dm;\"></ulink>)."
604 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
605 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
608 "Please note that you should transfer the changes file last. Otherwise, your "
609 "upload may be rejected because the archive maintenance software will parse "
610 "the changes file and see that not all files have been uploaded."
613 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
614 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
617 "You may also find the Debian packages <xref linkend=\"dupload\"/> or <xref "
618 "linkend=\"dput\"/> useful when uploading packages. These handy programs "
619 "help automate the process of uploading packages into Debian."
622 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
625 "For removing packages, please see <ulink url=\"ftp://&ftp-upload-host;"
626 "&upload-queue;/README\"/> and the Debian package <xref linkend=\"dcut\"/> ."
629 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
630 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
632 msgid "Delayed uploads"
635 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
636 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
639 "It is sometimes useful to upload a package immediately, but to want this "
640 "package to arrive in the archive only a few days later. For example, when "
641 "preparing a <link linkend=\"nmu\">Non-maintainer Upload</link>, you might "
642 "want to give the maintainer a few days to react."
645 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
648 "An upload to the delayed directory keeps the package in <ulink url=\"http://"
649 "ftp-master.debian.org/deferred.html\"> the deferred uploads queue\"</"
650 "ulink>. When the specified waiting time is over, the package is moved into "
651 "the regular incoming directory for processing. This is done through "
652 "automatic uploading to <literal>&ftp-upload-host;</literal> in upload-"
653 "directory <literal>DELAYED/[012345678]-day</literal>. 0-day is uploaded "
654 "multiple times per day to <literal>&ftp-upload-host;</literal>."
657 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
658 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
661 "With dput, you can use the <literal>--delayed <replaceable>DELAY</"
662 "replaceable></literal> parameter to put the package into one of the queues."
665 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
666 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
668 msgid "Security uploads"
671 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
672 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
675 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload a package to the security "
676 "upload queue (<literal>oldstable-security</literal>, <literal>stable-"
677 "security </literal>, etc.) without prior authorization from the security "
678 "team. If the package does not exactly meet the team's requirements, it will "
679 "cause many problems and delays in dealing with the unwanted upload. For "
680 "details, please see section <xref linkend=\"bug-security\"/> ."
683 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
684 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
686 msgid "Other upload queues"
689 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
692 "There is an alternative upload queue in Europe at <ulink url=\"ftp://&ftp-eu-"
693 "upload-host;&upload-queue;\"/>. It operates in the same way as <literal>&ftp-"
694 "upload-host;</literal>, but should be faster for European developers."
697 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
700 "Packages can also be uploaded via ssh to <literal>&ssh-upload-host;</"
701 "literal>; files should be put <literal>/srv/upload.debian.org/UploadQueue</"
702 "literal>. This queue does not support <xref linkend=\"delayed-incoming"
703 "\">delayed uploads</xref>."
706 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
707 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
709 msgid "Notification that a new package has been installed"
712 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
713 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
716 "The Debian archive maintainers are responsible for handling package "
717 "uploads. For the most part, uploads are automatically handled on a daily "
718 "basis by the archive maintenance tools, <command>katie</command>. "
719 "Specifically, updates to existing packages to the <literal>unstable</"
720 "literal> distribution are handled automatically. In other cases, notably "
721 "new packages, placing the uploaded package into the distribution is handled "
722 "manually. When uploads are handled manually, the change to the archive may "
723 "take up to a month to occur. Please be patient."
726 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
727 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
730 "In any case, you will receive an email notification indicating that the "
731 "package has been added to the archive, which also indicates which bugs will "
732 "be closed by the upload. Please examine this notification carefully, "
733 "checking if any bugs you meant to close didn't get triggered."
736 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
737 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
740 "The installation notification also includes information on what section the "
741 "package was inserted into. If there is a disparity, you will receive a "
742 "separate email notifying you of that. Read on below."
745 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
746 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
749 "Note that if you upload via queues, the queue daemon software will also send "
750 "you a notification by email."
753 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
754 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
756 msgid "Specifying the package section, subsection and priority"
759 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
760 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
763 "The <filename>debian/control</filename> file's <literal>Section</literal> "
764 "and <literal>Priority</literal> fields do not actually specify where the "
765 "file will be placed in the archive, nor its priority. In order to retain "
766 "the overall integrity of the archive, it is the archive maintainers who have "
767 "control over these fields. The values in the <filename>debian/control</"
768 "filename> file are actually just hints."
771 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
772 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
775 "The archive maintainers keep track of the canonical sections and priorities "
776 "for packages in the <literal>override file</literal>. If there is a "
777 "disparity between the <literal>override file</literal> and the package's "
778 "fields as indicated in <filename>debian/control</filename>, then you will "
779 "receive an email noting the divergence when the package is installed into "
780 "the archive. You can either correct your <filename>debian/control</"
781 "filename> file for your next upload, or else you may wish to make a change "
782 "in the <literal>override file</literal>."
785 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
788 "To alter the actual section that a package is put in, you need to first make "
789 "sure that the <filename>debian/control</filename> file in your package is "
790 "accurate. Next, submit a bug against <systemitem role=\"package\">ftp."
791 "debian.org</systemitem> requesting that the section or priority for your "
792 "package be changed from the old section or priority to the new one. Use a "
793 "Subject like <literal>override: PACKAGE1:section/priority, [...], PACKAGEX:"
794 "section/priority</literal>, and include the justification for the change in "
795 "the body of the bug report."
798 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
799 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
802 "For more information about <literal>override files</literal>, see "
803 "<citerefentry> <refentrytitle>dpkg-scanpackages</refentrytitle> "
804 "<manvolnum>1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> and <ulink url=\"&url-bts-devel;"
805 "#maintincorrect\"></ulink>."
808 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
809 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
812 "Note that the <literal>Section</literal> field describes both the section as "
813 "well as the subsection, which are described in <xref linkend=\"archive-"
814 "sections\"/> . If the section is main, it should be omitted. The list of "
815 "allowable subsections can be found in <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;ch-"
816 "archive.html#s-subsections\"></ulink>."
819 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
820 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
822 msgid "Handling bugs"
825 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
826 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
829 "Every developer has to be able to work with the Debian <ulink url=\"&url-bts;"
830 "\">bug tracking system</ulink>. This includes knowing how to file bug "
831 "reports properly (see <xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/> ), how to update them "
832 "and reorder them, and how to process and close them."
835 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
836 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
839 "The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink url=\"&url-"
840 "bts-devel;\">BTS documentation for developers</ulink>. This includes "
841 "closing bugs, sending followup messages, assigning severities and tags, "
842 "marking bugs as forwarded, and other issues."
845 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
846 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
849 "Operations such as reassigning bugs to other packages, merging separate bug "
850 "reports about the same issue, or reopening bugs when they are prematurely "
851 "closed, are handled using the so-called control mail server. All of the "
852 "commands available on this server are described in the <ulink url=\"&url-bts-"
853 "control;\">BTS control server documentation</ulink>."
856 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
857 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
859 msgid "Monitoring bugs"
862 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
863 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
866 "If you want to be a good maintainer, you should periodically check the "
867 "<ulink url=\"&url-bts;\">Debian bug tracking system (BTS)</ulink> for your "
868 "packages. The BTS contains all the open bugs against your packages. You "
869 "can check them by browsing this page: <literal>http://&bugs-host;/"
870 "<replaceable>yourlogin</replaceable>@debian.org</literal>."
873 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
874 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
877 "Maintainers interact with the BTS via email addresses at <literal>&bugs-host;"
878 "</literal>. Documentation on available commands can be found at <ulink url="
879 "\"&url-bts;\"></ulink>, or, if you have installed the <systemitem role="
880 "\"package\">doc-debian</systemitem> package, you can look at the local files "
884 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
885 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
888 "Some find it useful to get periodic reports on open bugs. You can add a "
889 "cron job such as the following if you want to get a weekly email outlining "
890 "all the open bugs against your packages:"
893 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
897 "# ask for weekly reports of bugs in my packages\n"
898 "&cron-bug-report;\n"
901 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
902 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
905 "Replace <replaceable>address</replaceable> with your official Debian "
906 "maintainer address."
909 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
910 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
912 msgid "Responding to bugs"
915 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
916 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
919 "When responding to bugs, make sure that any discussion you have about bugs "
920 "is sent both to the original submitter of the bug, and to the bug itself (e."
921 "g., <email>123@&bugs-host;</email>). If you're writing a new mail and you "
922 "don't remember the submitter email address, you can use the <email>123-"
923 "submitter@&bugs-host;</email> email to contact the submitter <emphasis>and</"
924 "emphasis> to record your mail within the bug log (that means you don't need "
925 "to send a copy of the mail to <email>123@&bugs-host;</email>)."
928 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
929 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
932 "If you get a bug which mentions FTBFS, this means Fails to build from "
933 "source. Porters frequently use this acronym."
936 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
937 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
940 "Once you've dealt with a bug report (e.g. fixed it), mark it as "
941 "<literal>done</literal> (close it) by sending an explanation message to "
942 "<email>123-done@&bugs-host;</email>. If you're fixing a bug by changing and "
943 "uploading the package, you can automate bug closing as described in <xref "
944 "linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/> ."
947 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
948 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
951 "You should <emphasis>never</emphasis> close bugs via the bug server "
952 "<literal>close</literal> command sent to &email-bts-control;. If you do so, "
953 "the original submitter will not receive any information about why the bug "
957 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
958 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
960 msgid "Bug housekeeping"
963 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
964 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
967 "As a package maintainer, you will often find bugs in other packages or have "
968 "bugs reported against your packages which are actually bugs in other "
969 "packages. The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink "
970 "url=\"&url-bts-devel;\">BTS documentation for Debian developers</ulink>. "
971 "Operations such as reassigning, merging, and tagging bug reports are "
972 "described in the <ulink url=\"&url-bts-control;\">BTS control server "
973 "documentation</ulink>. This section contains some guidelines for managing "
974 "your own bugs, based on the collective Debian developer experience."
977 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
978 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
981 "Filing bugs for problems that you find in other packages is one of the civic "
982 "obligations of maintainership, see <xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/> for "
983 "details. However, handling the bugs in your own packages is even more "
987 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
988 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
990 msgid "Here's a list of steps that you may follow to handle a bug report:"
993 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
994 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
997 "Decide whether the report corresponds to a real bug or not. Sometimes users "
998 "are just calling a program in the wrong way because they haven't read the "
999 "documentation. If you diagnose this, just close the bug with enough "
1000 "information to let the user correct their problem (give pointers to the good "
1001 "documentation and so on). If the same report comes up again and again you "
1002 "may ask yourself if the documentation is good enough or if the program "
1003 "shouldn't detect its misuse in order to give an informative error message. "
1004 "This is an issue that may need to be brought up with the upstream author."
1007 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1008 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1011 "If the bug submitter disagrees with your decision to close the bug, they may "
1012 "reopen it until you find an agreement on how to handle it. If you don't "
1013 "find any, you may want to tag the bug <literal>wontfix</literal> to let "
1014 "people know that the bug exists but that it won't be corrected. If this "
1015 "situation is unacceptable, you (or the submitter) may want to require a "
1016 "decision of the technical committee by reassigning the bug to <systemitem "
1017 "role=\"package\">tech-ctte</systemitem> (you may use the clone command of "
1018 "the BTS if you wish to keep it reported against your package). Before doing "
1019 "so, please read the <ulink url=\"&url-tech-ctte;\">recommended procedure</"
1023 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1024 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1027 "If the bug is real but it's caused by another package, just reassign the bug "
1028 "to the right package. If you don't know which package it should be "
1029 "reassigned to, you should ask for help on <link linkend=\"irc-channels"
1030 "\">IRC</link> or on &email-debian-devel;. Please inform the maintainer(s) "
1031 "of the package you reassign the bug to, for example by Cc:ing the message "
1032 "that does the reassign to <email>packagename@packages.debian.org</email> and "
1033 "explaining your reasons in that mail. Please note that a simple reassignment "
1034 "is <emphasis>not</emphasis> e-mailed to the maintainers of the package being "
1035 "reassigned to, so they won't know about it until they look at a bug overview "
1036 "for their packages."
1039 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1040 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1043 "If the bug affects the operation of your package, please consider cloning "
1044 "the bug and reassigning the clone to the package that really causes the "
1045 "behavior. Otherwise, the bug will not be shown in your package's bug list, "
1046 "possibly causing users to report the same bug over and over again. You "
1047 "should block \"your\" bug with the reassigned, cloned bug to document the "
1051 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1052 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1055 "Sometimes you also have to adjust the severity of the bug so that it matches "
1056 "our definition of the severity. That's because people tend to inflate the "
1057 "severity of bugs to make sure their bugs are fixed quickly. Some bugs may "
1058 "even be dropped to wishlist severity when the requested change is just "
1062 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1063 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1066 "If the bug is real but the same problem has already been reported by someone "
1067 "else, then the two relevant bug reports should be merged into one using the "
1068 "merge command of the BTS. In this way, when the bug is fixed, all of the "
1069 "submitters will be informed of this. (Note, however, that emails sent to "
1070 "one bug report's submitter won't automatically be sent to the other report's "
1071 "submitter.) For more details on the technicalities of the merge command and "
1072 "its relative, the unmerge command, see the BTS control server documentation."
1075 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1076 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1079 "The bug submitter may have forgotten to provide some information, in which "
1080 "case you have to ask them for the required information. You may use the "
1081 "<literal>moreinfo</literal> tag to mark the bug as such. Moreover if you "
1082 "can't reproduce the bug, you tag it <literal>unreproducible</literal>. "
1083 "Anyone who can reproduce the bug is then invited to provide more information "
1084 "on how to reproduce it. After a few months, if this information has not "
1085 "been sent by someone, the bug may be closed."
1088 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1089 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1092 "If the bug is related to the packaging, you just fix it. If you are not "
1093 "able to fix it yourself, then tag the bug as <literal>help</literal>. You "
1094 "can also ask for help on &email-debian-devel; or &email-debian-qa;. If it's "
1095 "an upstream problem, you have to forward it to the upstream author. "
1096 "Forwarding a bug is not enough, you have to check at each release if the bug "
1097 "has been fixed or not. If it has, you just close it, otherwise you have to "
1098 "remind the author about it. If you have the required skills you can prepare "
1099 "a patch that fixes the bug and send it to the author at the same time. Make "
1100 "sure to send the patch to the BTS and to tag the bug as <literal>patch</"
1104 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1105 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1108 "If you have fixed a bug in your local copy, or if a fix has been committed "
1109 "to the CVS repository, you may tag the bug as <literal>pending</literal> to "
1110 "let people know that the bug is corrected and that it will be closed with "
1111 "the next upload (add the <literal>closes:</literal> in the "
1112 "<filename>changelog</filename>). This is particularly useful if you are "
1113 "several developers working on the same package."
1116 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1117 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1120 "Once a corrected package is available in the archive, the bug should be "
1121 "closed indicating the version in which it was fixed. This can be done "
1122 "automatically, read <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/>."
1125 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1126 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1128 msgid "When bugs are closed by new uploads"
1131 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1132 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1135 "As bugs and problems are fixed in your packages, it is your responsibility "
1136 "as the package maintainer to close these bugs. However, you should not "
1137 "close a bug until the package which fixes the bug has been accepted into the "
1138 "Debian archive. Therefore, once you get notification that your updated "
1139 "package has been installed into the archive, you can and should close the "
1140 "bug in the BTS. Also, the bug should be closed with the correct version."
1143 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1144 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1147 "However, it's possible to avoid having to manually close bugs after the "
1148 "upload — just list the fixed bugs in your <filename>debian/changelog</"
1149 "filename> file, following a certain syntax, and the archive maintenance "
1150 "software will close the bugs for you. For example:"
1153 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
1157 "acme-cannon (3.1415) unstable; urgency=low\n"
1159 " * Frobbed with options (closes: Bug#98339)\n"
1160 " * Added safety to prevent operator dismemberment, closes: bug#98765,\n"
1161 " bug#98713, #98714.\n"
1162 " * Added man page. Closes: #98725.\n"
1165 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1166 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1169 "Technically speaking, the following Perl regular expression describes how "
1170 "bug closing changelogs are identified:"
1173 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
1176 msgid " /closes:\\s*(?:bug)?\\#\\s*\\d+(?:,\\s*(?:bug)?\\#\\s*\\d+)*/ig\n"
1179 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1180 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1183 "We prefer the <literal>closes: #<replaceable>XXX</replaceable></literal> "
1184 "syntax, as it is the most concise entry and the easiest to integrate with "
1185 "the text of the <filename>changelog</filename>. Unless specified different "
1186 "by the <replaceable>-v</replaceable>-switch to <command>dpkg-buildpackage</"
1187 "command>, only the bugs closed in the most recent changelog entry are closed "
1188 "(basically, exactly the bugs mentioned in the changelog-part in the "
1189 "<filename>.changes</filename> file are closed)."
1192 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1193 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1196 "Historically, uploads identified as <link linkend=\"nmu\">Non-maintainer "
1197 "upload (NMU)</link> were tagged <literal>fixed</literal> instead of being "
1198 "closed, but that practice was ceased with the advent of version-tracking. "
1199 "The same applied to the tag <literal>fixed-in-experimental</literal>."
1202 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1203 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1206 "If you happen to mistype a bug number or forget a bug in the changelog "
1207 "entries, don't hesitate to undo any damage the error caused. To reopen "
1208 "wrongly closed bugs, send a <literal>reopen <replaceable>XXX</replaceable></"
1209 "literal> command to the bug tracking system's control address, &email-bts-"
1210 "control;. To close any remaining bugs that were fixed by your upload, email "
1211 "the <filename>.changes</filename> file to <email>XXX-done@&bugs-host;</"
1212 "email>, where <replaceable>XXX</replaceable> is the bug number, and put "
1213 "Version: YYY and an empty line as the first two lines of the body of the "
1214 "email, where <replaceable>YYY</replaceable> is the first version where the "
1215 "bug has been fixed."
1218 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1219 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1222 "Bear in mind that it is not obligatory to close bugs using the changelog as "
1223 "described above. If you simply want to close bugs that don't have anything "
1224 "to do with an upload you made, do it by emailing an explanation to "
1225 "<email>XXX-done@&bugs-host;</email>. Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">not</"
1226 "emphasis> close bugs in the changelog entry of a version if the changes in "
1227 "that version of the package don't have any bearing on the bug."
1230 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1231 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1234 "For general information on how to write your changelog entries, see <xref "
1235 "linkend=\"bpp-debian-changelog\"/> ."
1238 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1239 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1241 msgid "Handling security-related bugs"
1244 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1245 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1248 "Due to their sensitive nature, security-related bugs must be handled "
1249 "carefully. The Debian Security Team exists to coordinate this activity, "
1250 "keeping track of outstanding security problems, helping maintainers with "
1251 "security problems or fixing them themselves, sending security advisories, "
1252 "and maintaining <literal>security.debian.org</literal>."
1255 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1256 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1259 "When you become aware of a security-related bug in a Debian package, whether "
1260 "or not you are the maintainer, collect pertinent information about the "
1261 "problem, and promptly contact the security team at &email-security-team; as "
1262 "soon as possible. <emphasis role=\"strong\">DO NOT UPLOAD</emphasis> any "
1263 "packages for <literal>stable</literal> without contacting the team. Useful "
1264 "information includes, for example:"
1267 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1268 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1271 "Which versions of the package are known to be affected by the bug. Check "
1272 "each version that is present in a supported Debian release, as well as "
1273 "<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>unstable</literal>."
1276 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1277 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1280 "The nature of the fix, if any is available (patches are especially helpful)"
1283 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1284 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1287 "Any fixed packages that you have prepared yourself (send only the <literal>."
1288 "diff.gz</literal> and <literal>.dsc</literal> files and read <xref linkend="
1289 "\"bug-security-building\"/> first)"
1292 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1293 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1296 "Any assistance you can provide to help with testing (exploits, regression "
1300 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1301 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1304 "Any information needed for the advisory (see <xref linkend=\"bug-security-"
1308 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1309 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1312 "As the maintainer of the package, you have the responsibility to maintain "
1313 "it, even in the stable release. You are in the best position to evaluate "
1314 "patches and test updated packages, so please see the sections below on how "
1315 "to prepare packages for the Security Team to handle."
1318 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1319 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1321 msgid "The Security Tracker"
1324 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1327 "The security team maintains a central database, the <ulink url=\"http://"
1328 "security-tracker.debian.org/\">Debian Security Tracker</ulink>. This "
1329 "contains all public information that is known about security issues: which "
1330 "packages and versions are affected or fixed, and thus whether stable, "
1331 "testing and/or unstable are vulnerable. Information that is still "
1332 "confidential is not added to the tracker."
1335 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1336 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1339 "You can search it for a specific issue, but also on package name. Look for "
1340 "your package to see which issues are still open. If you can, please provide "
1341 "more information about those issues, or help to address them in your "
1342 "package. Instructions are on the tracker web pages."
1345 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1346 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1348 msgid "Confidentiality"
1351 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1352 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1355 "Unlike most other activities within Debian, information about security "
1356 "issues must sometimes be kept private for a time. This allows software "
1357 "distributors to coordinate their disclosure in order to minimize their "
1358 "users' exposure. Whether this is the case depends on the nature of the "
1359 "problem and corresponding fix, and whether it is already a matter of public "
1363 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1364 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1366 msgid "There are several ways developers can learn of a security problem:"
1369 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1370 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1372 msgid "they notice it on a public forum (mailing list, web site, etc.)"
1375 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1376 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1378 msgid "someone files a bug report"
1381 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1382 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1384 msgid "someone informs them via private email"
1387 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1388 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1391 "In the first two cases, the information is public and it is important to "
1392 "have a fix as soon as possible. In the last case, however, it might not be "
1393 "public information. In that case there are a few possible options for "
1394 "dealing with the problem:"
1397 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1398 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1401 "If the security exposure is minor, there is sometimes no need to keep the "
1402 "problem a secret and a fix should be made and released."
1405 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1406 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1409 "If the problem is severe, it is preferable to share the information with "
1410 "other vendors and coordinate a release. The security team keeps in contact "
1411 "with the various organizations and individuals and can take care of that."
1414 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1415 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1418 "In all cases if the person who reports the problem asks that it not be "
1419 "disclosed, such requests should be honored, with the obvious exception of "
1420 "informing the security team in order that a fix may be produced for a stable "
1421 "release of Debian. When sending confidential information to the security "
1422 "team, be sure to mention this fact."
1425 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1426 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1429 "Please note that if secrecy is needed you may not upload a fix to "
1430 "<literal>unstable</literal> (or anywhere else, such as a public CVS "
1431 "repository). It is not sufficient to obfuscate the details of the change, "
1432 "as the code itself is public, and can (and will) be examined by the general "
1436 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1437 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1440 "There are two reasons for releasing information even though secrecy is "
1441 "requested: the problem has been known for a while, or the problem or exploit "
1442 "has become public."
1445 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1446 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1449 "The Security Team has a PGP-key to enable encrypted communication about "
1450 "sensitive issues. See the <ulink url=\"http://www.debian.org/security/faq.en."
1451 "html#contact\">Security Team FAQ</ulink> for details."
1454 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1455 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1457 msgid "Security Advisories"
1460 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1461 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1464 "Security advisories are only issued for the current, released stable "
1465 "distribution, and <emphasis>not</emphasis> for <literal>testing</literal> or "
1466 "<literal>unstable</literal>. When released, advisories are sent to the "
1467 "&email-debian-security-announce; mailing list and posted on <ulink url="
1468 "\"&url-debian-security-advisories;\">the security web page</ulink>. "
1469 "Security advisories are written and posted by the security team. However "
1470 "they certainly do not mind if a maintainer can supply some of the "
1471 "information for them, or write part of the text. Information that should be "
1472 "in an advisory includes:"
1475 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1476 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1478 msgid "A description of the problem and its scope, including:"
1481 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1482 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1484 msgid "The type of problem (privilege escalation, denial of service, etc.)"
1487 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1488 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1490 msgid "What privileges may be gained, and by whom (if any)"
1493 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1494 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1496 msgid "How it can be exploited"
1499 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1500 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1502 msgid "Whether it is remotely or locally exploitable"
1505 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1506 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1508 msgid "How the problem was fixed"
1511 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1512 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1514 msgid "This information allows users to assess the threat to their systems."
1517 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1518 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1520 msgid "Version numbers of affected packages"
1523 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1524 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1526 msgid "Version numbers of fixed packages"
1529 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1530 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1533 "Information on where to obtain the updated packages (usually from the Debian "
1537 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1538 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1541 "References to upstream advisories, <ulink url=\"http://cve.mitre.org\">CVE</"
1542 "ulink> identifiers, and any other information useful in cross-referencing "
1546 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1547 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1549 msgid "Preparing packages to address security issues"
1552 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1553 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1556 "One way that you can assist the security team in their duties is to provide "
1557 "them with fixed packages suitable for a security advisory for the stable "
1561 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1562 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1565 "When an update is made to the stable release, care must be taken to avoid "
1566 "changing system behavior or introducing new bugs. In order to do this, make "
1567 "as few changes as possible to fix the bug. Users and administrators rely on "
1568 "the exact behavior of a release once it is made, so any change that is made "
1569 "might break someone's system. This is especially true of libraries: make "
1570 "sure you never change the API or ABI, no matter how small the change."
1573 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1574 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1577 "This means that moving to a new upstream version is not a good solution. "
1578 "Instead, the relevant changes should be back-ported to the version present "
1579 "in the current stable Debian release. Generally, upstream maintainers are "
1580 "willing to help if needed. If not, the Debian security team may be able to "
1584 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1585 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1588 "In some cases, it is not possible to back-port a security fix, for example "
1589 "when large amounts of source code need to be modified or rewritten. If this "
1590 "happens, it may be necessary to move to a new upstream version. However, "
1591 "this is only done in extreme situations, and you must always coordinate that "
1592 "with the security team beforehand."
1595 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1596 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1599 "Related to this is another important guideline: always test your changes. "
1600 "If you have an exploit available, try it and see if it indeed succeeds on "
1601 "the unpatched package and fails on the fixed package. Test other, normal "
1602 "actions as well, as sometimes a security fix can break seemingly unrelated "
1603 "features in subtle ways."
1606 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1607 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1610 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> include any changes in your "
1611 "package which are not directly related to fixing the vulnerability. These "
1612 "will only need to be reverted, and this wastes time. If there are other "
1613 "bugs in your package that you would like to fix, make an upload to proposed-"
1614 "updates in the usual way, after the security advisory is issued. The "
1615 "security update mechanism is not a means for introducing changes to your "
1616 "package which would otherwise be rejected from the stable release, so please "
1617 "do not attempt to do this."
1620 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1621 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1624 "Review and test your changes as much as possible. Check the differences "
1625 "from the previous version repeatedly (<command>interdiff</command> from the "
1626 "<systemitem role=\"package\">patchutils</systemitem> package and "
1627 "<command>debdiff</command> from <systemitem role=\"package\">devscripts</"
1628 "systemitem> are useful tools for this, see <xref linkend=\"debdiff\"/> )."
1631 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1632 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1634 msgid "Be sure to verify the following items:"
1637 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1638 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1641 "<emphasis role=\"strong\">Target the right distribution</emphasis> in your "
1642 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>. For <literal>stable</literal> this "
1643 "is <literal>stable-security</literal> and for testing this is "
1644 "<literal>testing-security</literal>, and for the previous stable release, "
1645 "this is <literal>oldstable-security</literal>. Do not target "
1646 "<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal> "
1647 "or <literal>stable</literal>!"
1650 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1651 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1654 "The upload should have <emphasis role=\"strong\">urgency=high</emphasis>."
1657 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1658 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1661 "Make descriptive, meaningful changelog entries. Others will rely on them to "
1662 "determine whether a particular bug was fixed. Add <literal>closes:</"
1663 "literal> statements for any <emphasis role=\"strong\">Debian bugs</emphasis> "
1664 "filed. Always include an external reference, preferably a <emphasis role="
1665 "\"strong\">CVE identifier</emphasis>, so that it can be cross-referenced. "
1666 "However, if a CVE identifier has not yet been assigned, do not wait for it "
1667 "but continue the process. The identifier can be cross-referenced later."
1670 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1671 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1674 "Make sure the <emphasis role=\"strong\">version number</emphasis> is "
1675 "proper. It must be greater than the current package, but less than package "
1676 "versions in later distributions. If in doubt, test it with <literal>dpkg --"
1677 "compare-versions</literal>. Be careful not to re-use a version number that "
1678 "you have already used for a previous upload, or one that conflicts with a "
1679 "binNMU. The convention is to append <literal>+</"
1680 "literal><replaceable>codename</replaceable><literal>1</literal>, e.g. "
1681 "<literal>1:2.4.3-4+etch1</literal>, of course increasing 1 for any "
1682 "subsequent uploads."
1685 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1686 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1689 "Unless the upstream source has been uploaded to <literal>security.debian.org "
1690 "</literal> before (by a previous security update), build the upload "
1691 "<emphasis role=\"strong\">with full upstream source</emphasis> "
1692 "(<literal>dpkg-buildpackage -sa</literal>). If there has been a previous "
1693 "upload to <literal>security.debian.org</literal> with the same upstream "
1694 "version, you may upload without upstream source (<literal> dpkg-buildpackage "
1698 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1701 "Be sure to use the <emphasis role=\"strong\">exact same <filename>*.orig.tar."
1702 "{gz,bz2}</filename></emphasis> as used in the normal archive, otherwise it "
1703 "is not possible to move the security fix into the main archives later."
1706 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1707 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1710 "Build the package on a <emphasis role=\"strong\">clean system</emphasis> "
1711 "which only has packages installed from the distribution you are building "
1712 "for. If you do not have such a system yourself, you can use a debian.org "
1713 "machine (see <xref linkend=\"server-machines\"/> ) or setup a chroot (see "
1714 "<xref linkend=\"pbuilder\"/> and <xref linkend=\"debootstrap\"/> )."
1717 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1718 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1720 msgid "Uploading the fixed package"
1723 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1724 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1727 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload a package to the security "
1728 "upload queue (<literal>oldstable-security</literal>, <literal>stable-"
1729 "security </literal>, etc.) without prior authorization from the security "
1730 "team. If the package does not exactly meet the team's requirements, it will "
1731 "cause many problems and delays in dealing with the unwanted upload."
1734 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1735 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1738 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload your fix to <literal> "
1739 "proposed-updates</literal> without coordinating with the security team. "
1740 "Packages from <literal>security.debian.org</literal> will be copied into the "
1741 "<literal>proposed-updates</literal> directory automatically. If a package "
1742 "with the same or a higher version number is already installed into the "
1743 "archive, the security update will be rejected by the archive system. That "
1744 "way, the stable distribution will end up without a security update for this "
1748 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1749 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1752 "Once you have created and tested the new package and it has been approved by "
1753 "the security team, it needs to be uploaded so that it can be installed in "
1754 "the archives. For security uploads, the place to upload to is "
1755 "<literal>ftp://security-master.debian.org/pub/SecurityUploadQueue/</"
1759 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1760 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1763 "Once an upload to the security queue has been accepted, the package will "
1764 "automatically be built for all architectures and stored for verification by "
1765 "the security team."
1768 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1769 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1772 "Uploads which are waiting for acceptance or verification are only accessible "
1773 "by the security team. This is necessary since there might be fixes for "
1774 "security problems that cannot be disclosed yet."
1777 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1778 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1781 "If a member of the security team accepts a package, it will be installed on "
1782 "<literal>security.debian.org</literal> as well as proposed for the proper "
1783 "<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal> "
1784 "on <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>."
1787 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
1788 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
1790 msgid "Moving, removing, renaming, adopting, and orphaning packages"
1793 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
1794 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
1797 "Some archive manipulation operations are not automated in the Debian upload "
1798 "process. These procedures should be manually followed by maintainers. This "
1799 "chapter gives guidelines on what to do in these cases."
1802 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1803 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1805 msgid "Moving packages"
1808 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
1809 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
1812 "See the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for "
1813 "guidelines on what section a package belongs in."
1816 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1819 "Sometimes a package will change its section. For instance, a package from "
1820 "the `non-free' section might be GPL'd in a later version, in which case the "
1821 "package should be moved to `main' or `contrib'.<placeholder type=\"footnote"
1825 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1828 "If you need to change the section for one of your packages, change the "
1829 "package control information to place the package in the desired section, and "
1830 "re-upload the package (see the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian "
1831 "Policy Manual</ulink> for details). You must ensure that you include the "
1832 "<filename>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2}</filename> in your upload (even if you are not "
1833 "uploading a new upstream version), or it will not appear in the new section "
1834 "together with the rest of the package. If your new section is valid, it "
1835 "will be moved automatically. If it does not, then contact the ftpmasters in "
1836 "order to understand what happened."
1839 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1840 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1843 "If, on the other hand, you need to change the <literal>subsection</literal> "
1844 "of one of your packages (e.g., ``devel'', ``admin''), the procedure is "
1845 "slightly different. Correct the subsection as found in the control file of "
1846 "the package, and re-upload that. Also, you'll need to get the override file "
1847 "updated, as described in <xref linkend=\"override-file\"/> ."
1850 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1851 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1853 msgid "Removing packages"
1856 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1857 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1860 "If for some reason you want to completely remove a package (say, if it is an "
1861 "old compatibility library which is no longer required), you need to file a "
1862 "bug against <literal>ftp.debian.org</literal> asking that the package be "
1863 "removed; as all bugs, this bug should normally have normal severity. The "
1864 "bug title should be in the form <literal>RM: <replaceable>package </"
1865 "replaceable> <replaceable>[architecture list]</replaceable> -- "
1866 "<replaceable>reason</replaceable></literal>, where <replaceable>package</"
1867 "replaceable> is the package to be removed and <replaceable>reason</"
1868 "replaceable> is a short summary of the reason for the removal request. "
1869 "<replaceable>[architecture list]</replaceable> is optional and only needed "
1870 "if the removal request only applies to some architectures, not all. Note "
1871 "that the <command>reportbug</command> will create a title conforming to "
1872 "these rules when you use it to report a bug against the <literal> ftp.debian."
1873 "org</literal> pseudo-package."
1876 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1877 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1880 "If you want to remove a package you maintain, you should note this in the "
1881 "bug title by prepending <literal>ROM</literal> (Request Of Maintainer). "
1882 "There are several other standard acronyms used in the reasoning for a "
1883 "package removal, see <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/removals.html\"></"
1884 "ulink> for a complete list. That page also provides a convenient overview of "
1885 "pending removal requests."
1888 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1889 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1892 "Note that removals can only be done for the <literal>unstable </literal>, "
1893 "<literal>experimental</literal> and <literal>stable </literal> "
1894 "distribution. Packages are not removed from <literal>testing</literal> "
1895 "directly. Rather, they will be removed automatically after the package has "
1896 "been removed from <literal>unstable</literal> and no package in "
1897 "<literal>testing </literal> depends on it."
1900 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1901 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1904 "There is one exception when an explicit removal request is not necessary: If "
1905 "a (source or binary) package is an orphan, it will be removed semi-"
1906 "automatically. For a binary-package, this means if there is no longer any "
1907 "source package producing this binary package; if the binary package is just "
1908 "no longer produced on some architectures, a removal request is still "
1909 "necessary. For a source-package, this means that all binary packages it "
1910 "refers to have been taken over by another source package."
1913 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1914 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1917 "In your removal request, you have to detail the reasons justifying the "
1918 "request. This is to avoid unwanted removals and to keep a trace of why a "
1919 "package has been removed. For example, you can provide the name of the "
1920 "package that supersedes the one to be removed."
1923 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1924 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1927 "Usually you only ask for the removal of a package maintained by yourself. "
1928 "If you want to remove another package, you have to get the approval of its "
1929 "maintainer. Should the package be orphaned and thus have no maintainer, you "
1930 "should first discuss the removal request on &email-debian-qa;. If there is a "
1931 "consensus that the package should be removed, you should reassign and "
1932 "retitle the <literal>O:</literal> bug filed against the <literal>wnpp</"
1933 "literal> package instead of filing a new bug as removal request."
1936 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1937 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1940 "Further information relating to these and other package removal related "
1941 "topics may be found at <ulink url=\"http://wiki.debian.org/ftpmaster_Removals"
1942 "\"></ulink> and <ulink url=\"&url-debian-qa;howto-remove.html\"></ulink>."
1945 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1946 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1949 "If in doubt concerning whether a package is disposable, email &email-debian-"
1950 "devel; asking for opinions. Also of interest is the <command>apt-cache</"
1951 "command> program from the <systemitem role=\"package\">apt</systemitem> "
1952 "package. When invoked as <literal>apt-cache showpkg <replaceable>package</"
1953 "replaceable></literal>, the program will show details for "
1954 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>, including reverse depends. Other useful "
1955 "programs include <literal>apt-cache rdepends</literal>, <command>apt-"
1956 "rdepends</command>, <command>build-rdeps</command> (in the <systemitem role="
1957 "\"package\">devscripts</systemitem> package) and <command>grep-dctrl</"
1958 "command>. Removal of orphaned packages is discussed on &email-debian-qa;."
1961 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1964 "Once the package has been removed, the package's bugs should be handled. "
1965 "They should either be reassigned to another package in the case where the "
1966 "actual code has evolved into another package (e.g. <literal>libfoo12</"
1967 "literal> was removed because <literal>libfoo13</literal> supersedes it) or "
1968 "closed if the software is simply no longer part of Debian. When closing the "
1969 "bugs, to avoid marking the bugs as fixed in versions of the packages in "
1970 "previous Debian releases, they should be marked as fixed in the version "
1971 "<literal><most-recent-version-ever-in-Debian>+rm</literal>."
1974 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1975 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1977 msgid "Removing packages from <filename>Incoming</filename>"
1980 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1981 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1984 "In the past, it was possible to remove packages from <filename>incoming</"
1985 "filename>. However, with the introduction of the new incoming system, this "
1986 "is no longer possible. Instead, you have to upload a new revision of your "
1987 "package with a higher version than the package you want to replace. Both "
1988 "versions will be installed in the archive but only the higher version will "
1989 "actually be available in <literal>unstable</literal> since the previous "
1990 "version will immediately be replaced by the higher. However, if you do "
1991 "proper testing of your packages, the need to replace a package should not "
1992 "occur too often anyway."
1995 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1996 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1998 msgid "Replacing or renaming packages"
2001 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2002 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2005 "When the upstream maintainers for one of your packages chose to rename their "
2006 "software (or you made a mistake naming your package), you should follow a "
2007 "two-step process to rename it. In the first step, change the "
2008 "<filename>debian/control</filename> file to reflect the new name and to "
2009 "replace, provide and conflict with the obsolete package name (see the <ulink "
2010 "url=\"&url-debian-policy;\"> Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for details). "
2011 "Please note that you should only add a <literal>Provides</literal> relation "
2012 "if all packages depending on the obsolete package name continue to work "
2013 "after the renaming. Once you've uploaded the package and the package has "
2014 "moved into the archive, file a bug against <literal> ftp.debian.org</"
2015 "literal> asking to remove the package with the obsolete name (see <xref "
2016 "linkend=\"removing-pkgs\"/>). Do not forget to properly reassign the "
2017 "package's bugs at the same time."
2020 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2023 "At other times, you may make a mistake in constructing your package and wish "
2024 "to replace it. The only way to do this is to increase the version number "
2025 "and upload a new version. The old version will be expired in the usual "
2026 "manner. Note that this applies to each part of your package, including the "
2027 "sources: if you wish to replace the upstream source tarball of your package, "
2028 "you will need to upload it with a different version. An easy possibility is "
2029 "to replace <filename>foo_1.00.orig.tar.gz</filename> with <filename>foo_1.00"
2030 "+0.orig.tar.gz</filename> or <filename>foo_1.00.orig.tar.bz2</filename>. "
2031 "This restriction gives each file on the ftp site a unique name, which helps "
2032 "to ensure consistency across the mirror network."
2035 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2036 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2038 msgid "Orphaning a package"
2041 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2042 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2045 "If you can no longer maintain a package, you need to inform others, and see "
2046 "that the package is marked as orphaned. You should set the package "
2047 "maintainer to <literal>Debian QA Group &orphan-address;</literal> and submit "
2048 "a bug report against the pseudo package <systemitem role=\"package\">wnpp</"
2049 "systemitem>. The bug report should be titled <literal>O: "
2050 "<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</"
2051 "replaceable></literal> indicating that the package is now orphaned. The "
2052 "severity of the bug should be set to <literal>normal</literal>; if the "
2053 "package has a priority of standard or higher, it should be set to "
2054 "important. If you feel it's necessary, send a copy to &email-debian-devel; "
2055 "by putting the address in the X-Debbugs-CC: header of the message (no, don't "
2056 "use CC:, because that way the message's subject won't indicate the bug "
2060 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2061 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2064 "If you just intend to give the package away, but you can keep maintainership "
2065 "for the moment, then you should instead submit a bug against <systemitem "
2066 "role=\"package\">wnpp</systemitem> and title it <literal>RFA: "
2067 "<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</"
2068 "replaceable></literal>. <literal>RFA</literal> stands for <literal>Request "
2069 "For Adoption</literal>."
2072 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2073 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2076 "More information is on the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">WNPP web pages</ulink>."
2079 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2080 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2082 msgid "Adopting a package"
2085 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2086 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2089 "A list of packages in need of a new maintainer is available in the <ulink "
2090 "url=\"&url-wnpp;\">Work-Needing and Prospective Packages list (WNPP)</"
2091 "ulink>. If you wish to take over maintenance of any of the packages listed "
2092 "in the WNPP, please take a look at the aforementioned page for information "
2096 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2097 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2100 "It is not OK to simply take over a package that you feel is neglected — that "
2101 "would be package hijacking. You can, of course, contact the current "
2102 "maintainer and ask them if you may take over the package. If you have "
2103 "reason to believe a maintainer has gone AWOL (absent without leave), see "
2104 "<xref linkend=\"mia-qa\"/> ."
2107 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2108 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2111 "Generally, you may not take over the package without the assent of the "
2112 "current maintainer. Even if they ignore you, that is still not grounds to "
2113 "take over a package. Complaints about maintainers should be brought up on "
2114 "the developers' mailing list. If the discussion doesn't end with a positive "
2115 "conclusion, and the issue is of a technical nature, consider bringing it to "
2116 "the attention of the technical committee (see the <ulink url=\"&url-tech-"
2117 "ctte;\">technical committee web page</ulink> for more information)."
2120 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2121 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2124 "If you take over an old package, you probably want to be listed as the "
2125 "package's official maintainer in the bug system. This will happen "
2126 "automatically once you upload a new version with an updated "
2127 "<literal>Maintainer:</literal> field, although it can take a few hours after "
2128 "the upload is done. If you do not expect to upload a new version for a "
2129 "while, you can use <xref linkend=\"pkg-tracking-system\"/> to get the bug "
2130 "reports. However, make sure that the old maintainer has no problem with the "
2131 "fact that they will continue to receive the bugs during that time."
2134 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2135 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2137 msgid "Porting and being ported"
2140 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2141 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2144 "Debian supports an ever-increasing number of architectures. Even if you are "
2145 "not a porter, and you don't use any architecture but one, it is part of your "
2146 "duty as a maintainer to be aware of issues of portability. Therefore, even "
2147 "if you are not a porter, you should read most of this chapter."
2150 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2151 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2154 "Porting is the act of building Debian packages for architectures that are "
2155 "different from the original architecture of the package maintainer's binary "
2156 "package. It is a unique and essential activity. In fact, porters do most "
2157 "of the actual compiling of Debian packages. For instance, when a maintainer "
2158 "uploads a (portable) source packages with binaries for the <literal>i386 </"
2159 "literal> architecture, it will be built for each of the other architectures, "
2160 "amounting to &number-of-arches; more builds."
2163 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2164 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2166 msgid "Being kind to porters"
2169 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2170 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2173 "Porters have a difficult and unique task, since they are required to deal "
2174 "with a large volume of packages. Ideally, every source package should build "
2175 "right out of the box. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. This "
2176 "section contains a checklist of ``gotchas'' often committed by Debian "
2177 "maintainers — common problems which often stymie porters, and make their "
2178 "jobs unnecessarily difficult."
2181 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2182 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2185 "The first and most important thing is to respond quickly to bug or issues "
2186 "raised by porters. Please treat porters with courtesy, as if they were in "
2187 "fact co-maintainers of your package (which, in a way, they are). Please be "
2188 "tolerant of succinct or even unclear bug reports; do your best to hunt down "
2189 "whatever the problem is."
2192 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2193 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2196 "By far, most of the problems encountered by porters are caused by "
2197 "<emphasis>packaging bugs</emphasis> in the source packages. Here is a "
2198 "checklist of things you should check or be aware of."
2201 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2202 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2205 "Make sure that your <literal>Build-Depends</literal> and <literal>Build-"
2206 "Depends-Indep</literal> settings in <filename>debian/control</filename> are "
2207 "set properly. The best way to validate this is to use the <systemitem role="
2208 "\"package\">debootstrap</systemitem> package to create an <literal>unstable</"
2209 "literal> chroot environment (see <xref linkend=\"debootstrap\"/> ). Within "
2210 "that chrooted environment, install the <systemitem role=\"package\">build-"
2211 "essential</systemitem> package and any package dependencies mentioned in "
2212 "<literal>Build-Depends</literal> and/or <literal>Build-Depends-Indep</"
2213 "literal>. Finally, try building your package within that chrooted "
2214 "environment. These steps can be automated by the use of the "
2215 "<command>pbuilder</command> program which is provided by the package of the "
2216 "same name (see <xref linkend=\"pbuilder\"/> )."
2219 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2220 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2223 "If you can't set up a proper chroot, <command>dpkg-depcheck</command> may be "
2224 "of assistance (see <xref linkend=\"dpkg-depcheck\"/> )."
2227 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2228 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2231 "See the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for "
2232 "instructions on setting build dependencies."
2235 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2236 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2239 "Don't set architecture to a value other than <literal>all</literal> or "
2240 "<literal>any</literal> unless you really mean it. In too many cases, "
2241 "maintainers don't follow the instructions in the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-"
2242 "policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink>. Setting your architecture to only "
2243 "one architecture (such as <literal>i386</literal> or <literal>amd64</"
2244 "literal>) is usually incorrect."
2247 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2248 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2251 "Make sure your source package is correct. Do <literal>dpkg-source -x "
2252 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>.dsc</literal> to make sure your source "
2253 "package unpacks properly. Then, in there, try building your package from "
2254 "scratch with <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command>."
2257 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2258 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2261 "Make sure you don't ship your source package with the <filename>debian/"
2262 "files</filename> or <filename>debian/substvars</filename> files. They "
2263 "should be removed by the <literal>clean</literal> target of <filename>debian/"
2267 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2268 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2271 "Make sure you don't rely on locally installed or hacked configurations or "
2272 "programs. For instance, you should never be calling programs in <filename>/"
2273 "usr/local/bin</filename> or the like. Try not to rely on programs being "
2274 "setup in a special way. Try building your package on another machine, even "
2275 "if it's the same architecture."
2278 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2279 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2282 "Don't depend on the package you're building being installed already (a sub-"
2283 "case of the above issue). There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but "
2284 "be aware that any case like this needs manual bootstrapping and cannot be "
2285 "done by automated package builders."
2288 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2289 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2292 "Don't rely on the compiler being a certain version, if possible. If not, "
2293 "then make sure your build dependencies reflect the restrictions, although "
2294 "you are probably asking for trouble, since different architectures sometimes "
2295 "standardize on different compilers."
2298 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2299 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2302 "Make sure your debian/rules contains separate <literal>binary-arch</literal> "
2303 "and <literal>binary-indep</literal> targets, as the Debian Policy Manual "
2304 "requires. Make sure that both targets work independently, that is, that you "
2305 "can call the target without having called the other before. To test this, "
2306 "try to run <command>dpkg-buildpackage -B</command>."
2309 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2310 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2312 msgid "Guidelines for porter uploads"
2315 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2316 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2319 "If the package builds out of the box for the architecture to be ported to, "
2320 "you are in luck and your job is easy. This section applies to that case; it "
2321 "describes how to build and upload your binary package so that it is properly "
2322 "installed into the archive. If you do have to patch the package in order to "
2323 "get it to compile for the other architecture, you are actually doing a "
2324 "source NMU, so consult <xref linkend=\"nmu-guidelines\"/> instead."
2327 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2328 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2331 "For a porter upload, no changes are being made to the source. You do not "
2332 "need to touch any of the files in the source package. This includes "
2333 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>."
2336 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2337 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2340 "The way to invoke <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command> is as <literal>dpkg-"
2341 "buildpackage -B -m<replaceable>porter-email</replaceable></literal>. Of "
2342 "course, set <replaceable>porter-email</replaceable> to your email address. "
2343 "This will do a binary-only build of only the architecture-dependent portions "
2344 "of the package, using the <literal>binary-arch</literal> target in "
2345 "<filename>debian/rules </filename>."
2348 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2349 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2352 "If you are working on a Debian machine for your porting efforts and you need "
2353 "to sign your upload locally for its acceptance in the archive, you can run "
2354 "<command>debsign</command> on your <filename>.changes</filename> file to "
2355 "have it signed conveniently, or use the remote signing mode of <command>dpkg-"
2359 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2360 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2362 msgid "Recompilation or binary-only NMU"
2365 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2366 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2369 "Sometimes the initial porter upload is problematic because the environment "
2370 "in which the package was built was not good enough (outdated or obsolete "
2371 "library, bad compiler, ...). Then you may just need to recompile it in an "
2372 "updated environment. However, you have to bump the version number in this "
2373 "case, so that the old bad package can be replaced in the Debian archive "
2374 "(<command>dak</command> refuses to install new packages if they don't have a "
2375 "version number greater than the currently available one)."
2378 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2379 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2382 "You have to make sure that your binary-only NMU doesn't render the package "
2383 "uninstallable. This could happen when a source package generates arch-"
2384 "dependent and arch-independent packages that have inter-dependencies "
2385 "generated using dpkg's substitution variable <literal>$(Source-Version) </"
2389 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2390 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2393 "Despite the required modification of the changelog, these are called binary-"
2394 "only NMUs — there is no need in this case to trigger all other architectures "
2395 "to consider themselves out of date or requiring recompilation."
2398 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2399 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2402 "Such recompilations require special ``magic'' version numbering, so that the "
2403 "archive maintenance tools recognize that, even though there is a new Debian "
2404 "version, there is no corresponding source update. If you get this wrong, "
2405 "the archive maintainers will reject your upload (due to lack of "
2406 "corresponding source code)."
2409 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para><footnote><para>
2410 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para><footnote><para>
2413 "In the past, such NMUs used the third-level number on the Debian part of the "
2414 "revision to denote their recompilation-only status; however, this syntax was "
2415 "ambiguous with native packages and did not allow proper ordering of "
2416 "recompile-only NMUs, source NMUs, and security NMUs on the same package, and "
2417 "has therefore been abandoned in favor of this new syntax."
2420 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2423 "The ``magic'' for a recompilation-only NMU is triggered by using a suffix "
2424 "appended to the package version number, following the form <literal> "
2425 "b<replaceable>number</replaceable></literal>. For instance, if the latest "
2426 "version you are recompiling against was version <literal>2.9-3</literal>, "
2427 "your binary-only NMU should carry a version of <literal>2.9-3+b1</literal>. "
2428 "If the latest version was <literal>3.4+b1 </literal> (i.e, a native package "
2429 "with a previous recompilation NMU), your binary-only NMU should have a "
2430 "version number of <literal>3.4+b2</literal>. <placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
2434 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2435 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2438 "Similar to initial porter uploads, the correct way of invoking <command>dpkg-"
2439 "buildpackage</command> is <literal>dpkg-buildpackage -B</literal> to only "
2440 "build the architecture-dependent parts of the package."
2443 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2444 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2446 msgid "When to do a source NMU if you are a porter"
2449 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2450 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2453 "Porters doing a source NMU generally follow the guidelines found in <xref "
2454 "linkend=\"nmu\"/> , just like non-porters. However, it is expected that the "
2455 "wait cycle for a porter's source NMU is smaller than for a non-porter, since "
2456 "porters have to cope with a large quantity of packages. Again, the "
2457 "situation varies depending on the distribution they are uploading to. It "
2458 "also varies whether the architecture is a candidate for inclusion into the "
2459 "next stable release; the release managers decide and announce which "
2460 "architectures are candidates."
2463 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2464 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2467 "If you are a porter doing an NMU for <literal>unstable</literal>, the above "
2468 "guidelines for porting should be followed, with two variations. Firstly, "
2469 "the acceptable waiting period — the time between when the bug is submitted "
2470 "to the BTS and when it is OK to do an NMU — is seven days for porters "
2471 "working on the <literal>unstable</literal> distribution. This period can be "
2472 "shortened if the problem is critical and imposes hardship on the porting "
2473 "effort, at the discretion of the porter group. (Remember, none of this is "
2474 "Policy, just mutually agreed upon guidelines.) For uploads to "
2475 "<literal>stable</literal> or <literal>testing </literal>, please coordinate "
2476 "with the appropriate release team first."
2479 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2480 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2483 "Secondly, porters doing source NMUs should make sure that the bug they "
2484 "submit to the BTS should be of severity <literal>serious</literal> or "
2485 "greater. This ensures that a single source package can be used to compile "
2486 "every supported Debian architecture by release time. It is very important "
2487 "that we have one version of the binary and source package for all "
2488 "architectures in order to comply with many licenses."
2491 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2492 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2495 "Porters should try to avoid patches which simply kludge around bugs in the "
2496 "current version of the compile environment, kernel, or libc. Sometimes such "
2497 "kludges can't be helped. If you have to kludge around compiler bugs and the "
2498 "like, make sure you <literal>#ifdef</literal> your work properly; also, "
2499 "document your kludge so that people know to remove it once the external "
2500 "problems have been fixed."
2503 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2504 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2507 "Porters may also have an unofficial location where they can put the results "
2508 "of their work during the waiting period. This helps others running the port "
2509 "have the benefit of the porter's work, even during the waiting period. Of "
2510 "course, such locations have no official blessing or status, so buyer beware."
2513 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2514 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2516 msgid "Porting infrastructure and automation"
2519 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2520 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2523 "There is infrastructure and several tools to help automate package porting. "
2524 "This section contains a brief overview of this automation and porting to "
2525 "these tools; see the package documentation or references for full "
2529 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2530 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2532 msgid "Mailing lists and web pages"
2535 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2536 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2539 "Web pages containing the status of each port can be found at <ulink url="
2540 "\"&url-debian-ports;\"></ulink>."
2543 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2544 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2547 "Each port of Debian has a mailing list. The list of porting mailing lists "
2548 "can be found at <ulink url=\"&url-debian-port-lists;\"></ulink>. These "
2549 "lists are used to coordinate porters, and to connect the users of a given "
2550 "port with the porters."
2553 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2554 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2556 msgid "Porter tools"
2559 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2560 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2563 "Descriptions of several porting tools can be found in <xref linkend=\"tools-"
2567 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2568 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2570 msgid "<systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem>"
2573 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2574 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2577 "The <systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem> system is used as "
2578 "a distributed, client-server build distribution system. It is usually used "
2579 "in conjunction with build daemons running the <systemitem role=\"package"
2580 "\">buildd </systemitem> program. <literal>Build daemons</literal> are "
2581 "``slave'' hosts which contact the central <systemitem role=\"package\"> "
2582 "wanna-build</systemitem> system to receive a list of packages that need to "
2586 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2587 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2590 "<systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem> is not yet available "
2591 "as a package; however, all Debian porting efforts are using it for automated "
2592 "package building. The tool used to do the actual package builds, "
2593 "<systemitem role=\"package\">sbuild</systemitem> is available as a package, "
2594 "see its description in <xref linkend=\"sbuild\"/> . Please note that the "
2595 "packaged version is not the same as the one used on build daemons, but it is "
2596 "close enough to reproduce problems."
2599 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2600 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2603 "Most of the data produced by <systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build </"
2604 "systemitem> which is generally useful to porters is available on the web at "
2605 "<ulink url=\"&url-buildd;\"></ulink>. This data includes nightly updated "
2606 "statistics, queueing information and logs for build attempts."
2609 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2610 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2613 "We are quite proud of this system, since it has so many possible uses. "
2614 "Independent development groups can use the system for different sub-flavors "
2615 "of Debian, which may or may not really be of general interest (for instance, "
2616 "a flavor of Debian built with <command>gcc</command> bounds checking). It "
2617 "will also enable Debian to recompile entire distributions quickly."
2620 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2623 "The wanna-build team, in charge of the buildds, can be reached at "
2624 "<literal>debian-wb-team@lists.debian.org</literal>. To determine who (wanna-"
2625 "build team, release team) and how (mail, BTS) to contact, refer to <ulink "
2626 "url=\"&url-wb-team;\"></ulink>."
2629 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2632 "When requesting binNMUs or give-backs (retries after a failed build), please "
2633 "use the format described at <ulink url=\"&url-release-wb;\"/>."
2636 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2637 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2639 msgid "When your package is <emphasis>not</emphasis> portable"
2642 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2643 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2646 "Some packages still have issues with building and/or working on some of the "
2647 "architectures supported by Debian, and cannot be ported at all, or not "
2648 "within a reasonable amount of time. An example is a package that is SVGA-"
2649 "specific (only available for <literal>i386</literal> and <literal>amd64</"
2650 "literal>), or uses other hardware-specific features not supported on all "
2654 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2655 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2658 "In order to prevent broken packages from being uploaded to the archive, and "
2659 "wasting buildd time, you need to do a few things:"
2662 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2663 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2666 "First, make sure your package <emphasis>does</emphasis> fail to build on "
2667 "architectures that it cannot support. There are a few ways to achieve "
2668 "this. The preferred way is to have a small testsuite during build time that "
2669 "will test the functionality, and fail if it doesn't work. This is a good "
2670 "idea anyway, as this will prevent (some) broken uploads on all "
2671 "architectures, and also will allow the package to build as soon as the "
2672 "required functionality is available."
2675 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2676 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2679 "Additionally, if you believe the list of supported architectures is pretty "
2680 "constant, you should change <literal>any</literal> to a list of supported "
2681 "architectures in <filename>debian/control</filename>. This way, the build "
2682 "will fail also, and indicate this to a human reader without actually trying."
2685 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2688 "In order to prevent autobuilders from needlessly trying to build your "
2689 "package, it must be included in <filename>packages-arch-specific</filename>, "
2690 "a list used by the <command>wanna-build</command> script. The current "
2691 "version is available as <ulink url=\"&url-buildd-p-a-s;\"/>; please see the "
2692 "top of the file for whom to contact for changes."
2695 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2696 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2699 "Please note that it is insufficient to only add your package to Packages-"
2700 "arch-specific without making it fail to build on unsupported architectures: "
2701 "A porter or any other person trying to build your package might accidently "
2702 "upload it without noticing it doesn't work. If in the past some binary "
2703 "packages were uploaded on unsupported architectures, request their removal "
2704 "by filing a bug against <systemitem role=\"package\">ftp.debian.org</"
2708 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2709 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2711 msgid "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
2714 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2715 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2718 "Every package has one or more maintainers. Normally, these are the people "
2719 "who work on and upload new versions of the package. In some situations, it "
2720 "is useful that other developers can upload a new version as well, for "
2721 "example if they want to fix a bug in a package they don't maintain, when the "
2722 "maintainer needs help to respond to issues. Such uploads are called "
2723 "<emphasis>Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMU)</emphasis>."
2726 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2727 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2729 msgid "When and how to do an NMU"
2732 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2733 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2735 msgid "Before doing an NMU, consider the following questions:"
2738 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2739 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2742 "Does your NMU really fix bugs? Fixing cosmetic issues or changing the "
2743 "packaging style in NMUs is discouraged."
2746 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2747 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2750 "Did you give enough time to the maintainer? When was the bug reported to the "
2751 "BTS? Being busy for a week or two isn't unusual. Is the bug so severe that "
2752 "it needs to be fixed right now, or can it wait a few more days?"
2755 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2756 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2759 "How confident are you about your changes? Please remember the Hippocratic "
2760 "Oath: \"Above all, do no harm.\" It is better to leave a package with an "
2761 "open grave bug than applying a non-functional patch, or one that hides the "
2762 "bug instead of resolving it. If you are not 100% sure of what you did, it "
2763 "might be a good idea to seek advice from others. Remember that if you break "
2764 "something in your NMU, many people will be very unhappy about it."
2767 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2768 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2771 "Have you clearly expressed your intention to NMU, at least in the BTS? It is "
2772 "also a good idea to try to contact the maintainer by other means (private "
2776 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2777 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2780 "If the maintainer is usually active and responsive, have you tried to "
2781 "contact him? In general it should be considered preferable that a maintainer "
2782 "takes care of an issue himself and that he is given the chance to review and "
2783 "correct your patch, because he can be expected to be more aware of potential "
2784 "issues which an NMUer might miss. It is often a better use of everyone's "
2785 "time if the maintainer is given an opportunity to upload a fix on their own."
2788 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2789 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2792 "When doing an NMU, you must first make sure that your intention to NMU is "
2793 "clear. Then, you must send a patch with the differences between the current "
2794 "package and your proposed NMU to the BTS. The <literal>nmudiff</literal> "
2795 "script in the <literal>devscripts</literal> package might be helpful."
2798 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2799 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2802 "While preparing the patch, you should better be aware of any package-"
2803 "specific practices that the maintainer might be using. Taking them into "
2804 "account reduces the burden of getting your changes integrated back in the "
2805 "normal package workflow and thus increases the possibilities that that will "
2806 "happen. A good place where to look for for possible package-specific "
2807 "practices is <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;ch-source.html#s-readmesource"
2808 "\"><literal>debian/README.source</literal></ulink>."
2811 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2812 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2815 "Unless you have an excellent reason not to do so, you must then give some "
2816 "time to the maintainer to react (for example, by uploading to the "
2817 "<literal>DELAYED</literal> queue). Here are some recommended values to use "
2821 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2822 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2824 msgid "Upload fixing only release-critical bugs older than 7 days: 2 days"
2827 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2828 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2830 msgid "Upload fixing only release-critical and important bugs: 5 days"
2833 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2834 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2836 msgid "Other NMUs: 10 days"
2839 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2840 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2843 "Those delays are only examples. In some cases, such as uploads fixing "
2844 "security issues, or fixes for trivial bugs that blocking a transition, it is "
2845 "desirable that the fixed package reaches <literal>unstable</literal> sooner."
2848 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2849 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2852 "Sometimes, release managers decide to allow NMUs with shorter delays for a "
2853 "subset of bugs (e.g release-critical bugs older than 7 days). Also, some "
2854 "maintainers list themselves in the <ulink url=\"&url-low-threshold-nmu;"
2855 "\">Low Threshold NMU list</ulink>, and accept that NMUs are uploaded without "
2856 "delay. But even in those cases, it's still a good idea to give the "
2857 "maintainer a few days to react before you upload, especially if the patch "
2858 "wasn't available in the BTS before, or if you know that the maintainer is "
2862 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2863 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2866 "After you upload an NMU, you are responsible for the possible problems that "
2867 "you might have introduced. You must keep an eye on the package (subscribing "
2868 "to the package on the PTS is a good way to achieve this)."
2871 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2872 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2875 "This is not a license to perform NMUs thoughtlessly. If you NMU when it is "
2876 "clear that the maintainers are active and would have acknowledged a patch in "
2877 "a timely manner, or if you ignore the recommendations of this document, your "
2878 "upload might be a cause of conflict with the maintainer. You should always "
2879 "be prepared to defend the wisdom of any NMU you perform on its own merits."
2882 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2883 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2885 msgid "NMUs and debian/changelog"
2888 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2889 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2892 "Just like any other (source) upload, NMUs must add an entry to "
2893 "<literal>debian/changelog</literal>, telling what has changed with this "
2894 "upload. The first line of this entry must explicitely mention that this "
2895 "upload is an NMU, e.g.:"
2898 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
2901 msgid " * Non-maintainer upload.\n"
2904 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2906 msgid "The way to version NMUs differs for native and non-native packages."
2909 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2912 "If the package is a native package (without a debian revision in the version "
2913 "number), the version must be the version of the last maintainer upload, plus "
2914 "<literal>+nmu<replaceable>X</replaceable></literal>, where <replaceable>X</"
2915 "replaceable> is a counter starting at <literal>1</literal>. If the last "
2916 "upload was also an NMU, the counter should be increased. For example, if "
2917 "the current version is <literal>1.5</literal>, then an NMU would get version "
2918 "<literal>1.5+nmu1</literal>."
2921 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2924 "If the package is a not a native package, you should add a minor version "
2925 "number to the debian revision part of the version number (the portion after "
2926 "the last hyphen). This extra number must start at 1. For example, if the "
2927 "current version is <literal>1.5-2</literal>, then an NMU would get version "
2928 "<literal>1.5-2.1</literal>. If a new upstream version is packaged in the "
2929 "NMU, the debian revision is set to <literal>0</literal>, for example "
2930 "<literal>1.6-0.1</literal>."
2933 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2936 "In both cases, if the last upload was also an NMU, the counter should be "
2937 "increased. For example, if the current version is <literal>1.5+nmu3</"
2938 "literal> (a native package which has already been NMUed), the NMU would get "
2939 "version <literal>1.5+nmu4</literal>. ."
2942 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2943 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2946 "A special versioning scheme is needed to avoid disrupting the maintainer's "
2947 "work, since using an integer for the Debian revision will potentially "
2948 "conflict with a maintainer upload already in preparation at the time of an "
2949 "NMU, or even one sitting in the ftp NEW queue. It also has the benefit of "
2950 "making it visually clear that a package in the archive was not made by the "
2951 "official maintainer."
2954 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2955 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2958 "If you upload a package to testing or stable, you sometimes need to \"fork\" "
2959 "the version number tree. This is the case for security uploads, for "
2960 "example. For this, a version of the form <literal>+deb<replaceable>XY</"
2961 "replaceable>u<replaceable>Z</replaceable></literal> should be used, where "
2962 "<replaceable>X</replaceable> and <replaceable>Y</replaceable> are the major "
2963 "and minor release numbers, and <replaceable>Z</replaceable> is a counter "
2964 "starting at <literal>1</literal>. When the release number is not yet known "
2965 "(often the case for <literal>testing</literal>, at the beginning of release "
2966 "cycles), the lowest release number higher than the last stable release "
2967 "number must be used. For example, while Etch (Debian 4.0) is stable, a "
2968 "security NMU to stable for a package at version <literal>1.5-3</literal> "
2969 "would have version <literal>1.5-3+deb40u1</literal>, whereas a security NMU "
2970 "to Lenny would get version <literal>1.5-3+deb50u1</literal>. After the "
2971 "release of Lenny, security uploads to the <literal>testing</literal> "
2972 "distribution will be versioned <literal>+deb51uZ</literal>, until it is "
2973 "known whether that release will be Debian 5.1 or Debian 6.0 (if that becomes "
2974 "the case, uploads will be versioned as <literal>+deb60uZ</literal>."
2977 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2978 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2980 msgid "Using the <literal>DELAYED/</literal> queue"
2983 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2984 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2987 "Having to wait for a response after you request permission to NMU is "
2988 "inefficient, because it costs the NMUer a context switch to come back to the "
2989 "issue. The <literal>DELAYED</literal> queue (see <xref linkend=\"delayed-"
2990 "incoming\"/>) allows the developer doing the NMU to perform all the "
2991 "necessary tasks at the same time. For instance, instead of telling the "
2992 "maintainer that you will upload the updated package in 7 days, you should "
2993 "upload the package to <literal>DELAYED/7</literal> and tell the maintainer "
2994 "that he has 7 days to react. During this time, the maintainer can ask you "
2995 "to delay the upload some more, or cancel your upload."
2998 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2999 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3002 "The <literal>DELAYED</literal> queue should not be used to put additional "
3003 "pressure on the maintainer. In particular, it's important that you are "
3004 "available to cancel or delay the upload before the delay expires since the "
3005 "maintainer cannot cancel the upload himself."
3008 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3009 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3012 "If you make an NMU to <literal>DELAYED</literal> and the maintainer updates "
3013 "his package before the delay expires, your upload will be rejected because a "
3014 "newer version is already available in the archive. Ideally, the maintainer "
3015 "will take care to include your proposed changes (or at least a solution for "
3016 "the problems they address) in that upload."
3019 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3020 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3022 msgid "NMUs from the maintainer's point of view"
3025 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3026 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3029 "When someone NMUs your package, this means they want to help you to keep it "
3030 "in good shape. This gives users fixed packages faster. You can consider "
3031 "asking the NMUer to become a co-maintainer of the package. Receiving an NMU "
3032 "on a package is not a bad thing; it just means that the package is "
3033 "interesting enough for other people to work on it."
3036 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3037 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3040 "To acknowledge an NMU, include its changes and changelog entry in your next "
3041 "maintainer upload. If you do not acknowledge the NMU by including the NMU "
3042 "changelog entry in your changelog, the bugs will remain closed in the BTS "
3043 "but will be listed as affecting your maintainer version of the package."
3046 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3047 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3049 msgid "Source NMUs vs Binary-only NMUs (binNMUs)"
3052 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3053 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3056 "The full name of an NMU is <emphasis>source NMU</emphasis>. There is also "
3057 "another type, namely the <emphasis>binary-only NMU</emphasis>, or "
3058 "<emphasis>binNMU</emphasis>. A binNMU is also a package upload by someone "
3059 "other than the package's maintainer. However, it is a binary-only upload."
3062 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3063 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3066 "When a library (or other dependency) is updated, the packages using it may "
3067 "need to be rebuilt. Since no changes to the source are needed, the same "
3068 "source package is used."
3071 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3072 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3075 "BinNMUs are usually triggered on the buildds by wanna-build. An entry is "
3076 "added to debian/changelog, explaining why the upload was needed and "
3077 "increasing the version number as described in <xref linkend=\"binary-only-nmu"
3078 "\"/>. This entry should not be included in the next upload."
3081 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3082 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3085 "Buildds upload packages for their architecture to the archive as binary-only "
3086 "uploads. Strictly speaking, these are binNMUs. However, they are not "
3087 "normally called NMU, and they don't add an entry to debian/changelog."
3090 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3091 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3093 msgid "NMUs vs QA uploads"
3096 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3097 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3100 "NMUs are uploads of packages by somebody else than their assigned "
3101 "maintainer. There is another type of upload where the uploaded package is "
3102 "not yours: QA uploads. QA uploads are uploads of orphaned packages."
3105 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3106 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3109 "QA uploads are very much like normal maintainer uploads: they may fix "
3110 "anything, even minor issues; the version numbering is normal, and there is "
3111 "no need to use a delayed upload. The difference is that you are not listed "
3112 "as the Maintainer or Uploader for the package. Also, the changelog entry of "
3113 "a QA upload has a special first line:"
3116 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
3119 msgid " * QA upload.\n"
3122 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3123 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3126 "If you want to do an NMU, and it seems that the maintainer is not active, it "
3127 "is wise to check if the package is orphaned (this information is displayed "
3128 "on the package's Package Tracking System page). When doing the first QA "
3129 "upload to an orphaned package, the maintainer should be set to "
3130 "<literal>Debian QA Group <packages@qa.debian.org></literal>. Orphaned "
3131 "packages which did not yet have a QA upload still have their old maintainer "
3132 "set. There is a list of them at <ulink url=\"&url-orphaned-not-qa;\"/>."
3135 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3136 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3139 "Instead of doing a QA upload, you can also consider adopting the package by "
3140 "making yourself the maintainer. You don't need permission from anybody to "
3141 "adopt an orphaned package, you can just set yourself as maintainer and "
3142 "upload the new version (see <xref linkend=\"adopting\"/>)."
3145 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3146 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3148 msgid "Collaborative maintenance"
3151 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3152 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3155 "Collaborative maintenance is a term describing the sharing of Debian package "
3156 "maintenance duties by several people. This collaboration is almost always a "
3157 "good idea, since it generally results in higher quality and faster bug fix "
3158 "turnaround times. It is strongly recommended that packages with a priority "
3159 "of <literal>Standard</literal> or which are part of the base set have co-"
3163 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3164 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3167 "Generally there is a primary maintainer and one or more co-maintainers. The "
3168 "primary maintainer is the person whose name is listed in the "
3169 "<literal>Maintainer</literal> field of the <filename>debian/control</"
3170 "filename> file. Co-maintainers are all the other maintainers, usually "
3171 "listed in the <literal>Uploaders</literal> field of the <filename>debian/"
3172 "control</filename> file."
3175 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3176 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3179 "In its most basic form, the process of adding a new co-maintainer is quite "
3183 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3184 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3187 "Setup the co-maintainer with access to the sources you build the package "
3188 "from. Generally this implies you are using a network-capable version "
3189 "control system, such as <command>CVS</command> or <command>Subversion</"
3190 "command>. Alioth (see <xref linkend=\"alioth\"/> ) provides such tools, "
3194 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3195 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3198 "Add the co-maintainer's correct maintainer name and address to the "
3199 "<literal>Uploaders</literal> field in the first paragraph of the "
3200 "<filename>debian/control</filename> file."
3203 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><screen>
3206 msgid "Uploaders: John Buzz <jbuzz@debian.org>, Adam Rex <arex@debian.org>\n"
3209 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3210 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3213 "Using the PTS (<xref linkend=\"pkg-tracking-system\"/> ), the co-maintainers "
3214 "should subscribe themselves to the appropriate source package."
3217 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3218 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3221 "Another form of collaborative maintenance is team maintenance, which is "
3222 "recommended if you maintain several packages with the same group of "
3223 "developers. In that case, the Maintainer and Uploaders field of each "
3224 "package must be managed with care. It is recommended to choose between one "
3225 "of the two following schemes:"
3228 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3229 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3232 "Put the team member mainly responsible for the package in the Maintainer "
3233 "field. In the Uploaders, put the mailing list address, and the team members "
3234 "who care for the package."
3237 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3238 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3241 "Put the mailing list address in the Maintainer field. In the Uploaders "
3242 "field, put the team members who care for the package. In this case, you "
3243 "must make sure the mailing list accept bug reports without any human "
3244 "interaction (like moderation for non-subscribers)."
3247 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3248 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3251 "In any case, it is a bad idea to automatically put all team members in the "
3252 "Uploaders field. It clutters the Developer's Package Overview listing (see "
3253 "<xref linkend=\"ddpo\"/> ) with packages one doesn't really care for, and "
3254 "creates a false sense of good maintenance."
3257 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3258 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3260 msgid "The testing distribution"
3263 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3264 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3269 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3270 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3273 "Packages are usually installed into the <literal>testing</literal> "
3274 "distribution after they have undergone some degree of <literal>testing</"
3275 "literal> in <literal>unstable</literal>."
3278 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3279 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3282 "They must be in sync on all architectures and mustn't have dependencies that "
3283 "make them uninstallable; they also have to have generally no known release-"
3284 "critical bugs at the time they're installed into <literal>testing </"
3285 "literal>. This way, <literal>testing</literal> should always be close to "
3286 "being a release candidate. Please see below for details."
3289 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3290 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3292 msgid "Updates from unstable"
3295 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3296 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3299 "The scripts that update the <literal>testing</literal> distribution are run "
3300 "twice each day, right after the installation of the updated packages; these "
3301 "scripts are called <literal>britney</literal>. They generate the "
3302 "<filename>Packages</filename> files for the <literal>testing</literal> "
3303 "distribution, but they do so in an intelligent manner; they try to avoid any "
3304 "inconsistency and to use only non-buggy packages."
3307 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3308 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3311 "The inclusion of a package from <literal>unstable</literal> is conditional "
3315 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3316 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3319 "The package must have been available in <literal>unstable</literal> for 2, 5 "
3320 "or 10 days, depending on the urgency (high, medium or low). Please note "
3321 "that the urgency is sticky, meaning that the highest urgency uploaded since "
3322 "the previous <literal>testing</literal> transition is taken into account. "
3323 "Those delays may be doubled during a freeze, or <literal>testing</literal> "
3324 "transitions may be switched off altogether;"
3327 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3328 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3331 "It must not have new release-critical bugs (RC bugs affecting the version "
3332 "available in <literal>unstable</literal>, but not affecting the version in "
3333 "<literal>testing</literal>);"
3336 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3337 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3340 "It must be available on all architectures on which it has previously been "
3341 "built in <literal>unstable</literal>. <xref linkend=\"dak-ls\"/> may be of "
3342 "interest to check that information;"
3345 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3346 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3349 "It must not break any dependency of a package which is already available in "
3350 "<literal>testing</literal>;"
3353 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3354 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3357 "The packages on which it depends must either be available in "
3358 "<literal>testing</literal> or they must be accepted into <literal>testing</"
3359 "literal> at the same time (and they will be if they fulfill all the "
3360 "necessary criteria);"
3363 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3364 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3367 "To find out whether a package is progressing into <literal>testing</literal> "
3368 "or not, see the <literal>testing</literal> script output on the <ulink url="
3369 "\"&url-testing-maint;\">web page of the testing distribution</ulink>, or use "
3370 "the program <command>grep-excuses</command> which is in the <systemitem role="
3371 "\"package\">devscripts</systemitem> package. This utility can easily be "
3372 "used in a <citerefentry> <refentrytitle>crontab</refentrytitle> "
3373 "<manvolnum>5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> to keep yourself informed of the "
3374 "progression of your packages into <literal>testing</literal>."
3377 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3378 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3381 "The <filename>update_excuses</filename> file does not always give the "
3382 "precise reason why the package is refused; you may have to find it on your "
3383 "own by looking for what would break with the inclusion of the package. The "
3384 "<ulink url=\"&url-testing-maint;\">testing web page</ulink> gives some more "
3385 "information about the usual problems which may be causing such troubles."
3388 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3389 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3392 "Sometimes, some packages never enter <literal>testing</literal> because the "
3393 "set of inter-relationship is too complicated and cannot be sorted out by the "
3394 "scripts. See below for details."
3397 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3398 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3401 "Some further dependency analysis is shown on <ulink url=\"http://release."
3402 "debian.org/migration/\"></ulink> — but be warned, this page also shows build "
3403 "dependencies which are not considered by britney."
3406 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3407 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3412 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3413 #. FIXME: better rename this file than document rampant professionalism?
3414 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3417 "For the <literal>testing</literal> migration script, outdated means: There "
3418 "are different versions in <literal>unstable</literal> for the release "
3419 "architectures (except for the architectures in fuckedarches; fuckedarches is "
3420 "a list of architectures that don't keep up (in <filename>update_out.py</"
3421 "filename>), but currently, it's empty). outdated has nothing whatsoever to "
3422 "do with the architectures this package has in <literal>testing</literal>."
3425 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3426 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3428 msgid "Consider this example:"
3431 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3432 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3433 #: pkgs.dbk:2398 pkgs.dbk:2431
3437 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3438 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3439 #: pkgs.dbk:2399 pkgs.dbk:2432
3443 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3444 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3445 #: pkgs.dbk:2404 pkgs.dbk:2438 pkgs.dbk:2500
3449 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3450 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3451 #: pkgs.dbk:2405 pkgs.dbk:2410 pkgs.dbk:2439 pkgs.dbk:2440 pkgs.dbk:2447
3455 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3456 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3457 #: pkgs.dbk:2406 pkgs.dbk:2441 pkgs.dbk:2446
3461 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3462 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3463 #: pkgs.dbk:2409 pkgs.dbk:2444 pkgs.dbk:2501
3467 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3468 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3469 #: pkgs.dbk:2411 pkgs.dbk:2445
3473 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3474 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3477 "The package is out of date on alpha in <literal>unstable</literal>, and will "
3478 "not go to <literal>testing</literal>. Removing the package would not help at "
3479 "all, the package is still out of date on <literal>alpha</literal>, and will "
3480 "not propagate to testing."
3483 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3484 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3487 "However, if ftp-master removes a package in <literal>unstable</literal> "
3488 "(here on <literal>arm</literal>):"
3491 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3492 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3497 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3498 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3501 "In this case, the package is up to date on all release architectures in "
3502 "<literal>unstable</literal> (and the extra <literal>hurd-i386</literal> "
3503 "doesn't matter, as it's not a release architecture)."
3506 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3507 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3510 "Sometimes, the question is raised if it is possible to allow packages in "
3511 "that are not yet built on all architectures: No. Just plainly no. (Except "
3512 "if you maintain glibc or so.)"
3515 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3516 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3518 msgid "Removals from testing"
3521 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3522 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3525 "Sometimes, a package is removed to allow another package in: This happens "
3526 "only to allow <emphasis>another</emphasis> package to go in if it's ready in "
3527 "every other sense. Suppose e.g. that <literal>a</literal> cannot be "
3528 "installed with the new version of <literal>b</literal>; then <literal>a</"
3529 "literal> may be removed to allow <literal>b</literal> in."
3532 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3533 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3536 "Of course, there is another reason to remove a package from <literal>testing "
3537 "</literal>: It's just too buggy (and having a single RC-bug is enough to be "
3541 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3542 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3545 "Furthermore, if a package has been removed from <literal>unstable</literal>, "
3546 "and no package in <literal>testing</literal> depends on it any more, then it "
3547 "will automatically be removed."
3550 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3551 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3553 msgid "circular dependencies"
3556 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3557 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3560 "A situation which is not handled very well by britney is if package "
3561 "<literal>a</literal> depends on the new version of package <literal>b</"
3562 "literal>, and vice versa."
3565 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3566 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3568 msgid "An example of this is:"
3571 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3572 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3577 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3578 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3580 msgid "1; depends: b=1"
3583 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3584 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3586 msgid "2; depends: b=2"
3589 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3590 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3595 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3596 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3598 msgid "1; depends: a=1"
3601 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3602 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3604 msgid "2; depends: a=2"
3607 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3608 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3611 "Neither package <literal>a</literal> nor package <literal>b</literal> is "
3612 "considered for update."
3615 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3616 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3619 "Currently, this requires some manual hinting from the release team. Please "
3620 "contact them by sending mail to &email-debian-release; if this happens to "
3621 "one of your packages."
3624 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3625 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3627 msgid "influence of package in testing"
3630 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3631 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3634 "Generally, there is nothing that the status of a package in <literal>testing "
3635 "</literal> means for transition of the next version from <literal>unstable </"
3636 "literal> to <literal>testing</literal>, with two exceptions: If the RC-"
3637 "bugginess of the package goes down, it may go in even if it is still RC-"
3638 "buggy. The second exception is if the version of the package in <literal> "
3639 "testing</literal> is out of sync on the different arches: Then any arch "
3640 "might just upgrade to the version of the source package; however, this can "
3641 "happen only if the package was previously forced through, the arch is in "
3642 "fuckedarches, or there was no binary package of that arch present in "
3643 "<literal>unstable </literal> at all during the <literal>testing</literal> "
3647 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3648 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3651 "In summary this means: The only influence that a package being in <literal> "
3652 "testing</literal> has on a new version of the same package is that the new "
3653 "version might go in easier."
3656 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3657 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3662 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3663 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3665 msgid "If you are interested in details, this is how britney works:"
3668 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3669 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3672 "The packages are looked at to determine whether they are valid candidates. "
3673 "This gives the update excuses. The most common reasons why a package is not "
3674 "considered are too young, RC-bugginess, and out of date on some arches. For "
3675 "this part of britney, the release managers have hammers of various sizes to "
3676 "force britney to consider a package. (Also, the base freeze is coded in "
3677 "that part of britney.) (There is a similar thing for binary-only updates, "
3678 "but this is not described here. If you're interested in that, please peruse "
3682 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3683 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3686 "Now, the more complex part happens: Britney tries to update <literal>testing "
3687 "</literal> with the valid candidates. For that, britney tries to add each "
3688 "valid candidate to the testing distribution. If the number of uninstallable "
3689 "packages in <literal>testing</literal> doesn't increase, the package is "
3690 "accepted. From that point on, the accepted package is considered to be part "
3691 "of <literal>testing</literal>, such that all subsequent installability tests "
3692 "include this package. Hints from the release team are processed before or "
3693 "after this main run, depending on the exact type."
3696 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3697 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3700 "If you want to see more details, you can look it up on <filename>merkel:/org/"
3701 "&ftp-debian-org;/testing/update_out/</filename> (or in <filename>merkel:~aba/"
3702 "testing/update_out</filename> to see a setup with a smaller packages file). "
3703 "Via web, it's at <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/"
3704 "update_out_code/\"></ulink>"
3707 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3708 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3711 "The hints are available via <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/"
3712 "hints/\"></ulink>."
3715 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3716 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3718 msgid "Direct updates to testing"
3721 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3722 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3725 "The <literal>testing</literal> distribution is fed with packages from "
3726 "<literal>unstable</literal> according to the rules explained above. "
3727 "However, in some cases, it is necessary to upload packages built only for "
3728 "<literal> testing</literal>. For that, you may want to upload to <literal> "
3729 "testing-proposed-updates</literal>."
3732 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3733 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3736 "Keep in mind that packages uploaded there are not automatically processed, "
3737 "they have to go through the hands of the release manager. So you'd better "
3738 "have a good reason to upload there. In order to know what a good reason is "
3739 "in the release managers' eyes, you should read the instructions that they "
3740 "regularly give on &email-debian-devel-announce;."
3743 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3744 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3747 "You should not upload to <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> when "
3748 "you can update your packages through <literal>unstable</literal>. If you "
3749 "can't (for example because you have a newer development version in "
3750 "<literal>unstable </literal>), you may use this facility, but it is "
3751 "recommended that you ask for authorization from the release manager first. "
3752 "Even if a package is frozen, updates through <literal>unstable</literal> are "
3753 "possible, if the upload via <literal>unstable</literal> does not pull in any "
3757 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3758 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3761 "Version numbers are usually selected by adding the codename of the "
3762 "<literal>testing</literal> distribution and a running number, like "
3763 "<literal>1.2sarge1</literal> for the first upload through <literal>testing-"
3764 "proposed-updates</literal> of package version <literal>1.2</literal>."
3767 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3768 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3770 msgid "Please make sure you didn't miss any of these items in your upload:"
3773 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3774 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3777 "Make sure that your package really needs to go through <literal>testing-"
3778 "proposed-updates</literal>, and can't go through <literal> unstable</"
3782 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3783 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3785 msgid "Make sure that you included only the minimal amount of changes;"
3788 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3789 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3792 "Make sure that you included an appropriate explanation in the changelog;"
3795 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3796 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3799 "Make sure that you've written <literal>testing</literal> or <literal>testing-"
3800 "proposed-updates</literal> into your target distribution;"
3803 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3804 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3807 "Make sure that you've built and tested your package in <literal>testing</"
3808 "literal>, not in <literal>unstable</literal>;"
3811 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3812 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3815 "Make sure that your version number is higher than the version in "
3816 "<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal>, "
3817 "and lower than in <literal>unstable</literal>;"
3820 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3821 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3824 "After uploading and successful build on all platforms, contact the release "
3825 "team at &email-debian-release; and ask them to approve your upload."
3828 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3829 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3831 msgid "Frequently asked questions"
3834 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3835 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3837 msgid "What are release-critical bugs, and how do they get counted?"
3840 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3841 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3844 "All bugs of some higher severities are by default considered release-"
3845 "critical; currently, these are <literal>critical</literal>, <literal>grave</"
3846 "literal> and <literal>serious</literal> bugs."
3849 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3850 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3853 "Such bugs are presumed to have an impact on the chances that the package "
3854 "will be released with the <literal>stable</literal> release of Debian: in "
3855 "general, if a package has open release-critical bugs filed on it, it won't "
3856 "get into <literal>testing</literal>, and consequently won't be released in "
3857 "<literal> stable</literal>."
3860 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3861 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3864 "The <literal>unstable</literal> bug count are all release-critical bugs "
3865 "which are marked to apply to <replaceable>package</replaceable>/"
3866 "<replaceable>version </replaceable> combinations that are available in "
3867 "unstable for a release architecture. The <literal>testing</literal> bug "
3868 "count is defined analogously."
3871 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3872 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3875 "How could installing a package into <literal>testing</literal> possibly "
3876 "break other packages?"
3879 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3880 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3883 "The structure of the distribution archives is such that they can only "
3884 "contain one version of a package; a package is defined by its name. So when "
3885 "the source package <literal>acmefoo</literal> is installed into "
3886 "<literal>testing</literal>, along with its binary packages <literal>acme-foo-"
3887 "bin</literal>, <literal> acme-bar-bin</literal>, <literal>libacme-foo1</"
3888 "literal> and <literal> libacme-foo-dev</literal>, the old version is removed."
3891 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3892 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3895 "However, the old version may have provided a binary package with an old "
3896 "soname of a library, such as <literal>libacme-foo0</literal>. Removing the "
3897 "old <literal>acmefoo</literal> will remove <literal>libacme-foo0</literal>, "
3898 "which will break any packages which depend on it."
3901 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3902 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3905 "Evidently, this mainly affects packages which provide changing sets of "
3906 "binary packages in different versions (in turn, mainly libraries). However, "
3907 "it will also affect packages upon which versioned dependencies have been "
3908 "declared of the ==, <=, or << varieties."
3911 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3912 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3915 "When the set of binary packages provided by a source package change in this "
3916 "way, all the packages that depended on the old binaries will have to be "
3917 "updated to depend on the new binaries instead. Because installing such a "
3918 "source package into <literal>testing</literal> breaks all the packages that "
3919 "depended on it in <literal>testing</literal>, some care has to be taken now: "
3920 "all the depending packages must be updated and ready to be installed "
3921 "themselves so that they won't be broken, and, once everything is ready, "
3922 "manual intervention by the release manager or an assistant is normally "
3926 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3927 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3930 "If you are having problems with complicated groups of packages like this, "
3931 "contact &email-debian-devel; or &email-debian-release; for help."