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: 2009-01-23 09:48+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>
21 msgid "Managing Packages"
22 msgstr "Gestion des paquets"
24 # type: Content of: <chapter><para>
27 "This chapter contains information related to creating, uploading, "
28 "maintaining, and porting packages."
30 "Ce chapitre contient des informations relatives à la création, l'envoi,la "
31 "maintenance et le portage des paquets."
33 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
36 msgstr "Nouveaux paquets"
38 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
41 "If you want to create a new package for the Debian distribution, you should "
42 "first check the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">Work-Needing and Prospective "
43 "Packages (WNPP)</ulink> list. Checking the WNPP list ensures that no one is "
44 "already working on packaging that software, and that effort is not "
45 "duplicated. Read the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">WNPP web pages</ulink> for "
49 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
52 "Assuming no one else is already working on your prospective package, you "
53 "must then submit a bug report (<xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/> ) against the "
54 "pseudo-package <systemitem role=\"package\">wnpp</systemitem> describing "
55 "your plan to create a new package, including, but not limiting yourself to, "
56 "a description of the package, the license of the prospective package, and "
57 "the current URL where it can be downloaded from."
60 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
63 "You should set the subject of the bug to <literal>ITP: <replaceable>foo</"
64 "replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</replaceable></literal>, "
65 "substituting the name of the new package for <replaceable>foo</"
66 "replaceable>. The severity of the bug report must be set to "
67 "<literal>wishlist</literal>. Please send a copy to &email-debian-devel; by "
68 "using the X-Debbugs-CC header (don't use CC:, because that way the message's "
69 "subject won't indicate the bug number). If you are packaging so many new "
70 "packages (>10) that notifying the mailing list in seperate messages is too "
71 "disruptive, do send a summary after filing the bugs to the debian-devel list "
72 "instead. This will inform the other developers about upcoming packages and "
73 "will allow a review of your description and package name."
76 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
79 "Please include a <literal>Closes: bug#<replaceable>nnnnn</replaceable></"
80 "literal> entry in the changelog of the new package in order for the bug "
81 "report to be automatically closed once the new package is installed in the "
82 "archive (see <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/> )."
85 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
88 "When closing security bugs include CVE numbers as well as the Closes: "
89 "#nnnnn. This is useful for the security team to track vulnerabilities. If "
90 "an upload is made to fix the bug before the advisory ID is known, it is "
91 "encouraged to modify the historical changelog entry with the next upload. "
92 "Even in this case, please include all available pointers to background "
93 "information in the original changelog entry."
96 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
99 "There are a number of reasons why we ask maintainers to announce their "
103 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
106 "It helps the (potentially new) maintainer to tap into the experience of "
107 "people on the list, and lets them know if anyone else is working on it "
111 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
114 "It lets other people thinking about working on the package know that there "
115 "already is a volunteer, so efforts may be shared."
118 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
121 "It lets the rest of the maintainers know more about the package than the one "
122 "line description and the usual changelog entry ``Initial release'' that gets "
123 "posted to &email-debian-devel-changes;."
126 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
129 "It is helpful to the people who live off <literal>unstable</literal> (and "
130 "form our first line of testers). We should encourage these people."
133 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
136 "The announcements give maintainers and other interested parties a better "
137 "feel of what is going on, and what is new, in the project."
140 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
143 "Please see <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/REJECT-FAQ.html\"></ulink> "
144 "for common rejection reasons for a new package."
147 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
149 msgid "Recording changes in the package"
152 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
155 "Changes that you make to the package need to be recorded in the "
156 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>. These changes should provide a "
157 "concise description of what was changed, why (if it's in doubt), and note if "
158 "any bugs were closed. They also record when the package was completed. "
159 "This file will be installed in <filename>/usr/share/doc/"
160 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>/changelog.Debian.gz</filename>, or "
161 "<filename>/usr/share/doc/<replaceable>package</replaceable>/changelog.gz</"
162 "filename> for native packages."
165 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
168 "The <filename>debian/changelog</filename> file conforms to a certain "
169 "structure, with a number of different fields. One field of note, the "
170 "<literal>distribution</literal>, is described in <xref linkend=\"distribution"
171 "\"/> . More information about the structure of this file can be found in "
172 "the Debian Policy section titled <filename>debian/changelog</filename>."
175 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
178 "Changelog entries can be used to automatically close Debian bugs when the "
179 "package is installed into the archive. See <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/"
183 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
186 "It is conventional that the changelog entry of a package that contains a new "
187 "upstream version of the software looks like this:"
190 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><screen>
195 " * new upstream version\n"
198 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
201 "There are tools to help you create entries and finalize the "
202 "<filename>changelog</filename> for release — see <xref linkend=\"devscripts"
203 "\"/> and <xref linkend=\"dpkg-dev-el\"/> ."
206 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
208 msgid "See also <xref linkend=\"bpp-debian-changelog\"/> ."
211 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
213 msgid "Testing the package"
216 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
219 "Before you upload your package, you should do basic testing on it. At a "
220 "minimum, you should try the following activities (you'll need to have an "
221 "older version of the same Debian package around):"
224 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
227 "Install the package and make sure the software works, or upgrade the package "
228 "from an older version to your new version if a Debian package for it already "
232 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
235 "Run <command>lintian</command> over the package. You can run "
236 "<command>lintian</command> as follows: <literal>lintian -v "
237 "<replaceable>package-version</replaceable>.changes</literal>. This will "
238 "check the source package as well as the binary package. If you don't "
239 "understand the output that <command>lintian</command> generates, try adding "
240 "the <literal>-i</literal> switch, which will cause <command>lintian</"
241 "command> to output a very verbose description of the problem."
244 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
247 "Normally, a package should <emphasis>not</emphasis> be uploaded if it causes "
248 "lintian to emit errors (they will start with <literal>E</literal>)."
251 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
254 "For more information on <command>lintian</command>, see <xref linkend="
258 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
261 "Optionally run <xref linkend=\"debdiff\"/> to analyze changes from an older "
262 "version, if one exists."
265 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
268 "Downgrade the package to the previous version (if one exists) — this tests "
269 "the <filename>postrm</filename> and <filename>prerm</filename> scripts."
272 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
274 msgid "Remove the package, then reinstall it."
277 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
280 "Copy the source package in a different directory and try unpacking it and "
281 "rebuilding it. This tests if the package relies on existing files outside "
282 "of it, or if it relies on permissions being preserved on the files shipped "
283 "inside the .diff.gz file."
286 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
288 msgid "Layout of the source package"
291 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
293 msgid "There are two types of Debian source packages:"
296 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
299 "the so-called <literal>native</literal> packages, where there is no "
300 "distinction between the original sources and the patches applied for Debian"
303 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
306 "the (more common) packages where there's an original source tarball file "
307 "accompanied by another file that contains the patches applied for Debian"
310 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
313 "For the native packages, the source package includes a Debian source control "
314 "file (<literal>.dsc</literal>) and the source tarball (<literal>.tar.gz</"
315 "literal>). A source package of a non-native package includes a Debian "
316 "source control file, the original source tarball (<literal>.orig.tar.gz</"
317 "literal>) and the Debian patches (<literal>.diff.gz</literal>)."
320 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
323 "Whether a package is native or not is determined when it is built by "
324 "<citerefentry> <refentrytitle>dpkg-buildpackage</refentrytitle> "
325 "<manvolnum>1</manvolnum> </citerefentry>. The rest of this section relates "
326 "only to non-native packages."
329 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
332 "The first time a version is uploaded which corresponds to a particular "
333 "upstream version, the original source tar file should be uploaded and "
334 "included in the <filename>.changes</filename> file. Subsequently, this very "
335 "same tar file should be used to build the new diffs and <filename>.dsc</"
336 "filename> files, and will not need to be re-uploaded."
339 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
342 "By default, <command>dpkg-genchanges</command> and <command>dpkg-"
343 "buildpackage</command> will include the original source tar file if and only "
344 "if the Debian revision part of the source version number is 0 or 1, "
345 "indicating a new upstream version. This behavior may be modified by using "
346 "<literal>-sa</literal> to always include it or <literal>-sd</literal> to "
347 "always leave it out."
350 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
353 "If no original source is included in the upload, the original source tar-"
354 "file used by <command>dpkg-source</command> when constructing the <filename>."
355 "dsc</filename> file and diff to be uploaded <emphasis>must</emphasis> be "
356 "byte-for-byte identical with the one already in the archive."
359 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
362 "Please notice that, in non-native packages, permissions on files that are "
363 "not present in the .orig.tar.gz will not be preserved, as diff does not "
364 "store file permissions in the patch."
367 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
369 msgid "Picking a distribution"
372 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
375 "Each upload needs to specify which distribution the package is intended "
376 "for. The package build process extracts this information from the first "
377 "line of the <filename>debian/changelog</filename> file and places it in the "
378 "<literal>Distribution</literal> field of the <literal>.changes</literal> "
382 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
385 "There are several possible values for this field: <literal>stable</literal>, "
386 "<literal>unstable</literal>, <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> and "
387 "<literal>experimental</literal>. Normally, packages are uploaded into "
388 "<literal>unstable</literal>."
391 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
394 "Actually, there are two other possible distributions: <literal>stable-"
395 "security </literal> and <literal>testing-security</literal>, but read <xref "
396 "linkend=\"bug-security\"/> for more information on those."
399 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
402 "It is not possible to upload a package into several distributions at the "
406 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
409 "Special case: uploads to the <literal>stable</literal> and "
410 "<literal>oldstable</literal> distributions"
413 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
416 "Uploading to <literal>stable</literal> means that the package will "
417 "transfered to the <literal>proposed-updates-new</literal> queue for review "
418 "by the stable release managers, and if approved will be installed in "
419 "<filename>stable-proposed-updates</filename> directory of the Debian "
420 "archive. From there, it will be included in <literal>stable</literal> with "
421 "the next point release."
424 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
427 "To ensure that your upload will be accepted, you should discuss the changes "
428 "with the stable release team before you upload. For that, send a mail to the "
429 "&email-debian-release; mailing list, including the patch you want to apply "
430 "to the package version currently in <literal>stable</literal>. Always be "
431 "verbose and detailed in your changelog entries for uploads to the "
432 "<literal>stable</literal> distribution."
435 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
438 "Extra care should be taken when uploading to <literal>stable</literal>. "
439 "Basically, a package should only be uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> if "
440 "one of the following happens:"
443 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
445 msgid "a truly critical functionality problem"
448 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
450 msgid "the package becomes uninstallable"
453 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
455 msgid "a released architecture lacks the package"
458 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
461 "In the past, uploads to <literal>stable</literal> were used to address "
462 "security problems as well. However, this practice is deprecated, as uploads "
463 "used for Debian security advisories are automatically copied to the "
464 "appropriate <filename>proposed-updates</filename> archive when the advisory "
465 "is released. See <xref linkend=\"bug-security\"/> for detailed information "
466 "on handling security problems. If the security teams deems the problem to be "
467 "too benign to be fixed through a <literal>DSA</literal>, the stable release "
468 "managers are usually willing to include your fix nonetheless in a regular "
469 "upload to <literal>stable</literal>."
472 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
475 "Changing anything else in the package that isn't important is discouraged, "
476 "because even trivial fixes can cause bugs later on."
479 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
482 "Packages uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> need to be compiled on "
483 "systems running <literal>stable</literal>, so that their dependencies are "
484 "limited to the libraries (and other packages) available in <literal>stable</"
485 "literal>; for example, a package uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> that "
486 "depends on a library package that only exists in <literal>unstable</literal> "
487 "will be rejected. Making changes to dependencies of other packages (by "
488 "messing with <literal>Provides</literal> or <literal>shlibs</literal> "
489 "files), possibly making those other packages uninstallable, is strongly "
493 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
496 "Uploads to the <literal>oldstable</literal> distributions are possible as "
497 "long as it hasn't been archived. The same rules as for <literal>stable </"
501 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
504 "Special case: uploads to <literal>testing/testing-proposed-updates</literal>"
507 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
510 "Please see the information in the <link linkend=\"t-p-u\">testing section</"
514 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
516 msgid "Uploading a package"
519 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
521 msgid "Uploading to <literal>ftp-master</literal>"
524 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
527 "To upload a package, you should upload the files (including the signed "
528 "changes and dsc-file) with anonymous ftp to <literal>&ftp-master-host;</"
529 "literal> in the directory <ulink url=\"ftp://&ftp-master-host;&upload-queue;"
530 "\">&upload-queue;</ulink>. To get the files processed there, they need to "
531 "be signed with a key in the Debian Developers keyring or the Debian "
532 "Maintainers keyring (see <ulink url=\"&url-wiki-dm;\"></ulink>)."
535 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
538 "Please note that you should transfer the changes file last. Otherwise, your "
539 "upload may be rejected because the archive maintenance software will parse "
540 "the changes file and see that not all files have been uploaded."
543 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
546 "You may also find the Debian packages <xref linkend=\"dupload\"/> or <xref "
547 "linkend=\"dput\"/> useful when uploading packages. These handy programs "
548 "help automate the process of uploading packages into Debian."
551 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
554 "For removing packages, please see the README file in that ftp directory, and "
555 "the Debian package <xref linkend=\"dcut\"/> ."
558 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
560 msgid "Delayed uploads"
563 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
566 "It is sometimes useful to upload a package immediately, but to want this "
567 "package to arrive in the archive only a few days later. For example, when "
568 "preparing a <link linkend=\"nmu\">Non-maintainer Upload</link>, you might "
569 "want to give the maintainer a few days to react."
572 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
575 "An upload to the delayed directory keeps the package in <ulink url=\"http://"
576 "ftp-master.debian.org/deferred.html\"> the deferred uploads queue\"</"
577 "ulink>. When the specified waiting time is over, the package is moved into "
578 "the regular incoming directory for processing. This is done through "
579 "automatic uploading to <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal> in upload-"
580 "directory <literal>DELAYED/[012345678]-day</literal>. 0-day is uploaded "
581 "multiple times per day to <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>."
584 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
587 "With dput, you can use the <literal>--delayed <replaceable>DELAY</"
588 "replaceable></literal> parameter to put the package into one of the queues."
591 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
593 msgid "Security uploads"
596 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
599 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload a package to the security "
600 "upload queue (<literal>oldstable-security</literal>, <literal>stable-"
601 "security </literal>, etc.) without prior authorization from the security "
602 "team. If the package does not exactly meet the team's requirements, it will "
603 "cause many problems and delays in dealing with the unwanted upload. For "
604 "details, please see section <xref linkend=\"bug-security\"/> ."
607 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
609 msgid "Other upload queues"
612 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
615 "The scp queues on <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>, and <literal> "
616 "security.debian.org</literal> are mostly unusable due to the login "
617 "restrictions on those hosts."
620 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
623 "The anonymous queues on ftp.uni-erlangen.de and ftp.uk.debian.org are "
624 "currently down. Work is underway to resurrect them."
627 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
630 "The queues on master.debian.org, samosa.debian.org, master.debian.or.jp, and "
631 "ftp.chiark.greenend.org.uk are down permanently, and will not be "
632 "resurrected. The queue in Japan will be replaced with a new queue on hp."
633 "debian.or.jp some day."
636 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
638 msgid "Notification that a new package has been installed"
641 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
644 "The Debian archive maintainers are responsible for handling package "
645 "uploads. For the most part, uploads are automatically handled on a daily "
646 "basis by the archive maintenance tools, <command>katie</command>. "
647 "Specifically, updates to existing packages to the <literal>unstable</"
648 "literal> distribution are handled automatically. In other cases, notably "
649 "new packages, placing the uploaded package into the distribution is handled "
650 "manually. When uploads are handled manually, the change to the archive may "
651 "take up to a month to occur. Please be patient."
654 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
657 "In any case, you will receive an email notification indicating that the "
658 "package has been added to the archive, which also indicates which bugs will "
659 "be closed by the upload. Please examine this notification carefully, "
660 "checking if any bugs you meant to close didn't get triggered."
663 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
666 "The installation notification also includes information on what section the "
667 "package was inserted into. If there is a disparity, you will receive a "
668 "separate email notifying you of that. Read on below."
671 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
674 "Note that if you upload via queues, the queue daemon software will also send "
675 "you a notification by email."
678 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
680 msgid "Specifying the package section, subsection and priority"
683 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
686 "The <filename>debian/control</filename> file's <literal>Section</literal> "
687 "and <literal>Priority</literal> fields do not actually specify where the "
688 "file will be placed in the archive, nor its priority. In order to retain "
689 "the overall integrity of the archive, it is the archive maintainers who have "
690 "control over these fields. The values in the <filename>debian/control</"
691 "filename> file are actually just hints."
694 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
697 "The archive maintainers keep track of the canonical sections and priorities "
698 "for packages in the <literal>override file</literal>. If there is a "
699 "disparity between the <literal>override file</literal> and the package's "
700 "fields as indicated in <filename>debian/control</filename>, then you will "
701 "receive an email noting the divergence when the package is installed into "
702 "the archive. You can either correct your <filename>debian/control</"
703 "filename> file for your next upload, or else you may wish to make a change "
704 "in the <literal>override file</literal>."
707 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
710 "To alter the actual section that a package is put in, you need to first make "
711 "sure that the <filename>debian/control</filename> file in your package is "
712 "accurate. Next, send an email &email-override; or submit a bug against "
713 "<systemitem role=\"package\">ftp.debian.org</systemitem> requesting that the "
714 "section or priority for your package be changed from the old section or "
715 "priority to the new one. Be sure to explain your reasoning."
718 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
721 "For more information about <literal>override files</literal>, see "
722 "<citerefentry> <refentrytitle>dpkg-scanpackages</refentrytitle> "
723 "<manvolnum>1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> and <ulink url=\"&url-bts-devel;"
724 "#maintincorrect\"></ulink>."
727 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
730 "Note that the <literal>Section</literal> field describes both the section as "
731 "well as the subsection, which are described in <xref linkend=\"archive-"
732 "sections\"/> . If the section is main, it should be omitted. The list of "
733 "allowable subsections can be found in <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;ch-"
734 "archive.html#s-subsections\"></ulink>."
737 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
739 msgid "Handling bugs"
742 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
745 "Every developer has to be able to work with the Debian <ulink url=\"&url-bts;"
746 "\">bug tracking system</ulink>. This includes knowing how to file bug "
747 "reports properly (see <xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/> ), how to update them "
748 "and reorder them, and how to process and close them."
751 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
754 "The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink url=\"&url-"
755 "bts-devel;\">BTS documentation for developers</ulink>. This includes "
756 "closing bugs, sending followup messages, assigning severities and tags, "
757 "marking bugs as forwarded, and other issues."
760 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
763 "Operations such as reassigning bugs to other packages, merging separate bug "
764 "reports about the same issue, or reopening bugs when they are prematurely "
765 "closed, are handled using the so-called control mail server. All of the "
766 "commands available on this server are described in the <ulink url=\"&url-bts-"
767 "control;\">BTS control server documentation</ulink>."
770 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
772 msgid "Monitoring bugs"
775 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
778 "If you want to be a good maintainer, you should periodically check the "
779 "<ulink url=\"&url-bts;\">Debian bug tracking system (BTS)</ulink> for your "
780 "packages. The BTS contains all the open bugs against your packages. You "
781 "can check them by browsing this page: <literal>http://&bugs-host;/"
782 "<replaceable>yourlogin</replaceable>@debian.org</literal>."
785 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
788 "Maintainers interact with the BTS via email addresses at <literal>&bugs-host;"
789 "</literal>. Documentation on available commands can be found at <ulink url="
790 "\"&url-bts;\"></ulink>, or, if you have installed the <systemitem role="
791 "\"package\">doc-debian</systemitem> package, you can look at the local files "
795 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
798 "Some find it useful to get periodic reports on open bugs. You can add a "
799 "cron job such as the following if you want to get a weekly email outlining "
800 "all the open bugs against your packages:"
803 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
808 "# ask for weekly reports of bugs in my packages\n"
809 "&cron-bug-report;\n"
812 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
815 "Replace <replaceable>address</replaceable> with your official Debian "
816 "maintainer address."
819 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
821 msgid "Responding to bugs"
824 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
827 "When responding to bugs, make sure that any discussion you have about bugs "
828 "is sent both to the original submitter of the bug, and to the bug itself (e."
829 "g., <email>123@&bugs-host;</email>). If you're writing a new mail and you "
830 "don't remember the submitter email address, you can use the <email>123-"
831 "submitter@&bugs-host;</email> email to contact the submitter <emphasis>and</"
832 "emphasis> to record your mail within the bug log (that means you don't need "
833 "to send a copy of the mail to <email>123@&bugs-host;</email>)."
836 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
839 "If you get a bug which mentions FTBFS, this means Fails to build from "
840 "source. Porters frequently use this acronym."
843 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
846 "Once you've dealt with a bug report (e.g. fixed it), mark it as "
847 "<literal>done</literal> (close it) by sending an explanation message to "
848 "<email>123-done@&bugs-host;</email>. If you're fixing a bug by changing and "
849 "uploading the package, you can automate bug closing as described in <xref "
850 "linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/> ."
853 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
856 "You should <emphasis>never</emphasis> close bugs via the bug server "
857 "<literal>close</literal> command sent to &email-bts-control;. If you do so, "
858 "the original submitter will not receive any information about why the bug "
862 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
864 msgid "Bug housekeeping"
867 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
870 "As a package maintainer, you will often find bugs in other packages or have "
871 "bugs reported against your packages which are actually bugs in other "
872 "packages. The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink "
873 "url=\"&url-bts-devel;\">BTS documentation for Debian developers</ulink>. "
874 "Operations such as reassigning, merging, and tagging bug reports are "
875 "described in the <ulink url=\"&url-bts-control;\">BTS control server "
876 "documentation</ulink>. This section contains some guidelines for managing "
877 "your own bugs, based on the collective Debian developer experience."
880 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
883 "Filing bugs for problems that you find in other packages is one of the civic "
884 "obligations of maintainership, see <xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/> for "
885 "details. However, handling the bugs in your own packages is even more "
889 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
891 msgid "Here's a list of steps that you may follow to handle a bug report:"
894 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
897 "Decide whether the report corresponds to a real bug or not. Sometimes users "
898 "are just calling a program in the wrong way because they haven't read the "
899 "documentation. If you diagnose this, just close the bug with enough "
900 "information to let the user correct their problem (give pointers to the good "
901 "documentation and so on). If the same report comes up again and again you "
902 "may ask yourself if the documentation is good enough or if the program "
903 "shouldn't detect its misuse in order to give an informative error message. "
904 "This is an issue that may need to be brought up with the upstream author."
907 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
910 "If the bug submitter disagrees with your decision to close the bug, they may "
911 "reopen it until you find an agreement on how to handle it. If you don't "
912 "find any, you may want to tag the bug <literal>wontfix</literal> to let "
913 "people know that the bug exists but that it won't be corrected. If this "
914 "situation is unacceptable, you (or the submitter) may want to require a "
915 "decision of the technical committee by reassigning the bug to <systemitem "
916 "role=\"package\">tech-ctte</systemitem> (you may use the clone command of "
917 "the BTS if you wish to keep it reported against your package). Before doing "
918 "so, please read the <ulink url=\"&url-tech-ctte;\">recommended procedure</"
922 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
925 "If the bug is real but it's caused by another package, just reassign the bug "
926 "to the right package. If you don't know which package it should be "
927 "reassigned to, you should ask for help on <link linkend=\"irc-channels"
928 "\">IRC</link> or on &email-debian-devel;. Please inform the maintainer(s) "
929 "of the package you reassign the bug to, for example by Cc:ing the message "
930 "that does the reassign to <email>packagename@packages.debian.org</email> and "
931 "explaining your reasons in that mail. Please note that a simple reassignment "
932 "is <emphasis>not</emphasis> e-mailed to the maintainers of the package being "
933 "reassigned to, so they won't know about it until they look at a bug overview "
934 "for their packages."
937 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
940 "If the bug affects the operation of your package, please consider cloning "
941 "the bug and reassigning the clone to the package that really causes the "
942 "behavior. Otherwise, the bug will not be shown in your package's bug list, "
943 "possibly causing users to report the same bug over and over again. You "
944 "should block \"your\" bug with the reassigned, cloned bug to document the "
948 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
951 "Sometimes you also have to adjust the severity of the bug so that it matches "
952 "our definition of the severity. That's because people tend to inflate the "
953 "severity of bugs to make sure their bugs are fixed quickly. Some bugs may "
954 "even be dropped to wishlist severity when the requested change is just "
958 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
961 "If the bug is real but the same problem has already been reported by someone "
962 "else, then the two relevant bug reports should be merged into one using the "
963 "merge command of the BTS. In this way, when the bug is fixed, all of the "
964 "submitters will be informed of this. (Note, however, that emails sent to "
965 "one bug report's submitter won't automatically be sent to the other report's "
966 "submitter.) For more details on the technicalities of the merge command and "
967 "its relative, the unmerge command, see the BTS control server documentation."
970 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
973 "The bug submitter may have forgotten to provide some information, in which "
974 "case you have to ask them for the required information. You may use the "
975 "<literal>moreinfo</literal> tag to mark the bug as such. Moreover if you "
976 "can't reproduce the bug, you tag it <literal>unreproducible</literal>. "
977 "Anyone who can reproduce the bug is then invited to provide more information "
978 "on how to reproduce it. After a few months, if this information has not "
979 "been sent by someone, the bug may be closed."
982 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
985 "If the bug is related to the packaging, you just fix it. If you are not "
986 "able to fix it yourself, then tag the bug as <literal>help</literal>. You "
987 "can also ask for help on &email-debian-devel; or &email-debian-qa;. If it's "
988 "an upstream problem, you have to forward it to the upstream author. "
989 "Forwarding a bug is not enough, you have to check at each release if the bug "
990 "has been fixed or not. If it has, you just close it, otherwise you have to "
991 "remind the author about it. If you have the required skills you can prepare "
992 "a patch that fixes the bug and send it to the author at the same time. Make "
993 "sure to send the patch to the BTS and to tag the bug as <literal>patch</"
997 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1000 "If you have fixed a bug in your local copy, or if a fix has been committed "
1001 "to the CVS repository, you may tag the bug as <literal>pending</literal> to "
1002 "let people know that the bug is corrected and that it will be closed with "
1003 "the next upload (add the <literal>closes:</literal> in the "
1004 "<filename>changelog</filename>). This is particularly useful if you are "
1005 "several developers working on the same package."
1008 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1011 "Once a corrected package is available in the archive, the bug should be "
1012 "closed indicating the version in which it was fixed. This can be done "
1013 "automatically, read <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/>."
1016 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1018 msgid "When bugs are closed by new uploads"
1021 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1024 "As bugs and problems are fixed in your packages, it is your responsibility "
1025 "as the package maintainer to close these bugs. However, you should not "
1026 "close a bug until the package which fixes the bug has been accepted into the "
1027 "Debian archive. Therefore, once you get notification that your updated "
1028 "package has been installed into the archive, you can and should close the "
1029 "bug in the BTS. Also, the bug should be closed with the correct version."
1032 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1035 "However, it's possible to avoid having to manually close bugs after the "
1036 "upload — just list the fixed bugs in your <filename>debian/changelog</"
1037 "filename> file, following a certain syntax, and the archive maintenance "
1038 "software will close the bugs for you. For example:"
1041 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
1046 "acme-cannon (3.1415) unstable; urgency=low\n"
1048 " * Frobbed with options (closes: Bug#98339)\n"
1049 " * Added safety to prevent operator dismemberment, closes: bug#98765,\n"
1050 " bug#98713, #98714.\n"
1051 " * Added man page. Closes: #98725.\n"
1054 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1057 "Technically speaking, the following Perl regular expression describes how "
1058 "bug closing changelogs are identified:"
1061 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
1066 " /closes:\\s*(?:bug)?\\#\\s*\\d+(?:,\\s*(?:bug)?\\#\\s*\\d+)*/ig\n"
1069 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1072 "We prefer the <literal>closes: #<replaceable>XXX</replaceable></literal> "
1073 "syntax, as it is the most concise entry and the easiest to integrate with "
1074 "the text of the <filename>changelog</filename>. Unless specified different "
1075 "by the <replaceable>-v</replaceable>-switch to <command>dpkg-buildpackage</"
1076 "command>, only the bugs closed in the most recent changelog entry are closed "
1077 "(basically, exactly the bugs mentioned in the changelog-part in the "
1078 "<filename>.changes</filename> file are closed)."
1081 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1084 "Historically, uploads identified as <link linkend=\"nmu\">Non-maintainer "
1085 "upload (NMU)</link> were tagged <literal>fixed</literal> instead of being "
1086 "closed, but that practice was ceased with the advent of version-tracking. "
1087 "The same applied to the tag <literal>fixed-in-experimental</literal>."
1090 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1093 "If you happen to mistype a bug number or forget a bug in the changelog "
1094 "entries, don't hesitate to undo any damage the error caused. To reopen "
1095 "wrongly closed bugs, send a <literal>reopen <replaceable>XXX</replaceable></"
1096 "literal> command to the bug tracking system's control address, &email-bts-"
1097 "control;. To close any remaining bugs that were fixed by your upload, email "
1098 "the <filename>.changes</filename> file to <email>XXX-done@&bugs-host;</"
1099 "email>, where <replaceable>XXX</replaceable> is the bug number, and put "
1100 "Version: YYY and an empty line as the first two lines of the body of the "
1101 "email, where <replaceable>YYY</replaceable> is the first version where the "
1102 "bug has been fixed."
1105 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1108 "Bear in mind that it is not obligatory to close bugs using the changelog as "
1109 "described above. If you simply want to close bugs that don't have anything "
1110 "to do with an upload you made, do it by emailing an explanation to "
1111 "<email>XXX-done@&bugs-host;</email>. Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">not</"
1112 "emphasis> close bugs in the changelog entry of a version if the changes in "
1113 "that version of the package don't have any bearing on the bug."
1116 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1119 "For general information on how to write your changelog entries, see <xref "
1120 "linkend=\"bpp-debian-changelog\"/> ."
1123 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1125 msgid "Handling security-related bugs"
1128 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1131 "Due to their sensitive nature, security-related bugs must be handled "
1132 "carefully. The Debian Security Team exists to coordinate this activity, "
1133 "keeping track of outstanding security problems, helping maintainers with "
1134 "security problems or fixing them themselves, sending security advisories, "
1135 "and maintaining <literal>security.debian.org</literal>."
1138 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1141 "When you become aware of a security-related bug in a Debian package, whether "
1142 "or not you are the maintainer, collect pertinent information about the "
1143 "problem, and promptly contact the security team at &email-security-team; as "
1144 "soon as possible. <emphasis role=\"strong\">DO NOT UPLOAD</emphasis> any "
1145 "packages for <literal>stable</literal> without contacting the team. Useful "
1146 "information includes, for example:"
1149 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1152 "Which versions of the package are known to be affected by the bug. Check "
1153 "each version that is present in a supported Debian release, as well as "
1154 "<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>unstable</literal>."
1157 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1160 "The nature of the fix, if any is available (patches are especially helpful)"
1163 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1166 "Any fixed packages that you have prepared yourself (send only the <literal>."
1167 "diff.gz</literal> and <literal>.dsc</literal> files and read <xref linkend="
1168 "\"bug-security-building\"/> first)"
1171 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1174 "Any assistance you can provide to help with testing (exploits, regression "
1178 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1181 "Any information needed for the advisory (see <xref linkend=\"bug-security-"
1185 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1188 "As the maintainer of the package, you have the responsibility to maintain "
1189 "it, even in the stable release. You are in the best position to evaluate "
1190 "patches and test updated packages, so please see the sections below on how "
1191 "to prepare packages for the Security Team to handle."
1194 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1196 msgid "The Security Tracker"
1199 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1202 "The security team maintains a central database, the <ulink url=\"http://"
1203 "security-tracker.debian.net/\">Debian Security Tracker</ulink>. This "
1204 "contains all public information that is known about security issues: which "
1205 "packages and versions are affected or fixed, and thus whether stable, "
1206 "testing and/or unstable are vulnerable. Information that is still "
1207 "confidential is not added to the tracker."
1210 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1213 "You can search it for a specific issue, but also on package name. Look for "
1214 "your package to see which issues are still open. If you can, please provide "
1215 "more information about those issues, or help to address them in your "
1216 "package. Instructions are on the tracker web pages."
1219 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1221 msgid "Confidentiality"
1224 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1227 "Unlike most other activities within Debian, information about security "
1228 "issues must sometimes be kept private for a time. This allows software "
1229 "distributors to coordinate their disclosure in order to minimize their "
1230 "users' exposure. Whether this is the case depends on the nature of the "
1231 "problem and corresponding fix, and whether it is already a matter of public "
1235 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1237 msgid "There are several ways developers can learn of a security problem:"
1240 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1242 msgid "they notice it on a public forum (mailing list, web site, etc.)"
1245 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1247 msgid "someone files a bug report"
1250 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1252 msgid "someone informs them via private email"
1255 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1258 "In the first two cases, the information is public and it is important to "
1259 "have a fix as soon as possible. In the last case, however, it might not be "
1260 "public information. In that case there are a few possible options for "
1261 "dealing with the problem:"
1264 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1267 "If the security exposure is minor, there is sometimes no need to keep the "
1268 "problem a secret and a fix should be made and released."
1271 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1274 "If the problem is severe, it is preferable to share the information with "
1275 "other vendors and coordinate a release. The security team keeps in contact "
1276 "with the various organizations and individuals and can take care of that."
1279 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1282 "In all cases if the person who reports the problem asks that it not be "
1283 "disclosed, such requests should be honored, with the obvious exception of "
1284 "informing the security team in order that a fix may be produced for a stable "
1285 "release of Debian. When sending confidential information to the security "
1286 "team, be sure to mention this fact."
1289 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1292 "Please note that if secrecy is needed you may not upload a fix to "
1293 "<literal>unstable</literal> (or anywhere else, such as a public CVS "
1294 "repository). It is not sufficient to obfuscate the details of the change, "
1295 "as the code itself is public, and can (and will) be examined by the general "
1299 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1302 "There are two reasons for releasing information even though secrecy is "
1303 "requested: the problem has been known for a while, or the problem or exploit "
1304 "has become public."
1307 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1310 "The Security Team has a PGP-key to enable encrypted communication about "
1311 "sensitive issues. See the <ulink url=\"http://www.debian.org/security/faq.en."
1312 "html#contact\">Security Team FAQ</ulink> for details."
1315 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1317 msgid "Security Advisories"
1320 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1323 "Security advisories are only issued for the current, released stable "
1324 "distribution, and <emphasis>not</emphasis> for <literal>testing</literal> or "
1325 "<literal>unstable</literal>. When released, advisories are sent to the "
1326 "&email-debian-security-announce; mailing list and posted on <ulink url="
1327 "\"&url-debian-security-advisories;\">the security web page</ulink>. "
1328 "Security advisories are written and posted by the security team. However "
1329 "they certainly do not mind if a maintainer can supply some of the "
1330 "information for them, or write part of the text. Information that should be "
1331 "in an advisory includes:"
1334 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1336 msgid "A description of the problem and its scope, including:"
1339 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1341 msgid "The type of problem (privilege escalation, denial of service, etc.)"
1344 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1346 msgid "What privileges may be gained, and by whom (if any)"
1349 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1351 msgid "How it can be exploited"
1354 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1356 msgid "Whether it is remotely or locally exploitable"
1359 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1361 msgid "How the problem was fixed"
1364 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1366 msgid "This information allows users to assess the threat to their systems."
1369 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1371 msgid "Version numbers of affected packages"
1374 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1376 msgid "Version numbers of fixed packages"
1379 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1382 "Information on where to obtain the updated packages (usually from the Debian "
1386 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1389 "References to upstream advisories, <ulink url=\"http://cve.mitre.org\">CVE</"
1390 "ulink> identifiers, and any other information useful in cross-referencing "
1394 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1396 msgid "Preparing packages to address security issues"
1399 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1402 "One way that you can assist the security team in their duties is to provide "
1403 "them with fixed packages suitable for a security advisory for the stable "
1407 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1410 "When an update is made to the stable release, care must be taken to avoid "
1411 "changing system behavior or introducing new bugs. In order to do this, make "
1412 "as few changes as possible to fix the bug. Users and administrators rely on "
1413 "the exact behavior of a release once it is made, so any change that is made "
1414 "might break someone's system. This is especially true of libraries: make "
1415 "sure you never change the API or ABI, no matter how small the change."
1418 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1421 "This means that moving to a new upstream version is not a good solution. "
1422 "Instead, the relevant changes should be back-ported to the version present "
1423 "in the current stable Debian release. Generally, upstream maintainers are "
1424 "willing to help if needed. If not, the Debian security team may be able to "
1428 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1431 "In some cases, it is not possible to back-port a security fix, for example "
1432 "when large amounts of source code need to be modified or rewritten. If this "
1433 "happens, it may be necessary to move to a new upstream version. However, "
1434 "this is only done in extreme situations, and you must always coordinate that "
1435 "with the security team beforehand."
1438 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1441 "Related to this is another important guideline: always test your changes. "
1442 "If you have an exploit available, try it and see if it indeed succeeds on "
1443 "the unpatched package and fails on the fixed package. Test other, normal "
1444 "actions as well, as sometimes a security fix can break seemingly unrelated "
1445 "features in subtle ways."
1448 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1451 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> include any changes in your "
1452 "package which are not directly related to fixing the vulnerability. These "
1453 "will only need to be reverted, and this wastes time. If there are other "
1454 "bugs in your package that you would like to fix, make an upload to proposed-"
1455 "updates in the usual way, after the security advisory is issued. The "
1456 "security update mechanism is not a means for introducing changes to your "
1457 "package which would otherwise be rejected from the stable release, so please "
1458 "do not attempt to do this."
1461 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1464 "Review and test your changes as much as possible. Check the differences "
1465 "from the previous version repeatedly (<command>interdiff</command> from the "
1466 "<systemitem role=\"package\">patchutils</systemitem> package and "
1467 "<command>debdiff</command> from <systemitem role=\"package\">devscripts</"
1468 "systemitem> are useful tools for this, see <xref linkend=\"debdiff\"/> )."
1471 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1473 msgid "Be sure to verify the following items:"
1476 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1479 "<emphasis role=\"strong\">Target the right distribution</emphasis> in your "
1480 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>. For <literal>stable</literal> this "
1481 "is <literal>stable-security</literal> and for testing this is "
1482 "<literal>testing-security</literal>, and for the previous stable release, "
1483 "this is <literal>oldstable-security</literal>. Do not target "
1484 "<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal> "
1485 "or <literal>stable</literal>!"
1488 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1491 "The upload should have <emphasis role=\"strong\">urgency=high</emphasis>."
1494 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1497 "Make descriptive, meaningful changelog entries. Others will rely on them to "
1498 "determine whether a particular bug was fixed. Add <literal>closes:</"
1499 "literal> statements for any <emphasis role=\"strong\">Debian bugs</emphasis> "
1500 "filed. Always include an external reference, preferably a <emphasis role="
1501 "\"strong\">CVE identifier</emphasis>, so that it can be cross-referenced. "
1502 "However, if a CVE identifier has not yet been assigned, do not wait for it "
1503 "but continue the process. The identifier can be cross-referenced later."
1506 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1509 "Make sure the <emphasis role=\"strong\">version number</emphasis> is "
1510 "proper. It must be greater than the current package, but less than package "
1511 "versions in later distributions. If in doubt, test it with <literal>dpkg --"
1512 "compare-versions</literal>. Be careful not to re-use a version number that "
1513 "you have already used for a previous upload, or one that conflicts with a "
1514 "binNMU. The convention is to append <literal>+</"
1515 "literal><replaceable>codename</replaceable><literal>1</literal>, e.g. "
1516 "<literal>1:2.4.3-4+etch1</literal>, of course increasing 1 for any "
1517 "subsequent uploads."
1520 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1523 "Unless the upstream source has been uploaded to <literal>security.debian.org "
1524 "</literal> before (by a previous security update), build the upload "
1525 "<emphasis role=\"strong\">with full upstream source</emphasis> "
1526 "(<literal>dpkg-buildpackage -sa</literal>). If there has been a previous "
1527 "upload to <literal>security.debian.org</literal> with the same upstream "
1528 "version, you may upload without upstream source (<literal> dpkg-buildpackage "
1532 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1535 "Be sure to use the <emphasis role=\"strong\">exact same <filename>*.orig.tar."
1536 "gz</filename></emphasis> as used in the normal archive, otherwise it is not "
1537 "possible to move the security fix into the main archives later."
1540 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1543 "Build the package on a <emphasis role=\"strong\">clean system</emphasis> "
1544 "which only has packages installed from the distribution you are building "
1545 "for. If you do not have such a system yourself, you can use a debian.org "
1546 "machine (see <xref linkend=\"server-machines\"/> ) or setup a chroot (see "
1547 "<xref linkend=\"pbuilder\"/> and <xref linkend=\"debootstrap\"/> )."
1550 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1552 msgid "Uploading the fixed package"
1555 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1558 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload a package to the security "
1559 "upload queue (<literal>oldstable-security</literal>, <literal>stable-"
1560 "security </literal>, etc.) without prior authorization from the security "
1561 "team. If the package does not exactly meet the team's requirements, it will "
1562 "cause many problems and delays in dealing with the unwanted upload."
1565 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1568 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload your fix to <literal> "
1569 "proposed-updates</literal> without coordinating with the security team. "
1570 "Packages from <literal>security.debian.org</literal> will be copied into the "
1571 "<literal>proposed-updates</literal> directory automatically. If a package "
1572 "with the same or a higher version number is already installed into the "
1573 "archive, the security update will be rejected by the archive system. That "
1574 "way, the stable distribution will end up without a security update for this "
1578 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1581 "Once you have created and tested the new package and it has been approved by "
1582 "the security team, it needs to be uploaded so that it can be installed in "
1583 "the archives. For security uploads, the place to upload to is "
1584 "<literal>ftp://security-master.debian.org/pub/SecurityUploadQueue/</"
1588 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1591 "Once an upload to the security queue has been accepted, the package will "
1592 "automatically be built for all architectures and stored for verification by "
1593 "the security team."
1596 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1599 "Uploads which are waiting for acceptance or verification are only accessible "
1600 "by the security team. This is necessary since there might be fixes for "
1601 "security problems that cannot be disclosed yet."
1604 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1607 "If a member of the security team accepts a package, it will be installed on "
1608 "<literal>security.debian.org</literal> as well as proposed for the proper "
1609 "<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal> "
1610 "on <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>."
1613 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
1615 msgid "Moving, removing, renaming, adopting, and orphaning packages"
1618 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
1621 "Some archive manipulation operations are not automated in the Debian upload "
1622 "process. These procedures should be manually followed by maintainers. This "
1623 "chapter gives guidelines on what to do in these cases."
1626 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1628 msgid "Moving packages"
1631 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para><footnote>
1634 "Sometimes a package will change its section. For instance, a package from "
1635 "the `non-free' section might be GPL'd in a later version, in which case the "
1636 "package should be moved to `main' or `contrib'.<footnote>"
1639 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
1642 "See the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for "
1643 "guidelines on what section a package belongs in."
1646 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1647 #: pkgs.dbk:1232 pkgs.dbk:1664
1651 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1654 "If you need to change the section for one of your packages, change the "
1655 "package control information to place the package in the desired section, and "
1656 "re-upload the package (see the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian "
1657 "Policy Manual</ulink> for details). You must ensure that you include the "
1658 "<filename>.orig.tar.gz</filename> in your upload (even if you are not "
1659 "uploading a new upstream version), or it will not appear in the new section "
1660 "together with the rest of the package. If your new section is valid, it "
1661 "will be moved automatically. If it does not, then contact the ftpmasters in "
1662 "order to understand what happened."
1665 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1668 "If, on the other hand, you need to change the <literal>subsection</literal> "
1669 "of one of your packages (e.g., ``devel'', ``admin''), the procedure is "
1670 "slightly different. Correct the subsection as found in the control file of "
1671 "the package, and re-upload that. Also, you'll need to get the override file "
1672 "updated, as described in <xref linkend=\"override-file\"/> ."
1675 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1677 msgid "Removing packages"
1680 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1683 "If for some reason you want to completely remove a package (say, if it is an "
1684 "old compatibility library which is no longer required), you need to file a "
1685 "bug against <literal>ftp.debian.org</literal> asking that the package be "
1686 "removed; as all bugs, this bug should normally have normal severity. The "
1687 "bug title should be in the form <literal>RM: <replaceable>package </"
1688 "replaceable> <replaceable>[architecture list]</replaceable> -- "
1689 "<replaceable>reason</replaceable></literal>, where <replaceable>package</"
1690 "replaceable> is the package to be removed and <replaceable>reason</"
1691 "replaceable> is a short summary of the reason for the removal request. "
1692 "<replaceable>[architecture list]</replaceable> is optional and only needed "
1693 "if the removal request only applies to some architectures, not all. Note "
1694 "that the <command>reportbug</command> will create a title conforming to "
1695 "these rules when you use it to report a bug against the <literal> ftp.debian."
1696 "org</literal> pseudo-package."
1699 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1702 "If you want to remove a package you maintain, you should note this in the "
1703 "bug title by prepending <literal>ROM</literal> (Request Of Maintainer). "
1704 "There are several other standard acronyms used in the reasoning for a "
1705 "package removal, see <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/removals.html\"></"
1706 "ulink> for a complete list. That page also provides a convenient overview of "
1707 "pending removal requests."
1710 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1713 "Note that removals can only be done for the <literal>unstable </literal>, "
1714 "<literal>experimental</literal> and <literal>stable </literal> "
1715 "distribution. Packages are not removed from <literal>testing</literal> "
1716 "directly. Rather, they will be removed automatically after the package has "
1717 "been removed from <literal>unstable</literal> and no package in "
1718 "<literal>testing </literal> depends on it."
1721 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1724 "There is one exception when an explicit removal request is not necessary: If "
1725 "a (source or binary) package is an orphan, it will be removed semi-"
1726 "automatically. For a binary-package, this means if there is no longer any "
1727 "source package producing this binary package; if the binary package is just "
1728 "no longer produced on some architectures, a removal request is still "
1729 "necessary. For a source-package, this means that all binary packages it "
1730 "refers to have been taken over by another source package."
1733 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1736 "In your removal request, you have to detail the reasons justifying the "
1737 "request. This is to avoid unwanted removals and to keep a trace of why a "
1738 "package has been removed. For example, you can provide the name of the "
1739 "package that supersedes the one to be removed."
1742 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1745 "Usually you only ask for the removal of a package maintained by yourself. "
1746 "If you want to remove another package, you have to get the approval of its "
1747 "maintainer. Should the package be orphaned and thus have no maintainer, you "
1748 "should first discuss the removal request on &email-debian-qa;. If there is a "
1749 "consensus that the package should be removed, you should reassign and "
1750 "retitle the <literal>O:</literal> bug filed against the <literal>wnpp</"
1751 "literal> package instead of filing a new bug as removal request."
1754 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1757 "Further information relating to these and other package removal related "
1758 "topics may be found at <ulink url=\"http://wiki.debian.org/ftpmaster_Removals"
1759 "\"></ulink> and <ulink url=\"&url-debian-qa;howto-remove.html\"></ulink>."
1762 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1765 "If in doubt concerning whether a package is disposable, email &email-debian-"
1766 "devel; asking for opinions. Also of interest is the <command>apt-cache</"
1767 "command> program from the <systemitem role=\"package\">apt</systemitem> "
1768 "package. When invoked as <literal>apt-cache showpkg <replaceable>package</"
1769 "replaceable></literal>, the program will show details for "
1770 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>, including reverse depends. Other useful "
1771 "programs include <literal>apt-cache rdepends</literal>, <command>apt-"
1772 "rdepends</command>, <command>build-rdeps</command> (in the <systemitem role="
1773 "\"package\">devscripts</systemitem> package) and <command>grep-dctrl</"
1774 "command>. Removal of orphaned packages is discussed on &email-debian-qa;."
1777 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1780 "Once the package has been removed, the package's bugs should be handled. "
1781 "They should either be reassigned to another package in the case where the "
1782 "actual code has evolved into another package (e.g. <literal>libfoo12</"
1783 "literal> was removed because <literal>libfoo13</literal> supersedes it) or "
1784 "closed if the software is simply no longer part of Debian."
1787 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1789 msgid "Removing packages from <filename>Incoming</filename>"
1792 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1795 "In the past, it was possible to remove packages from <filename>incoming</"
1796 "filename>. However, with the introduction of the new incoming system, this "
1797 "is no longer possible. Instead, you have to upload a new revision of your "
1798 "package with a higher version than the package you want to replace. Both "
1799 "versions will be installed in the archive but only the higher version will "
1800 "actually be available in <literal>unstable</literal> since the previous "
1801 "version will immediately be replaced by the higher. However, if you do "
1802 "proper testing of your packages, the need to replace a package should not "
1803 "occur too often anyway."
1806 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1808 msgid "Replacing or renaming packages"
1811 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1814 "When the upstream maintainers for one of your packages chose to rename their "
1815 "software (or you made a mistake naming your package), you should follow a "
1816 "two-step process to rename it. In the first step, change the "
1817 "<filename>debian/control</filename> file to reflect the new name and to "
1818 "replace, provide and conflict with the obsolete package name (see the <ulink "
1819 "url=\"&url-debian-policy;\"> Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for details). "
1820 "Please note that you should only add a <literal>Provides</literal> relation "
1821 "if all packages depending on the obsolete package name continue to work "
1822 "after the renaming. Once you've uploaded the package and the package has "
1823 "moved into the archive, file a bug against <literal> ftp.debian.org</"
1824 "literal> asking to remove the package with the obsolete name (see <xref "
1825 "linkend=\"removing-pkgs\"/>). Do not forget to properly reassign the "
1826 "package's bugs at the same time."
1829 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1832 "At other times, you may make a mistake in constructing your package and wish "
1833 "to replace it. The only way to do this is to increase the version number "
1834 "and upload a new version. The old version will be expired in the usual "
1835 "manner. Note that this applies to each part of your package, including the "
1836 "sources: if you wish to replace the upstream source tarball of your package, "
1837 "you will need to upload it with a different version. An easy possibility is "
1838 "to replace <filename>foo_1.00.orig.tar.gz</filename> with <filename>foo_1.00"
1839 "+0.orig.tar.gz</filename>. This restriction gives each file on the ftp site "
1840 "a unique name, which helps to ensure consistency across the mirror network."
1843 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1845 msgid "Orphaning a package"
1848 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1851 "If you can no longer maintain a package, you need to inform others, and see "
1852 "that the package is marked as orphaned. You should set the package "
1853 "maintainer to <literal>Debian QA Group &orphan-address;</literal> and submit "
1854 "a bug report against the pseudo package <systemitem role=\"package\">wnpp</"
1855 "systemitem>. The bug report should be titled <literal>O: "
1856 "<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</"
1857 "replaceable></literal> indicating that the package is now orphaned. The "
1858 "severity of the bug should be set to <literal>normal</literal>; if the "
1859 "package has a priority of standard or higher, it should be set to "
1860 "important. If you feel it's necessary, send a copy to &email-debian-devel; "
1861 "by putting the address in the X-Debbugs-CC: header of the message (no, don't "
1862 "use CC:, because that way the message's subject won't indicate the bug "
1866 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1869 "If you just intend to give the package away, but you can keep maintainership "
1870 "for the moment, then you should instead submit a bug against <systemitem "
1871 "role=\"package\">wnpp</systemitem> and title it <literal>RFA: "
1872 "<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</"
1873 "replaceable></literal>. <literal>RFA</literal> stands for <literal>Request "
1874 "For Adoption</literal>."
1877 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1880 "More information is on the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">WNPP web pages</ulink>."
1883 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1885 msgid "Adopting a package"
1888 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1891 "A list of packages in need of a new maintainer is available in the <ulink "
1892 "url=\"&url-wnpp;\">Work-Needing and Prospective Packages list (WNPP)</"
1893 "ulink>. If you wish to take over maintenance of any of the packages listed "
1894 "in the WNPP, please take a look at the aforementioned page for information "
1898 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1901 "It is not OK to simply take over a package that you feel is neglected — that "
1902 "would be package hijacking. You can, of course, contact the current "
1903 "maintainer and ask them if you may take over the package. If you have "
1904 "reason to believe a maintainer has gone AWOL (absent without leave), see "
1905 "<xref linkend=\"mia-qa\"/> ."
1908 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1911 "Generally, you may not take over the package without the assent of the "
1912 "current maintainer. Even if they ignore you, that is still not grounds to "
1913 "take over a package. Complaints about maintainers should be brought up on "
1914 "the developers' mailing list. If the discussion doesn't end with a positive "
1915 "conclusion, and the issue is of a technical nature, consider bringing it to "
1916 "the attention of the technical committee (see the <ulink url=\"&url-tech-"
1917 "ctte;\">technical committee web page</ulink> for more information)."
1920 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1923 "If you take over an old package, you probably want to be listed as the "
1924 "package's official maintainer in the bug system. This will happen "
1925 "automatically once you upload a new version with an updated "
1926 "<literal>Maintainer:</literal> field, although it can take a few hours after "
1927 "the upload is done. If you do not expect to upload a new version for a "
1928 "while, you can use <xref linkend=\"pkg-tracking-system\"/> to get the bug "
1929 "reports. However, make sure that the old maintainer has no problem with the "
1930 "fact that they will continue to receive the bugs during that time."
1933 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
1935 msgid "Porting and being ported"
1938 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
1941 "Debian supports an ever-increasing number of architectures. Even if you are "
1942 "not a porter, and you don't use any architecture but one, it is part of your "
1943 "duty as a maintainer to be aware of issues of portability. Therefore, even "
1944 "if you are not a porter, you should read most of this chapter."
1947 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
1950 "Porting is the act of building Debian packages for architectures that are "
1951 "different from the original architecture of the package maintainer's binary "
1952 "package. It is a unique and essential activity. In fact, porters do most "
1953 "of the actual compiling of Debian packages. For instance, when a maintainer "
1954 "uploads a (portable) source packages with binaries for the <literal>i386 </"
1955 "literal> architecture, it will be built for each of the other architectures, "
1956 "amounting to &number-of-arches; more builds."
1959 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1961 msgid "Being kind to porters"
1964 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1967 "Porters have a difficult and unique task, since they are required to deal "
1968 "with a large volume of packages. Ideally, every source package should build "
1969 "right out of the box. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. This "
1970 "section contains a checklist of ``gotchas'' often committed by Debian "
1971 "maintainers — common problems which often stymie porters, and make their "
1972 "jobs unnecessarily difficult."
1975 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1978 "The first and most important thing is to respond quickly to bug or issues "
1979 "raised by porters. Please treat porters with courtesy, as if they were in "
1980 "fact co-maintainers of your package (which, in a way, they are). Please be "
1981 "tolerant of succinct or even unclear bug reports; do your best to hunt down "
1982 "whatever the problem is."
1985 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1988 "By far, most of the problems encountered by porters are caused by "
1989 "<emphasis>packaging bugs</emphasis> in the source packages. Here is a "
1990 "checklist of things you should check or be aware of."
1993 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1996 "Make sure that your <literal>Build-Depends</literal> and <literal>Build-"
1997 "Depends-Indep</literal> settings in <filename>debian/control</filename> are "
1998 "set properly. The best way to validate this is to use the <systemitem role="
1999 "\"package\">debootstrap</systemitem> package to create an <literal>unstable</"
2000 "literal> chroot environment (see <xref linkend=\"debootstrap\"/> ). Within "
2001 "that chrooted environment, install the <systemitem role=\"package\">build-"
2002 "essential</systemitem> package and any package dependencies mentioned in "
2003 "<literal>Build-Depends</literal> and/or <literal>Build-Depends-Indep</"
2004 "literal>. Finally, try building your package within that chrooted "
2005 "environment. These steps can be automated by the use of the "
2006 "<command>pbuilder</command> program which is provided by the package of the "
2007 "same name (see <xref linkend=\"pbuilder\"/> )."
2010 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2013 "If you can't set up a proper chroot, <command>dpkg-depcheck</command> may be "
2014 "of assistance (see <xref linkend=\"dpkg-depcheck\"/> )."
2017 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2020 "See the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for "
2021 "instructions on setting build dependencies."
2024 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2027 "Don't set architecture to a value other than <literal>all</literal> or "
2028 "<literal>any</literal> unless you really mean it. In too many cases, "
2029 "maintainers don't follow the instructions in the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-"
2030 "policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink>. Setting your architecture to only "
2031 "one architecture (such as <literal>i386</literal> or <literal>amd64</"
2032 "literal>) is usually incorrect."
2035 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2038 "Make sure your source package is correct. Do <literal>dpkg-source -x "
2039 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>.dsc</literal> to make sure your source "
2040 "package unpacks properly. Then, in there, try building your package from "
2041 "scratch with <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command>."
2044 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2047 "Make sure you don't ship your source package with the <filename>debian/"
2048 "files</filename> or <filename>debian/substvars</filename> files. They "
2049 "should be removed by the <literal>clean</literal> target of <filename>debian/"
2053 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2056 "Make sure you don't rely on locally installed or hacked configurations or "
2057 "programs. For instance, you should never be calling programs in <filename>/"
2058 "usr/local/bin</filename> or the like. Try not to rely on programs being "
2059 "setup in a special way. Try building your package on another machine, even "
2060 "if it's the same architecture."
2063 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2066 "Don't depend on the package you're building being installed already (a sub-"
2067 "case of the above issue). There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but "
2068 "be aware that any case like this needs manual bootstrapping and cannot be "
2069 "done by automated package builders."
2072 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2075 "Don't rely on the compiler being a certain version, if possible. If not, "
2076 "then make sure your build dependencies reflect the restrictions, although "
2077 "you are probably asking for trouble, since different architectures sometimes "
2078 "standardize on different compilers."
2081 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2084 "Make sure your debian/rules contains separate <literal>binary-arch</literal> "
2085 "and <literal>binary-indep</literal> targets, as the Debian Policy Manual "
2086 "requires. Make sure that both targets work independently, that is, that you "
2087 "can call the target without having called the other before. To test this, "
2088 "try to run <command>dpkg-buildpackage -B</command>."
2091 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2093 msgid "Guidelines for porter uploads"
2096 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2099 "If the package builds out of the box for the architecture to be ported to, "
2100 "you are in luck and your job is easy. This section applies to that case; it "
2101 "describes how to build and upload your binary package so that it is properly "
2102 "installed into the archive. If you do have to patch the package in order to "
2103 "get it to compile for the other architecture, you are actually doing a "
2104 "source NMU, so consult <xref linkend=\"nmu-guidelines\"/> instead."
2107 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2110 "For a porter upload, no changes are being made to the source. You do not "
2111 "need to touch any of the files in the source package. This includes "
2112 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>."
2115 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2118 "The way to invoke <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command> is as <literal>dpkg-"
2119 "buildpackage -B -m<replaceable>porter-email</replaceable></literal>. Of "
2120 "course, set <replaceable>porter-email</replaceable> to your email address. "
2121 "This will do a binary-only build of only the architecture-dependent portions "
2122 "of the package, using the <literal>binary-arch</literal> target in "
2123 "<filename>debian/rules </filename>."
2126 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2129 "If you are working on a Debian machine for your porting efforts and you need "
2130 "to sign your upload locally for its acceptance in the archive, you can run "
2131 "<command>debsign</command> on your <filename>.changes</filename> file to "
2132 "have it signed conveniently, or use the remote signing mode of <command>dpkg-"
2136 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2138 msgid "Recompilation or binary-only NMU"
2141 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2144 "Sometimes the initial porter upload is problematic because the environment "
2145 "in which the package was built was not good enough (outdated or obsolete "
2146 "library, bad compiler, ...). Then you may just need to recompile it in an "
2147 "updated environment. However, you have to bump the version number in this "
2148 "case, so that the old bad package can be replaced in the Debian archive "
2149 "(<command>dak</command> refuses to install new packages if they don't have a "
2150 "version number greater than the currently available one)."
2153 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2156 "You have to make sure that your binary-only NMU doesn't render the package "
2157 "uninstallable. This could happen when a source package generates arch-"
2158 "dependent and arch-independent packages that have inter-dependencies "
2159 "generated using dpkg's substitution variable <literal>$(Source-Version) </"
2163 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2166 "Despite the required modification of the changelog, these are called binary-"
2167 "only NMUs — there is no need in this case to trigger all other architectures "
2168 "to consider themselves out of date or requiring recompilation."
2171 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2174 "Such recompilations require special ``magic'' version numbering, so that the "
2175 "archive maintenance tools recognize that, even though there is a new Debian "
2176 "version, there is no corresponding source update. If you get this wrong, "
2177 "the archive maintainers will reject your upload (due to lack of "
2178 "corresponding source code)."
2181 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para><footnote>
2184 "The ``magic'' for a recompilation-only NMU is triggered by using a suffix "
2185 "appended to the package version number, following the form <literal> "
2186 "b<replaceable>number</replaceable></literal>. For instance, if the latest "
2187 "version you are recompiling against was version <literal>2.9-3</literal>, "
2188 "your binary-only NMU should carry a version of <literal>2.9-3+b1</literal>. "
2189 "If the latest version was <literal>3.4+b1 </literal> (i.e, a native package "
2190 "with a previous recompilation NMU), your binary-only NMU should have a "
2191 "version number of <literal>3.4+b2</literal>. <footnote>"
2194 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para><footnote><para>
2197 "In the past, such NMUs used the third-level number on the Debian part of the "
2198 "revision to denote their recompilation-only status; however, this syntax was "
2199 "ambiguous with native packages and did not allow proper ordering of "
2200 "recompile-only NMUs, source NMUs, and security NMUs on the same package, and "
2201 "has therefore been abandoned in favor of this new syntax."
2204 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2207 "Similar to initial porter uploads, the correct way of invoking <command>dpkg-"
2208 "buildpackage</command> is <literal>dpkg-buildpackage -B</literal> to only "
2209 "build the architecture-dependent parts of the package."
2212 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2214 msgid "When to do a source NMU if you are a porter"
2217 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2220 "Porters doing a source NMU generally follow the guidelines found in <xref "
2221 "linkend=\"nmu\"/> , just like non-porters. However, it is expected that the "
2222 "wait cycle for a porter's source NMU is smaller than for a non-porter, since "
2223 "porters have to cope with a large quantity of packages. Again, the "
2224 "situation varies depending on the distribution they are uploading to. It "
2225 "also varies whether the architecture is a candidate for inclusion into the "
2226 "next stable release; the release managers decide and announce which "
2227 "architectures are candidates."
2230 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2233 "If you are a porter doing an NMU for <literal>unstable</literal>, the above "
2234 "guidelines for porting should be followed, with two variations. Firstly, "
2235 "the acceptable waiting period — the time between when the bug is submitted "
2236 "to the BTS and when it is OK to do an NMU — is seven days for porters "
2237 "working on the <literal>unstable</literal> distribution. This period can be "
2238 "shortened if the problem is critical and imposes hardship on the porting "
2239 "effort, at the discretion of the porter group. (Remember, none of this is "
2240 "Policy, just mutually agreed upon guidelines.) For uploads to "
2241 "<literal>stable</literal> or <literal>testing </literal>, please coordinate "
2242 "with the appropriate release team first."
2245 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2248 "Secondly, porters doing source NMUs should make sure that the bug they "
2249 "submit to the BTS should be of severity <literal>serious</literal> or "
2250 "greater. This ensures that a single source package can be used to compile "
2251 "every supported Debian architecture by release time. It is very important "
2252 "that we have one version of the binary and source package for all "
2253 "architectures in order to comply with many licenses."
2256 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2259 "Porters should try to avoid patches which simply kludge around bugs in the "
2260 "current version of the compile environment, kernel, or libc. Sometimes such "
2261 "kludges can't be helped. If you have to kludge around compiler bugs and the "
2262 "like, make sure you <literal>#ifdef</literal> your work properly; also, "
2263 "document your kludge so that people know to remove it once the external "
2264 "problems have been fixed."
2267 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2270 "Porters may also have an unofficial location where they can put the results "
2271 "of their work during the waiting period. This helps others running the port "
2272 "have the benefit of the porter's work, even during the waiting period. Of "
2273 "course, such locations have no official blessing or status, so buyer beware."
2276 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2278 msgid "Porting infrastructure and automation"
2281 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2284 "There is infrastructure and several tools to help automate package porting. "
2285 "This section contains a brief overview of this automation and porting to "
2286 "these tools; see the package documentation or references for full "
2290 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2292 msgid "Mailing lists and web pages"
2295 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2298 "Web pages containing the status of each port can be found at <ulink url="
2299 "\"&url-debian-ports;\"></ulink>."
2302 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2305 "Each port of Debian has a mailing list. The list of porting mailing lists "
2306 "can be found at <ulink url=\"&url-debian-port-lists;\"></ulink>. These "
2307 "lists are used to coordinate porters, and to connect the users of a given "
2308 "port with the porters."
2311 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2313 msgid "Porter tools"
2316 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2319 "Descriptions of several porting tools can be found in <xref linkend=\"tools-"
2323 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2325 msgid "<systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem>"
2328 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2331 "The <systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem> system is used as "
2332 "a distributed, client-server build distribution system. It is usually used "
2333 "in conjunction with build daemons running the <systemitem role=\"package"
2334 "\">buildd </systemitem> program. <literal>Build daemons</literal> are "
2335 "``slave'' hosts which contact the central <systemitem role=\"package\"> "
2336 "wanna-build</systemitem> system to receive a list of packages that need to "
2340 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2343 "<systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem> is not yet available "
2344 "as a package; however, all Debian porting efforts are using it for automated "
2345 "package building. The tool used to do the actual package builds, "
2346 "<systemitem role=\"package\">sbuild</systemitem> is available as a package, "
2347 "see its description in <xref linkend=\"sbuild\"/> . Please note that the "
2348 "packaged version is not the same as the one used on build daemons, but it is "
2349 "close enough to reproduce problems."
2352 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2355 "Most of the data produced by <systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build </"
2356 "systemitem> which is generally useful to porters is available on the web at "
2357 "<ulink url=\"&url-buildd;\"></ulink>. This data includes nightly updated "
2358 "statistics, queueing information and logs for build attempts."
2361 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2364 "We are quite proud of this system, since it has so many possible uses. "
2365 "Independent development groups can use the system for different sub-flavors "
2366 "of Debian, which may or may not really be of general interest (for instance, "
2367 "a flavor of Debian built with <command>gcc</command> bounds checking). It "
2368 "will also enable Debian to recompile entire distributions quickly."
2371 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2374 "The buildds admins of each arch can be contacted at the mail address "
2375 "<literal><replaceable>arch</replaceable>@buildd.debian.org</literal>."
2378 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2380 msgid "When your package is <emphasis>not</emphasis> portable"
2383 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2386 "Some packages still have issues with building and/or working on some of the "
2387 "architectures supported by Debian, and cannot be ported at all, or not "
2388 "within a reasonable amount of time. An example is a package that is SVGA-"
2389 "specific (only available for <literal>i386</literal> and <literal>amd64</"
2390 "literal>), or uses other hardware-specific features not supported on all "
2394 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2397 "In order to prevent broken packages from being uploaded to the archive, and "
2398 "wasting buildd time, you need to do a few things:"
2401 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2404 "First, make sure your package <emphasis>does</emphasis> fail to build on "
2405 "architectures that it cannot support. There are a few ways to achieve "
2406 "this. The preferred way is to have a small testsuite during build time that "
2407 "will test the functionality, and fail if it doesn't work. This is a good "
2408 "idea anyway, as this will prevent (some) broken uploads on all "
2409 "architectures, and also will allow the package to build as soon as the "
2410 "required functionality is available."
2413 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2416 "Additionally, if you believe the list of supported architectures is pretty "
2417 "constant, you should change <literal>any</literal> to a list of supported "
2418 "architectures in <filename>debian/control</filename>. This way, the build "
2419 "will fail also, and indicate this to a human reader without actually trying."
2422 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2425 "In order to prevent autobuilders from needlessly trying to build your "
2426 "package, it must be included in <filename>packages-arch-specific</filename>, "
2427 "a list used by the <command>wanna-build</command> script. The current "
2428 "version is available as <ulink url=\"&url-cvsweb;srcdep/Packages-arch-"
2429 "specific?cvsroot=dak\"></ulink>; please see the top of the file for whom to "
2430 "contact for changes."
2433 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2436 "Please note that it is insufficient to only add your package to Packages-"
2437 "arch-specific without making it fail to build on unsupported architectures: "
2438 "A porter or any other person trying to build your package might accidently "
2439 "upload it without noticing it doesn't work. If in the past some binary "
2440 "packages were uploaded on unsupported architectures, request their removal "
2441 "by filing a bug against <systemitem role=\"package\">ftp.debian.org</"
2445 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2447 msgid "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
2450 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2453 "Every package has one or more maintainers. Normally, these are the people "
2454 "who work on and upload new versions of the package. In some situations, it "
2455 "is useful that other developers can upload a new version as well, for "
2456 "example if they want to fix a bug in a package they don't maintain, when the "
2457 "maintainer needs help to respond to issues. Such uploads are called "
2458 "<emphasis>Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMU)</emphasis>."
2461 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2463 msgid "When and how to do an NMU"
2466 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2468 msgid "Before doing an NMU, consider the following questions:"
2471 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2474 "Does your NMU really fix bugs? Fixing cosmetic issues or changing the "
2475 "packaging style in NMUs is discouraged."
2478 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2481 "Did you give enough time to the maintainer? When was the bug reported to the "
2482 "BTS? Being busy for a week or two isn't unusual. Is the bug so severe that "
2483 "it needs to be fixed right now, or can it wait a few more days?"
2486 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2489 "How confident are you about your changes? Please remember the Hippocratic "
2490 "Oath: \"Above all, do no harm.\" It is better to leave a package with an "
2491 "open grave bug than applying a non-functional patch, or one that hides the "
2492 "bug instead of resolving it. If you are not 100% sure of what you did, it "
2493 "might be a good idea to seek advice from others. Remember that if you break "
2494 "something in your NMU, many people will be very unhappy about it."
2497 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2500 "Have you clearly expressed your intention to NMU, at least in the BTS? It is "
2501 "also a good idea to try to contact the maintainer by other means (private "
2505 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2508 "If the maintainer is usually active and responsive, have you tried to "
2509 "contact him? In general it should be considered preferable that a maintainer "
2510 "takes care of an issue himself and that he is given the chance to review and "
2511 "correct your patch, because he can be expected to be more aware of potential "
2512 "issues which an NMUer might miss. It is often a better use of everyone's "
2513 "time if the maintainer is given an opportunity to upload a fix on their own."
2516 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2519 "When doing an NMU, you must first make sure that your intention to NMU is "
2520 "clear. Then, you must send a patch with the differences between the current "
2521 "package and your proposed NMU to the BTS. The <literal>nmudiff</literal> "
2522 "script in the <literal>devscripts</literal> package might be helpful."
2525 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2528 "While preparing the patch, you should better be aware of any package-"
2529 "specific practices that the maintainer might be using. Taking them into "
2530 "account reduces the burden of getting your changes integrated back in the "
2531 "normal package workflow and thus increases the possibilities that that will "
2532 "happen. A good place where to look for for possible package-specific "
2533 "practices is <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;ch-source.html#s-readmesource"
2534 "\"><literal>debian/README.source</literal></ulink>."
2537 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2540 "Unless you have an excellent reason not to do so, you must then give some "
2541 "time to the maintainer to react (for example, by uploading to the "
2542 "<literal>DELAYED</literal> queue). Here are some recommended values to use "
2546 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2548 msgid "Upload fixing only release-critical bugs older than 7 days: 2 days"
2551 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2553 msgid "Upload fixing only release-critical and important bugs: 5 days"
2556 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2558 msgid "Other NMUs: 10 days"
2561 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2564 "Those delays are only examples. In some cases, such as uploads fixing "
2565 "security issues, or fixes for trivial bugs that blocking a transition, it is "
2566 "desirable that the fixed package reaches <literal>unstable</literal> sooner."
2569 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2572 "Sometimes, release managers decide to allow NMUs with shorter delays for a "
2573 "subset of bugs (e.g release-critical bugs older than 7 days). Also, some "
2574 "maintainers list themselves in the <ulink url=\"&url-low-threshold-nmu;"
2575 "\">Low Threshold NMU list</ulink>, and accept that NMUs are uploaded without "
2576 "delay. But even in those cases, it's still a good idea to give the "
2577 "maintainer a few days to react before you upload, especially if the patch "
2578 "wasn't available in the BTS before, or if you know that the maintainer is "
2582 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2585 "After you upload an NMU, you are responsible for the possible problems that "
2586 "you might have introduced. You must keep an eye on the package (subscribing "
2587 "to the package on the PTS is a good way to achieve this)."
2590 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2593 "This is not a license to perform NMUs thoughtlessly. If you NMU when it is "
2594 "clear that the maintainers are active and would have acknowledged a patch in "
2595 "a timely manner, or if you ignore the recommendations of this document, your "
2596 "upload might be a cause of conflict with the maintainer. You should always "
2597 "be prepared to defend the wisdom of any NMU you perform on its own merits."
2600 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2602 msgid "NMUs and debian/changelog"
2605 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2608 "Just like any other (source) upload, NMUs must add an entry to "
2609 "<literal>debian/changelog</literal>, telling what has changed with this "
2610 "upload. The first line of this entry must explicitely mention that this "
2611 "upload is an NMU, e.g.:"
2614 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
2619 " * Non-maintainer upload.\n"
2622 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2625 "The version must be the version of the last maintainer upload, plus <literal>"
2626 "+nmu<replaceable>X</replaceable></literal>, where <replaceable>X</"
2627 "replaceable> is a counter starting at <literal>1</literal>. If the last "
2628 "upload was also an NMU, the counter should be increased. For example, if "
2629 "the current version is <literal>1.5-1</literal>, then an NMU would get "
2630 "version <literal>1.5-1+nmu1</literal>. If the current version is "
2631 "<literal>1.5+nmu3</literal> (a native package which has already been NMUed), "
2632 "the NMU would get version <literal>1.5+nmu4</literal>. If a new upstream "
2633 "version is packaged in the NMU, the debian revision is set to <literal>0</"
2634 "literal>, for example <literal>1.6-0+nmu1</literal>."
2637 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2640 "A special versioning scheme is needed to avoid disrupting the maintainer's "
2641 "work, since using an integer for the Debian revision will potentially "
2642 "conflict with a maintainer upload already in preparation at the time of an "
2643 "NMU, or even one sitting in the ftp NEW queue. It also has the benefit of "
2644 "making it visually clear that a package in the archive was not made by the "
2645 "official maintainer."
2648 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2651 "If you upload a package to testing or stable, you sometimes need to \"fork\" "
2652 "the version number tree. This is the case for security uploads, for "
2653 "example. For this, a version of the form <literal>+deb<replaceable>XY</"
2654 "replaceable>u<replaceable>Z</replaceable></literal> should be used, where "
2655 "<replaceable>X</replaceable> and <replaceable>Y</replaceable> are the major "
2656 "and minor release numbers, and <replaceable>Z</replaceable> is a counter "
2657 "starting at <literal>1</literal>. When the release number is not yet known "
2658 "(often the case for <literal>testing</literal>, at the beginning of release "
2659 "cycles), the lowest release number higher than the last stable release "
2660 "number must be used. For example, while Etch (Debian 4.0) is stable, a "
2661 "security NMU to stable for a package at version <literal>1.5-3</literal> "
2662 "would have version <literal>1.5-3+deb40u1</literal>, whereas a security NMU "
2663 "to Lenny would get version <literal>1.5-3+deb50u1</literal>. After the "
2664 "release of Lenny, security uploads to the <literal>testing</literal> "
2665 "distribution will be versioned <literal>+deb51uZ</literal>, until it is "
2666 "known whether that release will be Debian 5.1 or Debian 6.0 (if that becomes "
2667 "the case, uploads will be versioned as <literal>+deb60uZ</literal>."
2670 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2672 msgid "Using the <literal>DELAYED/</literal> queue"
2675 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2678 "Having to wait for a response after you request permission to NMU is "
2679 "inefficient, because it costs the NMUer a context switch to come back to the "
2680 "issue. The <literal>DELAYED</literal> queue (see <xref linkend=\"delayed-"
2681 "incoming\"/>) allows the developer doing the NMU to perform all the "
2682 "necessary tasks at the same time. For instance, instead of telling the "
2683 "maintainer that you will upload the updated package in 7 days, you should "
2684 "upload the package to <literal>DELAYED/7</literal> and tell the maintainer "
2685 "that he has 7 days to react. During this time, the maintainer can ask you "
2686 "to delay the upload some more, or cancel your upload."
2689 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2692 "The <literal>DELAYED</literal> queue should not be used to put additional "
2693 "pressure on the maintainer. In particular, it's important that you are "
2694 "available to cancel or delay the upload before the delay expires since the "
2695 "maintainer cannot cancel the upload himself."
2698 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2701 "If you make an NMU to <literal>DELAYED</literal> and the maintainer updates "
2702 "his package before the delay expires, your upload will be rejected because a "
2703 "newer version is already available in the archive. Ideally, the maintainer "
2704 "will take care to include your proposed changes (or at least a solution for "
2705 "the problems they address) in that upload."
2708 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2710 msgid "NMUs from the maintainer's point of view"
2713 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2716 "When someone NMUs your package, this means they want to help you to keep it "
2717 "in good shape. This gives users fixed packages faster. You can consider "
2718 "asking the NMUer to become a co-maintainer of the package. Receiving an NMU "
2719 "on a package is not a bad thing; it just means that the package is "
2720 "interesting enough for other people to work on it."
2723 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2726 "To acknowledge an NMU, include its changes and changelog entry in your next "
2727 "maintainer upload. If you do not acknowledge the NMU by including the NMU "
2728 "changelog entry in your changelog, the bugs will remain closed in the BTS "
2729 "but will be listed as affecting your maintainer version of the package."
2732 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2734 msgid "Source NMUs vs Binary-only NMUs (binNMUs)"
2737 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2740 "The full name of an NMU is <emphasis>source NMU</emphasis>. There is also "
2741 "another type, namely the <emphasis>binary-only NMU</emphasis>, or "
2742 "<emphasis>binNMU</emphasis>. A binNMU is also a package upload by someone "
2743 "other than the package's maintainer. However, it is a binary-only upload."
2746 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2749 "When a library (or other dependency) is updated, the packages using it may "
2750 "need to be rebuilt. Since no changes to the source are needed, the same "
2751 "source package is used."
2754 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2757 "BinNMUs are usually triggered on the buildds by wanna-build. An entry is "
2758 "added to debian/changelog, explaining why the upload was needed and "
2759 "increasing the version number as described in <xref linkend=\"binary-only-nmu"
2760 "\"/>. This entry should not be included in the next upload."
2763 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2766 "Buildds upload packages for their architecture to the archive as binary-only "
2767 "uploads. Strictly speaking, these are binNMUs. However, they are not "
2768 "normally called NMU, and they don't add an entry to debian/changelog."
2771 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2773 msgid "NMUs vs QA uploads"
2776 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2779 "NMUs are uploads of packages by somebody else than their assigned "
2780 "maintainer. There is another type of upload where the uploaded package is "
2781 "not yours: QA uploads. QA uploads are uploads of orphaned packages."
2784 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2787 "QA uploads are very much like normal maintainer uploads: they may fix "
2788 "anything, even minor issues; the version numbering is normal, and there is "
2789 "no need to use a delayed upload. The difference is that you are not listed "
2790 "as the Maintainer or Uploader for the package. Also, the changelog entry of "
2791 "a QA upload has a special first line:"
2794 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
2802 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2805 "If you want to do an NMU, and it seems that the maintainer is not active, it "
2806 "is wise to check if the package is orphaned (this information is displayed "
2807 "on the package's Package Tracking System page). When doing the first QA "
2808 "upload to an orphaned package, the maintainer should be set to "
2809 "<literal>Debian QA Group <packages@qa.debian.org></literal>. Orphaned "
2810 "packages which did not yet have a QA upload still have their old maintainer "
2811 "set. There is a list of them at <ulink url=\"&url-orphaned-not-qa;\"/>."
2814 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2817 "Instead of doing a QA upload, you can also consider adopting the package by "
2818 "making yourself the maintainer. You don't need permission from anybody to "
2819 "adopt an orphaned package, you can just set yourself as maintainer and "
2820 "upload the new version (see <xref linkend=\"adopting\"/>)."
2823 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2825 msgid "Collaborative maintenance"
2828 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2831 "Collaborative maintenance is a term describing the sharing of Debian package "
2832 "maintenance duties by several people. This collaboration is almost always a "
2833 "good idea, since it generally results in higher quality and faster bug fix "
2834 "turnaround times. It is strongly recommended that packages with a priority "
2835 "of <literal>Standard</literal> or which are part of the base set have co-"
2839 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2842 "Generally there is a primary maintainer and one or more co-maintainers. The "
2843 "primary maintainer is the person whose name is listed in the "
2844 "<literal>Maintainer</literal> field of the <filename>debian/control</"
2845 "filename> file. Co-maintainers are all the other maintainers, usually "
2846 "listed in the <literal>Uploaders</literal> field of the <filename>debian/"
2847 "control</filename> file."
2850 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2853 "In its most basic form, the process of adding a new co-maintainer is quite "
2857 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2860 "Setup the co-maintainer with access to the sources you build the package "
2861 "from. Generally this implies you are using a network-capable version "
2862 "control system, such as <command>CVS</command> or <command>Subversion</"
2863 "command>. Alioth (see <xref linkend=\"alioth\"/> ) provides such tools, "
2867 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2870 "Add the co-maintainer's correct maintainer name and address to the "
2871 "<literal>Uploaders</literal> field in the first paragraph of the "
2872 "<filename>debian/control</filename> file."
2875 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><screen>
2880 "Uploaders: John Buzz <jbuzz@debian.org>, Adam Rex <arex@debian.org>\n"
2883 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2886 "Using the PTS (<xref linkend=\"pkg-tracking-system\"/> ), the co-maintainers "
2887 "should subscribe themselves to the appropriate source package."
2890 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2893 "Another form of collaborative maintenance is team maintenance, which is "
2894 "recommended if you maintain several packages with the same group of "
2895 "developers. In that case, the Maintainer and Uploaders field of each "
2896 "package must be managed with care. It is recommended to choose between one "
2897 "of the two following schemes:"
2900 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2903 "Put the team member mainly responsible for the package in the Maintainer "
2904 "field. In the Uploaders, put the mailing list address, and the team members "
2905 "who care for the package."
2908 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2911 "Put the mailing list address in the Maintainer field. In the Uploaders "
2912 "field, put the team members who care for the package. In this case, you "
2913 "must make sure the mailing list accept bug reports without any human "
2914 "interaction (like moderation for non-subscribers)."
2917 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2920 "In any case, it is a bad idea to automatically put all team members in the "
2921 "Uploaders field. It clutters the Developer's Package Overview listing (see "
2922 "<xref linkend=\"ddpo\"/> ) with packages one doesn't really care for, and "
2923 "creates a false sense of good maintenance."
2926 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2928 msgid "The testing distribution"
2931 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2936 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2939 "Packages are usually installed into the <literal>testing</literal> "
2940 "distribution after they have undergone some degree of <literal>testing</"
2941 "literal> in <literal>unstable</literal>."
2944 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2947 "They must be in sync on all architectures and mustn't have dependencies that "
2948 "make them uninstallable; they also have to have generally no known release-"
2949 "critical bugs at the time they're installed into <literal>testing </"
2950 "literal>. This way, <literal>testing</literal> should always be close to "
2951 "being a release candidate. Please see below for details."
2954 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2956 msgid "Updates from unstable"
2959 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2962 "The scripts that update the <literal>testing</literal> distribution are run "
2963 "twice each day, right after the installation of the updated packages; these "
2964 "scripts are called <literal>britney</literal>. They generate the "
2965 "<filename>Packages</filename> files for the <literal>testing</literal> "
2966 "distribution, but they do so in an intelligent manner; they try to avoid any "
2967 "inconsistency and to use only non-buggy packages."
2970 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2973 "The inclusion of a package from <literal>unstable</literal> is conditional "
2977 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2980 "The package must have been available in <literal>unstable</literal> for 2, 5 "
2981 "or 10 days, depending on the urgency (high, medium or low). Please note "
2982 "that the urgency is sticky, meaning that the highest urgency uploaded since "
2983 "the previous <literal>testing</literal> transition is taken into account. "
2984 "Those delays may be doubled during a freeze, or <literal>testing</literal> "
2985 "transitions may be switched off altogether;"
2988 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2991 "It must not have new release-critical bugs (RC bugs affecting the version "
2992 "available in <literal>unstable</literal>, but not affecting the version in "
2993 "<literal>testing</literal>);"
2996 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2999 "It must be available on all architectures on which it has previously been "
3000 "built in <literal>unstable</literal>. <xref linkend=\"dak-ls\"/> may be of "
3001 "interest to check that information;"
3004 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3007 "It must not break any dependency of a package which is already available in "
3008 "<literal>testing</literal>;"
3011 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3014 "The packages on which it depends must either be available in "
3015 "<literal>testing</literal> or they must be accepted into <literal>testing</"
3016 "literal> at the same time (and they will be if they fulfill all the "
3017 "necessary criteria);"
3020 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3023 "To find out whether a package is progressing into <literal>testing</literal> "
3024 "or not, see the <literal>testing</literal> script output on the <ulink url="
3025 "\"&url-testing-maint;\">web page of the testing distribution</ulink>, or use "
3026 "the program <command>grep-excuses</command> which is in the <systemitem role="
3027 "\"package\">devscripts</systemitem> package. This utility can easily be "
3028 "used in a <citerefentry> <refentrytitle>crontab</refentrytitle> "
3029 "<manvolnum>5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> to keep yourself informed of the "
3030 "progression of your packages into <literal>testing</literal>."
3033 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3036 "The <filename>update_excuses</filename> file does not always give the "
3037 "precise reason why the package is refused; you may have to find it on your "
3038 "own by looking for what would break with the inclusion of the package. The "
3039 "<ulink url=\"&url-testing-maint;\">testing web page</ulink> gives some more "
3040 "information about the usual problems which may be causing such troubles."
3043 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3046 "Sometimes, some packages never enter <literal>testing</literal> because the "
3047 "set of inter-relationship is too complicated and cannot be sorted out by the "
3048 "scripts. See below for details."
3051 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3054 "Some further dependency analysis is shown on <ulink url=\"http://release."
3055 "debian.org/migration/\"></ulink> — but be warned, this page also shows build "
3056 "dependencies which are not considered by britney."
3059 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3064 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3065 #. FIXME: better rename this file than document rampant professionalism?
3068 "For the <literal>testing</literal> migration script, outdated means: There "
3069 "are different versions in <literal>unstable</literal> for the release "
3070 "architectures (except for the architectures in fuckedarches; fuckedarches is "
3071 "a list of architectures that don't keep up (in <filename>update_out.py</"
3072 "filename>), but currently, it's empty). outdated has nothing whatsoever to "
3073 "do with the architectures this package has in <literal>testing</literal>."
3076 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3078 msgid "Consider this example:"
3081 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3082 #: pkgs.dbk:2360 pkgs.dbk:2393
3086 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3087 #: pkgs.dbk:2361 pkgs.dbk:2394
3091 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3092 #: pkgs.dbk:2366 pkgs.dbk:2400 pkgs.dbk:2462
3096 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3097 #: pkgs.dbk:2367 pkgs.dbk:2372 pkgs.dbk:2401 pkgs.dbk:2402 pkgs.dbk:2409
3101 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3102 #: pkgs.dbk:2368 pkgs.dbk:2403 pkgs.dbk:2408
3106 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3107 #: pkgs.dbk:2371 pkgs.dbk:2406 pkgs.dbk:2463
3111 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3112 #: pkgs.dbk:2373 pkgs.dbk:2407
3116 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3119 "The package is out of date on alpha in <literal>unstable</literal>, and will "
3120 "not go to <literal>testing</literal>. Removing the package would not help at "
3121 "all, the package is still out of date on <literal>alpha</literal>, and will "
3122 "not propagate to testing."
3125 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3128 "However, if ftp-master removes a package in <literal>unstable</literal> "
3129 "(here on <literal>arm</literal>):"
3132 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3137 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3140 "In this case, the package is up to date on all release architectures in "
3141 "<literal>unstable</literal> (and the extra <literal>hurd-i386</literal> "
3142 "doesn't matter, as it's not a release architecture)."
3145 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3148 "Sometimes, the question is raised if it is possible to allow packages in "
3149 "that are not yet built on all architectures: No. Just plainly no. (Except "
3150 "if you maintain glibc or so.)"
3153 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3155 msgid "Removals from testing"
3158 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3161 "Sometimes, a package is removed to allow another package in: This happens "
3162 "only to allow <emphasis>another</emphasis> package to go in if it's ready in "
3163 "every other sense. Suppose e.g. that <literal>a</literal> cannot be "
3164 "installed with the new version of <literal>b</literal>; then <literal>a</"
3165 "literal> may be removed to allow <literal>b</literal> in."
3168 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3171 "Of course, there is another reason to remove a package from <literal>testing "
3172 "</literal>: It's just too buggy (and having a single RC-bug is enough to be "
3176 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3179 "Furthermore, if a package has been removed from <literal>unstable</literal>, "
3180 "and no package in <literal>testing</literal> depends on it any more, then it "
3181 "will automatically be removed."
3184 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3186 msgid "circular dependencies"
3189 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3192 "A situation which is not handled very well by britney is if package "
3193 "<literal>a</literal> depends on the new version of package <literal>b</"
3194 "literal>, and vice versa."
3197 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3199 msgid "An example of this is:"
3202 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3207 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3209 msgid "1; depends: b=1"
3212 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3214 msgid "2; depends: b=2"
3217 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3222 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3224 msgid "1; depends: a=1"
3227 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3229 msgid "2; depends: a=2"
3232 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3235 "Neither package <literal>a</literal> nor package <literal>b</literal> is "
3236 "considered for update."
3239 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3242 "Currently, this requires some manual hinting from the release team. Please "
3243 "contact them by sending mail to &email-debian-release; if this happens to "
3244 "one of your packages."
3247 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3249 msgid "influence of package in testing"
3252 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3255 "Generally, there is nothing that the status of a package in <literal>testing "
3256 "</literal> means for transition of the next version from <literal>unstable </"
3257 "literal> to <literal>testing</literal>, with two exceptions: If the RC-"
3258 "bugginess of the package goes down, it may go in even if it is still RC-"
3259 "buggy. The second exception is if the version of the package in <literal> "
3260 "testing</literal> is out of sync on the different arches: Then any arch "
3261 "might just upgrade to the version of the source package; however, this can "
3262 "happen only if the package was previously forced through, the arch is in "
3263 "fuckedarches, or there was no binary package of that arch present in "
3264 "<literal>unstable </literal> at all during the <literal>testing</literal> "
3268 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3271 "In summary this means: The only influence that a package being in <literal> "
3272 "testing</literal> has on a new version of the same package is that the new "
3273 "version might go in easier."
3276 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3281 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3283 msgid "If you are interested in details, this is how britney works:"
3286 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3289 "The packages are looked at to determine whether they are valid candidates. "
3290 "This gives the update excuses. The most common reasons why a package is not "
3291 "considered are too young, RC-bugginess, and out of date on some arches. For "
3292 "this part of britney, the release managers have hammers of various sizes to "
3293 "force britney to consider a package. (Also, the base freeze is coded in "
3294 "that part of britney.) (There is a similar thing for binary-only updates, "
3295 "but this is not described here. If you're interested in that, please peruse "
3299 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3302 "Now, the more complex part happens: Britney tries to update <literal>testing "
3303 "</literal> with the valid candidates. For that, britney tries to add each "
3304 "valid candidate to the testing distribution. If the number of uninstallable "
3305 "packages in <literal>testing</literal> doesn't increase, the package is "
3306 "accepted. From that point on, the accepted package is considered to be part "
3307 "of <literal>testing</literal>, such that all subsequent installability tests "
3308 "include this package. Hints from the release team are processed before or "
3309 "after this main run, depending on the exact type."
3312 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3315 "If you want to see more details, you can look it up on <filename>merkel:/org/"
3316 "&ftp-debian-org;/testing/update_out/</filename> (or in <filename>merkel:~aba/"
3317 "testing/update_out</filename> to see a setup with a smaller packages file). "
3318 "Via web, it's at <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/"
3319 "update_out_code/\"></ulink>"
3322 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3325 "The hints are available via <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/"
3326 "hints/\"></ulink>."
3329 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3331 msgid "Direct updates to testing"
3334 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3337 "The <literal>testing</literal> distribution is fed with packages from "
3338 "<literal>unstable</literal> according to the rules explained above. "
3339 "However, in some cases, it is necessary to upload packages built only for "
3340 "<literal> testing</literal>. For that, you may want to upload to <literal> "
3341 "testing-proposed-updates</literal>."
3344 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3347 "Keep in mind that packages uploaded there are not automatically processed, "
3348 "they have to go through the hands of the release manager. So you'd better "
3349 "have a good reason to upload there. In order to know what a good reason is "
3350 "in the release managers' eyes, you should read the instructions that they "
3351 "regularly give on &email-debian-devel-announce;."
3354 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3357 "You should not upload to <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> when "
3358 "you can update your packages through <literal>unstable</literal>. If you "
3359 "can't (for example because you have a newer development version in "
3360 "<literal>unstable </literal>), you may use this facility, but it is "
3361 "recommended that you ask for authorization from the release manager first. "
3362 "Even if a package is frozen, updates through <literal>unstable</literal> are "
3363 "possible, if the upload via <literal>unstable</literal> does not pull in any "
3367 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3370 "Version numbers are usually selected by adding the codename of the "
3371 "<literal>testing</literal> distribution and a running number, like "
3372 "<literal>1.2sarge1</literal> for the first upload through <literal>testing-"
3373 "proposed-updates</literal> of package version <literal>1.2</literal>."
3376 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3378 msgid "Please make sure you didn't miss any of these items in your upload:"
3381 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3384 "Make sure that your package really needs to go through <literal>testing-"
3385 "proposed-updates</literal>, and can't go through <literal> unstable</"
3389 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3391 msgid "Make sure that you included only the minimal amount of changes;"
3394 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3397 "Make sure that you included an appropriate explanation in the changelog;"
3400 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3403 "Make sure that you've written <literal>testing</literal> or <literal>testing-"
3404 "proposed-updates</literal> into your target distribution;"
3407 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3410 "Make sure that you've built and tested your package in <literal>testing</"
3411 "literal>, not in <literal>unstable</literal>;"
3414 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3417 "Make sure that your version number is higher than the version in "
3418 "<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal>, "
3419 "and lower than in <literal>unstable</literal>;"
3422 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3425 "After uploading and successful build on all platforms, contact the release "
3426 "team at &email-debian-release; and ask them to approve your upload."
3429 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3431 msgid "Frequently asked questions"
3434 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3436 msgid "What are release-critical bugs, and how do they get counted?"
3439 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3442 "All bugs of some higher severities are by default considered release-"
3443 "critical; currently, these are <literal>critical</literal>, <literal>grave</"
3444 "literal> and <literal>serious</literal> bugs."
3447 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3450 "Such bugs are presumed to have an impact on the chances that the package "
3451 "will be released with the <literal>stable</literal> release of Debian: in "
3452 "general, if a package has open release-critical bugs filed on it, it won't "
3453 "get into <literal>testing</literal>, and consequently won't be released in "
3454 "<literal> stable</literal>."
3457 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3460 "The <literal>unstable</literal> bug count are all release-critical bugs "
3461 "which are marked to apply to <replaceable>package</replaceable>/"
3462 "<replaceable>version </replaceable> combinations that are available in "
3463 "unstable for a release architecture. The <literal>testing</literal> bug "
3464 "count is defined analogously."
3467 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3470 "How could installing a package into <literal>testing</literal> possibly "
3471 "break other packages?"
3474 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3477 "The structure of the distribution archives is such that they can only "
3478 "contain one version of a package; a package is defined by its name. So when "
3479 "the source package <literal>acmefoo</literal> is installed into "
3480 "<literal>testing</literal>, along with its binary packages <literal>acme-foo-"
3481 "bin</literal>, <literal> acme-bar-bin</literal>, <literal>libacme-foo1</"
3482 "literal> and <literal> libacme-foo-dev</literal>, the old version is removed."
3485 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3488 "However, the old version may have provided a binary package with an old "
3489 "soname of a library, such as <literal>libacme-foo0</literal>. Removing the "
3490 "old <literal>acmefoo</literal> will remove <literal>libacme-foo0</literal>, "
3491 "which will break any packages which depend on it."
3494 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3497 "Evidently, this mainly affects packages which provide changing sets of "
3498 "binary packages in different versions (in turn, mainly libraries). However, "
3499 "it will also affect packages upon which versioned dependencies have been "
3500 "declared of the ==, <=, or << varieties."
3503 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3506 "When the set of binary packages provided by a source package change in this "
3507 "way, all the packages that depended on the old binaries will have to be "
3508 "updated to depend on the new binaries instead. Because installing such a "
3509 "source package into <literal>testing</literal> breaks all the packages that "
3510 "depended on it in <literal>testing</literal>, some care has to be taken now: "
3511 "all the depending packages must be updated and ready to be installed "
3512 "themselves so that they won't be broken, and, once everything is ready, "
3513 "manual intervention by the release manager or an assistant is normally "
3517 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3520 "If you are having problems with complicated groups of packages like this, "
3521 "contact &email-debian-devel; or &email-debian-release; for help."
~ianmdlvl / developers-reference.git / blob