1 # SOME DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
2 # Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
9 "Project-Id-Version: PACKAGE VERSION\n"
10 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
11 "POT-Creation-Date: 2010-05-06 17:29-0400\n"
12 "PO-Revision-Date: 2007-07-01 23:15+0000\n"
13 "Last-Translator: <>\n"
16 "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
17 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: \n"
19 # type: Content of: <chapter><title>
20 #. type: Content of: <chapter><title>
22 msgid "Managing Packages"
23 msgstr "Gestion des paquets"
25 # type: Content of: <chapter><para>
26 #. type: Content of: <chapter><para>
29 "This chapter contains information related to creating, uploading, "
30 "maintaining, and porting packages."
32 "Ce chapitre contient des informations relatives à la création, l'envoi,la "
33 "maintenance et le portage des paquets."
35 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
36 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
39 msgstr "Nouveaux paquets"
41 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
42 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
45 "If you want to create a new package for the Debian distribution, you should "
46 "first check the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">Work-Needing and Prospective "
47 "Packages (WNPP)</ulink> list. Checking the WNPP list ensures that no one is "
48 "already working on packaging that software, and that effort is not "
49 "duplicated. Read the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">WNPP web pages</ulink> for "
53 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
56 "Assuming no one else is already working on your prospective package, you "
57 "must then submit a bug report (<xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/>) against the "
58 "pseudo-package <systemitem role=\"package\">wnpp</systemitem> describing "
59 "your plan to create a new package, including, but not limiting yourself to, "
60 "a description of the package, the license of the prospective package, and "
61 "the current URL where it can be downloaded from."
64 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
67 "You should set the subject of the bug to <literal>ITP: <replaceable>foo</"
68 "replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</replaceable></literal>, "
69 "substituting the name of the new package for <replaceable>foo</"
70 "replaceable>. The severity of the bug report must be set to "
71 "<literal>wishlist</literal>. Please send a copy to &email-debian-devel; by "
72 "using the X-Debbugs-CC header (don't use CC:, because that way the message's "
73 "subject won't indicate the bug number). If you are packaging so many new "
74 "packages (>10) that notifying the mailing list in separate messages is too "
75 "disruptive, send a summary after filing the bugs to the debian-devel list "
76 "instead. This will inform the other developers about upcoming packages and "
77 "will allow a review of your description and package name."
80 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
83 "Please include a <literal>Closes: #<replaceable>nnnnn</replaceable></"
84 "literal> entry in the changelog of the new package in order for the bug "
85 "report to be automatically closed once the new package is installed in the "
86 "archive (see <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/>)."
89 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
92 "If you think your package needs some explanations for the administrators of "
93 "the NEW package queue, include them in your changelog, send to &email-"
94 "ftpmaster; a reply to the email you receive as a maintainer after your "
95 "upload, or reply to the rejection email in case you are already re-uploading."
98 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
101 "When closing security bugs include CVE numbers as well as the "
102 "<literal>Closes: #<replaceable>nnnnn</replaceable></literal> This is useful "
103 "for the security team to track vulnerabilities. If an upload is made to fix "
104 "the bug before the advisory ID is known, it is encouraged to modify the "
105 "historical changelog entry with the next upload. Even in this case, please "
106 "include all available pointers to background information in the original "
110 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
111 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
114 "There are a number of reasons why we ask maintainers to announce their "
118 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
119 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
122 "It helps the (potentially new) maintainer to tap into the experience of "
123 "people on the list, and lets them know if anyone else is working on it "
127 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
128 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
131 "It lets other people thinking about working on the package know that there "
132 "already is a volunteer, so efforts may be shared."
135 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
136 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
139 "It lets the rest of the maintainers know more about the package than the one "
140 "line description and the usual changelog entry ``Initial release'' that gets "
141 "posted to &email-debian-devel-changes;."
144 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
145 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
148 "It is helpful to the people who live off <literal>unstable</literal> (and "
149 "form our first line of testers). We should encourage these people."
152 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
153 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
156 "The announcements give maintainers and other interested parties a better "
157 "feel of what is going on, and what is new, in the project."
160 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
161 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
164 "Please see <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/REJECT-FAQ.html\"></ulink> "
165 "for common rejection reasons for a new package."
168 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
169 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
171 msgid "Recording changes in the package"
174 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
175 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
178 "Changes that you make to the package need to be recorded in the "
179 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>. These changes should provide a "
180 "concise description of what was changed, why (if it's in doubt), and note if "
181 "any bugs were closed. They also record when the package was completed. "
182 "This file will be installed in <filename>/usr/share/doc/"
183 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>/changelog.Debian.gz</filename>, or "
184 "<filename>/usr/share/doc/<replaceable>package</replaceable>/changelog.gz</"
185 "filename> for native packages."
188 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
191 "The <filename>debian/changelog</filename> file conforms to a certain "
192 "structure, with a number of different fields. One field of note, the "
193 "<literal>distribution</literal>, is described in <xref linkend=\"distribution"
194 "\"/>. More information about the structure of this file can be found in the "
195 "Debian Policy section titled <filename>debian/changelog</filename>."
198 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
201 "Changelog entries can be used to automatically close Debian bugs when the "
202 "package is installed into the archive. See <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/"
206 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
207 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
210 "It is conventional that the changelog entry of a package that contains a new "
211 "upstream version of the software looks like this:"
214 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><screen>
217 msgid " * new upstream version\n"
220 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
223 "There are tools to help you create entries and finalize the "
224 "<filename>changelog</filename> for release — see <xref linkend=\"devscripts"
225 "\"/> and <xref linkend=\"dpkg-dev-el\"/>."
228 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
230 msgid "See also <xref linkend=\"bpp-debian-changelog\"/>."
233 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
234 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
236 msgid "Testing the package"
239 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
240 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
243 "Before you upload your package, you should do basic testing on it. At a "
244 "minimum, you should try the following activities (you'll need to have an "
245 "older version of the same Debian package around):"
248 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
249 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
252 "Install the package and make sure the software works, or upgrade the package "
253 "from an older version to your new version if a Debian package for it already "
257 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
258 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
261 "Run <command>lintian</command> over the package. You can run "
262 "<command>lintian</command> as follows: <literal>lintian -v "
263 "<replaceable>package-version</replaceable>.changes</literal>. This will "
264 "check the source package as well as the binary package. If you don't "
265 "understand the output that <command>lintian</command> generates, try adding "
266 "the <literal>-i</literal> switch, which will cause <command>lintian</"
267 "command> to output a very verbose description of the problem."
270 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
271 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
274 "Normally, a package should <emphasis>not</emphasis> be uploaded if it causes "
275 "lintian to emit errors (they will start with <literal>E</literal>)."
278 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
281 "For more information on <command>lintian</command>, see <xref linkend="
285 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
288 "Optionally run <command>debdiff</command> (see <xref linkend=\"debdiff\"/>) "
289 "to analyze changes from an older version, if one exists."
292 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
293 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
296 "Downgrade the package to the previous version (if one exists) — this tests "
297 "the <filename>postrm</filename> and <filename>prerm</filename> scripts."
300 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
301 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
303 msgid "Remove the package, then reinstall it."
306 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
309 "Copy the source package in a different directory and try unpacking it and "
310 "rebuilding it. This tests if the package relies on existing files outside "
311 "of it, or if it relies on permissions being preserved on the files shipped "
312 "inside the <filename>.diff.gz</filename> file."
315 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
316 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
318 msgid "Layout of the source package"
321 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
322 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
324 msgid "There are two types of Debian source packages:"
327 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
328 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
331 "the so-called <literal>native</literal> packages, where there is no "
332 "distinction between the original sources and the patches applied for Debian"
335 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
338 "the (more common) packages where there's an original source tarball file "
339 "accompanied by another file that contains the changes made by Debian"
342 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
345 "For the native packages, the source package includes a Debian source control "
346 "file (<literal>.dsc</literal>) and the source tarball (<literal>.tar.{gz,bz2,"
347 "lzma}</literal>). A source package of a non-native package includes a Debian "
348 "source control file, the original source tarball (<literal>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2,"
349 "lzma}</literal>) and the Debian changes (<literal>.diff.gz</literal> for the "
350 "source format “1.0” or <literal>.debian.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</literal> for the "
351 "source format “3.0 (quilt)”)."
354 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
357 "With source format “1.0”, whether a package is native or not was determined "
358 "by <command>dpkg-source</command> at build time. Nowadays it is recommended "
359 "to be explicit about the desired source format by putting either “3.0 "
360 "(quilt)” or “3.0 (native)” in <filename>debian/source/format</filename>. "
361 "The rest of this section relates only to non-native packages."
364 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
365 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
368 "The first time a version is uploaded which corresponds to a particular "
369 "upstream version, the original source tar file should be uploaded and "
370 "included in the <filename>.changes</filename> file. Subsequently, this very "
371 "same tar file should be used to build the new diffs and <filename>.dsc</"
372 "filename> files, and will not need to be re-uploaded."
375 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
378 "By default, <command>dpkg-genchanges</command> and <command>dpkg-"
379 "buildpackage</command> will include the original source tar file if and only "
380 "if the current changelog entry has a different upstream version from the "
381 "preceding entry. This behavior may be modified by using <literal>-sa</"
382 "literal> to always include it or <literal>-sd</literal> to always leave it "
386 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
387 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
390 "If no original source is included in the upload, the original source tar-"
391 "file used by <command>dpkg-source</command> when constructing the <filename>."
392 "dsc</filename> file and diff to be uploaded <emphasis>must</emphasis> be "
393 "byte-for-byte identical with the one already in the archive."
396 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
399 "Please notice that, in non-native packages, permissions on files that are "
400 "not present in the .orig.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma} will not be preserved, as diff "
401 "does not store file permissions in the patch. However when using source "
402 "format “3.0 (quilt)”, permissions of files inside the <filename>debian</"
403 "filename> directory are preserved since they are stored in a tar archive."
406 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
407 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
409 msgid "Picking a distribution"
412 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
415 "Each upload needs to specify which distribution the package is intended "
416 "for. The package build process extracts this information from the first "
417 "line of the <filename>debian/changelog</filename> file and places it in the "
418 "<literal>Distribution</literal> field of the <filename>.changes</filename> "
422 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
423 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
426 "There are several possible values for this field: <literal>stable</literal>, "
427 "<literal>unstable</literal>, <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> and "
428 "<literal>experimental</literal>. Normally, packages are uploaded into "
429 "<literal>unstable</literal>."
432 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
435 "Actually, there are two other possible distributions: <literal>stable-"
436 "security</literal> and <literal>testing-security</literal>, but read <xref "
437 "linkend=\"bug-security\"/> for more information on those."
440 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
441 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
444 "It is not possible to upload a package into several distributions at the "
448 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
449 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
452 "Special case: uploads to the <literal>stable</literal> and "
453 "<literal>oldstable</literal> distributions"
456 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
459 "Uploading to <literal>stable</literal> means that the package will "
460 "transferred to the <literal>proposed-updates-new</literal> queue for review "
461 "by the stable release managers, and if approved will be installed in "
462 "<filename>stable-proposed-updates</filename> directory of the Debian "
463 "archive. From there, it will be included in <literal>stable</literal> with "
464 "the next point release."
467 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
468 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
471 "To ensure that your upload will be accepted, you should discuss the changes "
472 "with the stable release team before you upload. For that, send a mail to the "
473 "&email-debian-release; mailing list, including the patch you want to apply "
474 "to the package version currently in <literal>stable</literal>. Always be "
475 "verbose and detailed in your changelog entries for uploads to the "
476 "<literal>stable</literal> distribution."
479 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
480 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
483 "Extra care should be taken when uploading to <literal>stable</literal>. "
484 "Basically, a package should only be uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> if "
485 "one of the following happens:"
488 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
489 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
491 msgid "a truly critical functionality problem"
494 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
495 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
497 msgid "the package becomes uninstallable"
500 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
501 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
503 msgid "a released architecture lacks the package"
506 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
507 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
510 "In the past, uploads to <literal>stable</literal> were used to address "
511 "security problems as well. However, this practice is deprecated, as uploads "
512 "used for Debian security advisories are automatically copied to the "
513 "appropriate <filename>proposed-updates</filename> archive when the advisory "
514 "is released. See <xref linkend=\"bug-security\"/> for detailed information "
515 "on handling security problems. If the security teams deems the problem to be "
516 "too benign to be fixed through a <literal>DSA</literal>, the stable release "
517 "managers are usually willing to include your fix nonetheless in a regular "
518 "upload to <literal>stable</literal>."
521 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
522 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
525 "Changing anything else in the package that isn't important is discouraged, "
526 "because even trivial fixes can cause bugs later on."
529 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
532 "Packages uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> need to be compiled on "
533 "systems running <literal>stable</literal>, so that their dependencies are "
534 "limited to the libraries (and other packages) available in <literal>stable</"
535 "literal>; for example, a package uploaded to <literal>stable</literal> that "
536 "depends on a library package that only exists in <literal>unstable</literal> "
537 "will be rejected. Making changes to dependencies of other packages (by "
538 "messing with <literal>Provides</literal> or <filename>shlibs</filename> "
539 "files), possibly making those other packages uninstallable, is strongly "
543 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
546 "Uploads to the <literal>oldstable</literal> distributions are possible as "
547 "long as it hasn't been archived. The same rules as for <literal>stable</"
551 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
552 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
555 "Special case: uploads to <literal>testing/testing-proposed-updates</literal>"
558 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
559 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
562 "Please see the information in the <link linkend=\"t-p-u\">testing section</"
566 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
567 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
569 msgid "Uploading a package"
572 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
573 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
575 msgid "Uploading to <literal>ftp-master</literal>"
578 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
581 "To upload a package, you should upload the files (including the signed "
582 "changes and dsc-file) with anonymous ftp to <literal>&ftp-upload-host;</"
583 "literal> in the directory <ulink url=\"ftp://&ftp-upload-host;&upload-queue;"
584 "\">&upload-queue;</ulink>. To get the files processed there, they need to "
585 "be signed with a key in the Debian Developers keyring or the Debian "
586 "Maintainers keyring (see <ulink url=\"&url-wiki-dm;\"></ulink>)."
589 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
590 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
593 "Please note that you should transfer the changes file last. Otherwise, your "
594 "upload may be rejected because the archive maintenance software will parse "
595 "the changes file and see that not all files have been uploaded."
598 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
601 "You may also find the Debian packages <link linkend=\"dupload\">dupload</"
602 "link> or <link linkend=\"dput\">dput</link> useful when uploading packages."
603 "These handy programs help automate the process of uploading packages into "
607 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
610 "For removing packages, please see <ulink url=\"ftp://&ftp-upload-host;"
611 "&upload-queue;README\"/> and the Debian package <link linkend=\"dcut\">dcut</"
615 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
616 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
618 msgid "Delayed uploads"
621 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
624 "It is sometimes useful to upload a package immediately, but to want this "
625 "package to arrive in the archive only a few days later. For example, when "
626 "preparing a <link linkend=\"nmu\">Non-Maintainer Upload</link>, you might "
627 "want to give the maintainer a few days to react."
630 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
633 "An upload to the delayed directory keeps the package in <ulink url=\"http://"
634 "ftp-master.debian.org/deferred.html\">the deferred uploads queue</ulink>. "
635 "When the specified waiting time is over, the package is moved into the "
636 "regular incoming directory for processing. This is done through automatic "
637 "uploading to <literal>&ftp-upload-host;</literal> in upload-directory "
638 "<literal>DELAYED/[012345678]-day</literal>. 0-day is uploaded multiple times "
639 "per day to <literal>&ftp-upload-host;</literal>."
642 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
643 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
646 "With dput, you can use the <literal>--delayed <replaceable>DELAY</"
647 "replaceable></literal> parameter to put the package into one of the queues."
650 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
651 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
653 msgid "Security uploads"
656 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
659 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload a package to the security "
660 "upload queue (<literal>oldstable-security</literal>, <literal>stable-"
661 "security</literal>, etc.) without prior authorization from the security "
662 "team. If the package does not exactly meet the team's requirements, it will "
663 "cause many problems and delays in dealing with the unwanted upload. For "
664 "details, please see <xref linkend=\"bug-security\"/>."
667 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
668 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
670 msgid "Other upload queues"
673 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
676 "There is an alternative upload queue in Europe at <ulink url=\"ftp://&ftp-eu-"
677 "upload-host;&upload-queue;\"/>. It operates in the same way as <literal>&ftp-"
678 "upload-host;</literal>, but should be faster for European developers."
681 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
684 "Packages can also be uploaded via ssh to <literal>&ssh-upload-host;</"
685 "literal>; files should be put <literal>/srv/upload.debian.org/UploadQueue</"
686 "literal>. This queue does not support <link linkend=\"delayed-incoming"
687 "\">delayed uploads</link>."
690 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
691 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
693 msgid "Notification that a new package has been installed"
696 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
697 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
700 "The Debian archive maintainers are responsible for handling package "
701 "uploads. For the most part, uploads are automatically handled on a daily "
702 "basis by the archive maintenance tools, <command>katie</command>. "
703 "Specifically, updates to existing packages to the <literal>unstable</"
704 "literal> distribution are handled automatically. In other cases, notably "
705 "new packages, placing the uploaded package into the distribution is handled "
706 "manually. When uploads are handled manually, the change to the archive may "
707 "take up to a month to occur. Please be patient."
710 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
711 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
714 "In any case, you will receive an email notification indicating that the "
715 "package has been added to the archive, which also indicates which bugs will "
716 "be closed by the upload. Please examine this notification carefully, "
717 "checking if any bugs you meant to close didn't get triggered."
720 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
721 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
724 "The installation notification also includes information on what section the "
725 "package was inserted into. If there is a disparity, you will receive a "
726 "separate email notifying you of that. Read on below."
729 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
730 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
733 "Note that if you upload via queues, the queue daemon software will also send "
734 "you a notification by email."
737 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
738 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
740 msgid "Specifying the package section, subsection and priority"
743 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
744 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
747 "The <filename>debian/control</filename> file's <literal>Section</literal> "
748 "and <literal>Priority</literal> fields do not actually specify where the "
749 "file will be placed in the archive, nor its priority. In order to retain "
750 "the overall integrity of the archive, it is the archive maintainers who have "
751 "control over these fields. The values in the <filename>debian/control</"
752 "filename> file are actually just hints."
755 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
756 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
759 "The archive maintainers keep track of the canonical sections and priorities "
760 "for packages in the <literal>override file</literal>. If there is a "
761 "disparity between the <literal>override file</literal> and the package's "
762 "fields as indicated in <filename>debian/control</filename>, then you will "
763 "receive an email noting the divergence when the package is installed into "
764 "the archive. You can either correct your <filename>debian/control</"
765 "filename> file for your next upload, or else you may wish to make a change "
766 "in the <literal>override file</literal>."
769 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
772 "To alter the actual section that a package is put in, you need to first make "
773 "sure that the <filename>debian/control</filename> file in your package is "
774 "accurate. Next, submit a bug against <systemitem role=\"package\">ftp."
775 "debian.org</systemitem> requesting that the section or priority for your "
776 "package be changed from the old section or priority to the new one. Use a "
777 "Subject like <literal>override: PACKAGE1:section/priority, [...], PACKAGEX:"
778 "section/priority</literal>, and include the justification for the change in "
779 "the body of the bug report."
782 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
783 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
786 "For more information about <literal>override files</literal>, see "
787 "<citerefentry> <refentrytitle>dpkg-scanpackages</refentrytitle> "
788 "<manvolnum>1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> and <ulink url=\"&url-bts-devel;"
789 "#maintincorrect\"></ulink>."
792 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
795 "Note that the <literal>Section</literal> field describes both the section as "
796 "well as the subsection, which are described in <xref linkend=\"archive-"
797 "sections\"/>. If the section is main, it should be omitted. The list of "
798 "allowable subsections can be found in <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;ch-"
799 "archive.html#s-subsections\"></ulink>."
802 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
803 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
805 msgid "Handling bugs"
808 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
811 "Every developer has to be able to work with the Debian <ulink url=\"&url-bts;"
812 "\">bug tracking system</ulink>. This includes knowing how to file bug "
813 "reports properly (see <xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/>), how to update them "
814 "and reorder them, and how to process and close them."
817 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
818 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
821 "The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink url=\"&url-"
822 "bts-devel;\">BTS documentation for developers</ulink>. This includes "
823 "closing bugs, sending followup messages, assigning severities and tags, "
824 "marking bugs as forwarded, and other issues."
827 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
828 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
831 "Operations such as reassigning bugs to other packages, merging separate bug "
832 "reports about the same issue, or reopening bugs when they are prematurely "
833 "closed, are handled using the so-called control mail server. All of the "
834 "commands available on this server are described in the <ulink url=\"&url-bts-"
835 "control;\">BTS control server documentation</ulink>."
838 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
839 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
841 msgid "Monitoring bugs"
844 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
845 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
848 "If you want to be a good maintainer, you should periodically check the "
849 "<ulink url=\"&url-bts;\">Debian bug tracking system (BTS)</ulink> for your "
850 "packages. The BTS contains all the open bugs against your packages. You "
851 "can check them by browsing this page: <literal>http://&bugs-host;/"
852 "<replaceable>yourlogin</replaceable>@debian.org</literal>."
855 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
856 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
859 "Maintainers interact with the BTS via email addresses at <literal>&bugs-host;"
860 "</literal>. Documentation on available commands can be found at <ulink url="
861 "\"&url-bts;\"></ulink>, or, if you have installed the <systemitem role="
862 "\"package\">doc-debian</systemitem> package, you can look at the local files "
866 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
867 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
870 "Some find it useful to get periodic reports on open bugs. You can add a "
871 "cron job such as the following if you want to get a weekly email outlining "
872 "all the open bugs against your packages:"
875 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
879 "# ask for weekly reports of bugs in my packages\n"
880 "&cron-bug-report;\n"
883 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
884 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
887 "Replace <replaceable>address</replaceable> with your official Debian "
888 "maintainer address."
891 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
892 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
894 msgid "Responding to bugs"
897 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
900 "When responding to bugs, make sure that any discussion you have about bugs "
901 "is sent both to the original submitter of the bug, and to the bug itself (e."
902 "g., <email><replaceable>123</replaceable>@&bugs-host;</email>). If you're "
903 "writing a new mail and you don't remember the submitter email address, you "
904 "can use the <email><replaceable>123</replaceable>-submitter@&bugs-host;</"
905 "email> email to contact the submitter <emphasis>and</emphasis> to record "
906 "your mail within the bug log (that means you don't need to send a copy of "
907 "the mail to <email><replaceable>123</replaceable>@&bugs-host;</email>)."
910 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
911 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
914 "If you get a bug which mentions FTBFS, this means Fails to build from "
915 "source. Porters frequently use this acronym."
918 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
921 "Once you've dealt with a bug report (e.g. fixed it), mark it as "
922 "<literal>done</literal> (close it) by sending an explanation message to "
923 "<email><replaceable>123</replaceable>-done@&bugs-host;</email>. If you're "
924 "fixing a bug by changing and uploading the package, you can automate bug "
925 "closing as described in <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/>."
928 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
929 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
932 "You should <emphasis>never</emphasis> close bugs via the bug server "
933 "<literal>close</literal> command sent to &email-bts-control;. If you do so, "
934 "the original submitter will not receive any information about why the bug "
938 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
939 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
941 msgid "Bug housekeeping"
944 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
945 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
948 "As a package maintainer, you will often find bugs in other packages or have "
949 "bugs reported against your packages which are actually bugs in other "
950 "packages. The bug tracking system's features are described in the <ulink "
951 "url=\"&url-bts-devel;\">BTS documentation for Debian developers</ulink>. "
952 "Operations such as reassigning, merging, and tagging bug reports are "
953 "described in the <ulink url=\"&url-bts-control;\">BTS control server "
954 "documentation</ulink>. This section contains some guidelines for managing "
955 "your own bugs, based on the collective Debian developer experience."
958 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
959 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
962 "Filing bugs for problems that you find in other packages is one of the civic "
963 "obligations of maintainership, see <xref linkend=\"submit-bug\"/> for "
964 "details. However, handling the bugs in your own packages is even more "
968 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
969 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
971 msgid "Here's a list of steps that you may follow to handle a bug report:"
974 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
975 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
978 "Decide whether the report corresponds to a real bug or not. Sometimes users "
979 "are just calling a program in the wrong way because they haven't read the "
980 "documentation. If you diagnose this, just close the bug with enough "
981 "information to let the user correct their problem (give pointers to the good "
982 "documentation and so on). If the same report comes up again and again you "
983 "may ask yourself if the documentation is good enough or if the program "
984 "shouldn't detect its misuse in order to give an informative error message. "
985 "This is an issue that may need to be brought up with the upstream author."
988 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
989 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
992 "If the bug submitter disagrees with your decision to close the bug, they may "
993 "reopen it until you find an agreement on how to handle it. If you don't "
994 "find any, you may want to tag the bug <literal>wontfix</literal> to let "
995 "people know that the bug exists but that it won't be corrected. If this "
996 "situation is unacceptable, you (or the submitter) may want to require a "
997 "decision of the technical committee by reassigning the bug to <systemitem "
998 "role=\"package\">tech-ctte</systemitem> (you may use the clone command of "
999 "the BTS if you wish to keep it reported against your package). Before doing "
1000 "so, please read the <ulink url=\"&url-tech-ctte;\">recommended procedure</"
1004 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1007 "If the bug is real but it's caused by another package, just reassign the bug "
1008 "to the right package. If you don't know which package it should be "
1009 "reassigned to, you should ask for help on <link linkend=\"irc-channels"
1010 "\">IRC</link> or on &email-debian-devel;. Please inform the maintainer(s) "
1011 "of the package you reassign the bug to, for example by Cc:ing the message "
1012 "that does the reassign to <email><replaceable>packagename</"
1013 "replaceable>@packages.debian.org</email> and explaining your reasons in that "
1014 "mail. Please note that a simple reassignment is <emphasis>not</emphasis> e-"
1015 "mailed to the maintainers of the package being reassigned to, so they won't "
1016 "know about it until they look at a bug overview for their packages."
1019 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1020 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1023 "If the bug affects the operation of your package, please consider cloning "
1024 "the bug and reassigning the clone to the package that really causes the "
1025 "behavior. Otherwise, the bug will not be shown in your package's bug list, "
1026 "possibly causing users to report the same bug over and over again. You "
1027 "should block \"your\" bug with the reassigned, cloned bug to document the "
1031 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1032 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1035 "Sometimes you also have to adjust the severity of the bug so that it matches "
1036 "our definition of the severity. That's because people tend to inflate the "
1037 "severity of bugs to make sure their bugs are fixed quickly. Some bugs may "
1038 "even be dropped to wishlist severity when the requested change is just "
1042 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1043 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1046 "If the bug is real but the same problem has already been reported by someone "
1047 "else, then the two relevant bug reports should be merged into one using the "
1048 "merge command of the BTS. In this way, when the bug is fixed, all of the "
1049 "submitters will be informed of this. (Note, however, that emails sent to "
1050 "one bug report's submitter won't automatically be sent to the other report's "
1051 "submitter.) For more details on the technicalities of the merge command and "
1052 "its relative, the unmerge command, see the BTS control server documentation."
1055 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1056 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1059 "The bug submitter may have forgotten to provide some information, in which "
1060 "case you have to ask them for the required information. You may use the "
1061 "<literal>moreinfo</literal> tag to mark the bug as such. Moreover if you "
1062 "can't reproduce the bug, you tag it <literal>unreproducible</literal>. "
1063 "Anyone who can reproduce the bug is then invited to provide more information "
1064 "on how to reproduce it. After a few months, if this information has not "
1065 "been sent by someone, the bug may be closed."
1068 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1069 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1072 "If the bug is related to the packaging, you just fix it. If you are not "
1073 "able to fix it yourself, then tag the bug as <literal>help</literal>. You "
1074 "can also ask for help on &email-debian-devel; or &email-debian-qa;. If it's "
1075 "an upstream problem, you have to forward it to the upstream author. "
1076 "Forwarding a bug is not enough, you have to check at each release if the bug "
1077 "has been fixed or not. If it has, you just close it, otherwise you have to "
1078 "remind the author about it. If you have the required skills you can prepare "
1079 "a patch that fixes the bug and send it to the author at the same time. Make "
1080 "sure to send the patch to the BTS and to tag the bug as <literal>patch</"
1084 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1087 "If you have fixed a bug in your local copy, or if a fix has been committed "
1088 "to the VCS repository, you may tag the bug as <literal>pending</literal> to "
1089 "let people know that the bug is corrected and that it will be closed with "
1090 "the next upload (add the <literal>closes:</literal> in the "
1091 "<filename>changelog</filename>). This is particularly useful if you are "
1092 "several developers working on the same package."
1095 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1096 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
1099 "Once a corrected package is available in the archive, the bug should be "
1100 "closed indicating the version in which it was fixed. This can be done "
1101 "automatically, read <xref linkend=\"upload-bugfix\"/>."
1104 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1105 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1107 msgid "When bugs are closed by new uploads"
1110 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1111 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1114 "As bugs and problems are fixed in your packages, it is your responsibility "
1115 "as the package maintainer to close these bugs. However, you should not "
1116 "close a bug until the package which fixes the bug has been accepted into the "
1117 "Debian archive. Therefore, once you get notification that your updated "
1118 "package has been installed into the archive, you can and should close the "
1119 "bug in the BTS. Also, the bug should be closed with the correct version."
1122 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1123 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1126 "However, it's possible to avoid having to manually close bugs after the "
1127 "upload — just list the fixed bugs in your <filename>debian/changelog</"
1128 "filename> file, following a certain syntax, and the archive maintenance "
1129 "software will close the bugs for you. For example:"
1132 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
1136 "acme-cannon (3.1415) unstable; urgency=low\n"
1138 " * Frobbed with options (closes: Bug#98339)\n"
1139 " * Added safety to prevent operator dismemberment, closes: bug#98765,\n"
1140 " bug#98713, #98714.\n"
1141 " * Added man page. Closes: #98725.\n"
1144 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1145 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1148 "Technically speaking, the following Perl regular expression describes how "
1149 "bug closing changelogs are identified:"
1152 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
1155 msgid " /closes:\\s*(?:bug)?\\#\\s*\\d+(?:,\\s*(?:bug)?\\#\\s*\\d+)*/ig\n"
1158 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1161 "We prefer the <literal>closes: #<replaceable>XXX</replaceable></literal> "
1162 "syntax, as it is the most concise entry and the easiest to integrate with "
1163 "the text of the <filename>changelog</filename>. Unless specified different "
1164 "by the <literal>-v</literal>-switch to <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command>, "
1165 "only the bugs closed in the most recent changelog entry are closed "
1166 "(basically, exactly the bugs mentioned in the changelog-part in the "
1167 "<filename>.changes</filename> file are closed)."
1170 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1173 "Historically, uploads identified as <link linkend=\"nmu\">non-maintainer "
1174 "upload (NMU)</link> were tagged <literal>fixed</literal> instead of being "
1175 "closed, but that practice was ceased with the advent of version-tracking. "
1176 "The same applied to the tag <literal>fixed-in-experimental</literal>."
1179 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1182 "If you happen to mistype a bug number or forget a bug in the changelog "
1183 "entries, don't hesitate to undo any damage the error caused. To reopen "
1184 "wrongly closed bugs, send a <literal>reopen <replaceable>XXX</replaceable></"
1185 "literal> command to the bug tracking system's control address, &email-bts-"
1186 "control;. To close any remaining bugs that were fixed by your upload, email "
1187 "the <filename>.changes</filename> file to <email><replaceable>XXX</"
1188 "replaceable>-done@&bugs-host;</email>, where <replaceable>XXX</replaceable> "
1189 "is the bug number, and put Version: <replaceable>YYY</replaceable> and an "
1190 "empty line as the first two lines of the body of the email, where "
1191 "<replaceable>YYY</replaceable> is the first version where the bug has been "
1195 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1198 "Bear in mind that it is not obligatory to close bugs using the changelog as "
1199 "described above. If you simply want to close bugs that don't have anything "
1200 "to do with an upload you made, do it by emailing an explanation to "
1201 "<email><replaceable>XXX</replaceable>-done@&bugs-host;</email>. Do "
1202 "<emphasis role=\"strong\">not</emphasis> close bugs in the changelog entry "
1203 "of a version if the changes in that version of the package don't have any "
1204 "bearing on the bug."
1207 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1210 "For general information on how to write your changelog entries, see <xref "
1211 "linkend=\"bpp-debian-changelog\"/>."
1214 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1215 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1217 msgid "Handling security-related bugs"
1220 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1221 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1224 "Due to their sensitive nature, security-related bugs must be handled "
1225 "carefully. The Debian Security Team exists to coordinate this activity, "
1226 "keeping track of outstanding security problems, helping maintainers with "
1227 "security problems or fixing them themselves, sending security advisories, "
1228 "and maintaining <literal>security.debian.org</literal>."
1231 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1232 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1235 "When you become aware of a security-related bug in a Debian package, whether "
1236 "or not you are the maintainer, collect pertinent information about the "
1237 "problem, and promptly contact the security team at &email-security-team; as "
1238 "soon as possible. <emphasis role=\"strong\">DO NOT UPLOAD</emphasis> any "
1239 "packages for <literal>stable</literal> without contacting the team. Useful "
1240 "information includes, for example:"
1243 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1244 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1247 "Which versions of the package are known to be affected by the bug. Check "
1248 "each version that is present in a supported Debian release, as well as "
1249 "<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>unstable</literal>."
1252 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1253 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1256 "The nature of the fix, if any is available (patches are especially helpful)"
1259 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1260 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1263 "Any fixed packages that you have prepared yourself (send only the <literal>."
1264 "diff.gz</literal> and <literal>.dsc</literal> files and read <xref linkend="
1265 "\"bug-security-building\"/> first)"
1268 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1269 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1272 "Any assistance you can provide to help with testing (exploits, regression "
1276 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1279 "Any information needed for the advisory (see <xref linkend=\"bug-security-"
1283 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1284 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1287 "As the maintainer of the package, you have the responsibility to maintain "
1288 "it, even in the stable release. You are in the best position to evaluate "
1289 "patches and test updated packages, so please see the sections below on how "
1290 "to prepare packages for the Security Team to handle."
1293 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1294 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1296 msgid "The Security Tracker"
1299 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1302 "The security team maintains a central database, the <ulink url=\"http://"
1303 "security-tracker.debian.org/\">Debian Security Tracker</ulink>. This "
1304 "contains all public information that is known about security issues: which "
1305 "packages and versions are affected or fixed, and thus whether stable, "
1306 "testing and/or unstable are vulnerable. Information that is still "
1307 "confidential is not added to the tracker."
1310 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1311 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1314 "You can search it for a specific issue, but also on package name. Look for "
1315 "your package to see which issues are still open. If you can, please provide "
1316 "more information about those issues, or help to address them in your "
1317 "package. Instructions are on the tracker web pages."
1320 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1321 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1323 msgid "Confidentiality"
1326 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1327 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1330 "Unlike most other activities within Debian, information about security "
1331 "issues must sometimes be kept private for a time. This allows software "
1332 "distributors to coordinate their disclosure in order to minimize their "
1333 "users' exposure. Whether this is the case depends on the nature of the "
1334 "problem and corresponding fix, and whether it is already a matter of public "
1338 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1339 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1341 msgid "There are several ways developers can learn of a security problem:"
1344 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1345 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1347 msgid "they notice it on a public forum (mailing list, web site, etc.)"
1350 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1351 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1353 msgid "someone files a bug report"
1356 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1357 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1359 msgid "someone informs them via private email"
1362 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1363 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1366 "In the first two cases, the information is public and it is important to "
1367 "have a fix as soon as possible. In the last case, however, it might not be "
1368 "public information. In that case there are a few possible options for "
1369 "dealing with the problem:"
1372 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1373 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1376 "If the security exposure is minor, there is sometimes no need to keep the "
1377 "problem a secret and a fix should be made and released."
1380 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1381 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1384 "If the problem is severe, it is preferable to share the information with "
1385 "other vendors and coordinate a release. The security team keeps in contact "
1386 "with the various organizations and individuals and can take care of that."
1389 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1390 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1393 "In all cases if the person who reports the problem asks that it not be "
1394 "disclosed, such requests should be honored, with the obvious exception of "
1395 "informing the security team in order that a fix may be produced for a stable "
1396 "release of Debian. When sending confidential information to the security "
1397 "team, be sure to mention this fact."
1400 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1401 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1404 "Please note that if secrecy is needed you may not upload a fix to "
1405 "<literal>unstable</literal> (or anywhere else, such as a public CVS "
1406 "repository). It is not sufficient to obfuscate the details of the change, "
1407 "as the code itself is public, and can (and will) be examined by the general "
1411 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1412 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1415 "There are two reasons for releasing information even though secrecy is "
1416 "requested: the problem has been known for a while, or the problem or exploit "
1417 "has become public."
1420 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1423 "The Security Team has a PGP-key to enable encrypted communication about "
1424 "sensitive issues. See the <ulink url=\"http://www.debian.org/security/"
1425 "faq#contact\">Security Team FAQ</ulink> for details."
1428 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1429 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1431 msgid "Security Advisories"
1434 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1435 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1438 "Security advisories are only issued for the current, released stable "
1439 "distribution, and <emphasis>not</emphasis> for <literal>testing</literal> or "
1440 "<literal>unstable</literal>. When released, advisories are sent to the "
1441 "&email-debian-security-announce; mailing list and posted on <ulink url="
1442 "\"&url-debian-security-advisories;\">the security web page</ulink>. "
1443 "Security advisories are written and posted by the security team. However "
1444 "they certainly do not mind if a maintainer can supply some of the "
1445 "information for them, or write part of the text. Information that should be "
1446 "in an advisory includes:"
1449 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1450 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1452 msgid "A description of the problem and its scope, including:"
1455 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1456 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1458 msgid "The type of problem (privilege escalation, denial of service, etc.)"
1461 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1462 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1464 msgid "What privileges may be gained, and by whom (if any)"
1467 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1468 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1470 msgid "How it can be exploited"
1473 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1474 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1476 msgid "Whether it is remotely or locally exploitable"
1479 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1480 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1482 msgid "How the problem was fixed"
1485 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1486 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1488 msgid "This information allows users to assess the threat to their systems."
1491 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1492 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1494 msgid "Version numbers of affected packages"
1497 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1498 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1500 msgid "Version numbers of fixed packages"
1503 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1504 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1507 "Information on where to obtain the updated packages (usually from the Debian "
1511 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1512 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1515 "References to upstream advisories, <ulink url=\"http://cve.mitre.org\">CVE</"
1516 "ulink> identifiers, and any other information useful in cross-referencing "
1520 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1521 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1523 msgid "Preparing packages to address security issues"
1526 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1527 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1530 "One way that you can assist the security team in their duties is to provide "
1531 "them with fixed packages suitable for a security advisory for the stable "
1535 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1536 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1539 "When an update is made to the stable release, care must be taken to avoid "
1540 "changing system behavior or introducing new bugs. In order to do this, make "
1541 "as few changes as possible to fix the bug. Users and administrators rely on "
1542 "the exact behavior of a release once it is made, so any change that is made "
1543 "might break someone's system. This is especially true of libraries: make "
1544 "sure you never change the API or ABI, no matter how small the change."
1547 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1548 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1551 "This means that moving to a new upstream version is not a good solution. "
1552 "Instead, the relevant changes should be back-ported to the version present "
1553 "in the current stable Debian release. Generally, upstream maintainers are "
1554 "willing to help if needed. If not, the Debian security team may be able to "
1558 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1559 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1562 "In some cases, it is not possible to back-port a security fix, for example "
1563 "when large amounts of source code need to be modified or rewritten. If this "
1564 "happens, it may be necessary to move to a new upstream version. However, "
1565 "this is only done in extreme situations, and you must always coordinate that "
1566 "with the security team beforehand."
1569 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1570 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1573 "Related to this is another important guideline: always test your changes. "
1574 "If you have an exploit available, try it and see if it indeed succeeds on "
1575 "the unpatched package and fails on the fixed package. Test other, normal "
1576 "actions as well, as sometimes a security fix can break seemingly unrelated "
1577 "features in subtle ways."
1580 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1581 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1584 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> include any changes in your "
1585 "package which are not directly related to fixing the vulnerability. These "
1586 "will only need to be reverted, and this wastes time. If there are other "
1587 "bugs in your package that you would like to fix, make an upload to proposed-"
1588 "updates in the usual way, after the security advisory is issued. The "
1589 "security update mechanism is not a means for introducing changes to your "
1590 "package which would otherwise be rejected from the stable release, so please "
1591 "do not attempt to do this."
1594 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1597 "Review and test your changes as much as possible. Check the differences "
1598 "from the previous version repeatedly (<command>interdiff</command> from the "
1599 "<systemitem role=\"package\">patchutils</systemitem> package and "
1600 "<command>debdiff</command> from <systemitem role=\"package\">devscripts</"
1601 "systemitem> are useful tools for this, see <xref linkend=\"debdiff\"/>)."
1604 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1605 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1607 msgid "Be sure to verify the following items:"
1610 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1613 "<emphasis role=\"strong\">Target the right distribution</emphasis> in your "
1614 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>. For <literal>stable</literal> this "
1615 "is <literal>stable-security</literal> and for <literal>testing</literal> "
1616 "this is <literal>testing-security</literal>, and for the previous stable "
1617 "release, this is <literal>oldstable-security</literal>. Do not target "
1618 "<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal> "
1619 "or <literal>stable</literal>!"
1622 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1623 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1626 "The upload should have <emphasis role=\"strong\">urgency=high</emphasis>."
1629 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1630 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1633 "Make descriptive, meaningful changelog entries. Others will rely on them to "
1634 "determine whether a particular bug was fixed. Add <literal>closes:</"
1635 "literal> statements for any <emphasis role=\"strong\">Debian bugs</emphasis> "
1636 "filed. Always include an external reference, preferably a <emphasis role="
1637 "\"strong\">CVE identifier</emphasis>, so that it can be cross-referenced. "
1638 "However, if a CVE identifier has not yet been assigned, do not wait for it "
1639 "but continue the process. The identifier can be cross-referenced later."
1642 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1645 "Make sure the <emphasis role=\"strong\">version number</emphasis> is "
1646 "proper. It must be greater than the current package, but less than package "
1647 "versions in later distributions. If in doubt, test it with <literal>dpkg --"
1648 "compare-versions</literal>. Be careful not to re-use a version number that "
1649 "you have already used for a previous upload, or one that conflicts with a "
1650 "binNMU. The convention is to append <literal>+</"
1651 "literal><replaceable>codename</replaceable><literal>1</literal>, e.g. "
1652 "<literal>1:2.4.3-4+lenny1</literal>, of course increasing 1 for any "
1653 "subsequent uploads."
1656 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1659 "Unless the upstream source has been uploaded to <literal>security.debian.org "
1660 "</literal> before (by a previous security update), build the upload "
1661 "<emphasis role=\"strong\">with full upstream source</emphasis> "
1662 "(<literal>dpkg-buildpackage -sa</literal>). If there has been a previous "
1663 "upload to <literal>security.debian.org</literal> with the same upstream "
1664 "version, you may upload without upstream source (<literal>dpkg-buildpackage -"
1668 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1671 "Be sure to use the <emphasis role=\"strong\">exact same <filename>*.orig.tar."
1672 "{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename></emphasis> as used in the normal archive, otherwise "
1673 "it is not possible to move the security fix into the main archives later."
1676 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
1679 "Build the package on a <emphasis role=\"strong\">clean system</emphasis> "
1680 "which only has packages installed from the distribution you are building "
1681 "for. If you do not have such a system yourself, you can use a debian.org "
1682 "machine (see <xref linkend=\"server-machines\"/>) or setup a chroot (see "
1683 "<xref linkend=\"pbuilder\"/> and <xref linkend=\"debootstrap\"/>)."
1686 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1687 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1689 msgid "Uploading the fixed package"
1692 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1695 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload a package to the security "
1696 "upload queue (<literal>oldstable-security</literal>, <literal>stable-"
1697 "security</literal>, etc.) without prior authorization from the security "
1698 "team. If the package does not exactly meet the team's requirements, it will "
1699 "cause many problems and delays in dealing with the unwanted upload."
1702 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1705 "Do <emphasis role=\"strong\">NOT</emphasis> upload your fix to "
1706 "<literal>proposed-updates</literal> without coordinating with the security "
1707 "team. Packages from <literal>security.debian.org</literal> will be copied "
1708 "into the <literal>proposed-updates</literal> directory automatically. If a "
1709 "package with the same or a higher version number is already installed into "
1710 "the archive, the security update will be rejected by the archive system. "
1711 "That way, the stable distribution will end up without a security update for "
1712 "this package instead."
1715 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1718 "Once you have created and tested the new package and it has been approved by "
1719 "the security team, it needs to be uploaded so that it can be installed in "
1720 "the archives. For security uploads, the place to upload to is "
1721 "<literal>ftp://security-master.debian.org/pub/SecurityUploadQueue/</literal>."
1724 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1725 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1728 "Once an upload to the security queue has been accepted, the package will "
1729 "automatically be built for all architectures and stored for verification by "
1730 "the security team."
1733 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1734 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1737 "Uploads which are waiting for acceptance or verification are only accessible "
1738 "by the security team. This is necessary since there might be fixes for "
1739 "security problems that cannot be disclosed yet."
1742 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1743 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1746 "If a member of the security team accepts a package, it will be installed on "
1747 "<literal>security.debian.org</literal> as well as proposed for the proper "
1748 "<replaceable>distribution</replaceable><literal>-proposed-updates</literal> "
1749 "on <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>."
1752 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
1753 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
1755 msgid "Moving, removing, renaming, adopting, and orphaning packages"
1758 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
1759 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
1762 "Some archive manipulation operations are not automated in the Debian upload "
1763 "process. These procedures should be manually followed by maintainers. This "
1764 "chapter gives guidelines on what to do in these cases."
1767 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1768 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1770 msgid "Moving packages"
1773 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
1774 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para><footnote><para>
1777 "See the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for "
1778 "guidelines on what section a package belongs in."
1781 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1784 "Sometimes a package will change its section. For instance, a package from "
1785 "the `non-free' section might be GPL'd in a later version, in which case the "
1786 "package should be moved to `main' or `contrib'.<placeholder type=\"footnote"
1790 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1793 "If you need to change the section for one of your packages, change the "
1794 "package control information to place the package in the desired section, and "
1795 "re-upload the package (see the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian "
1796 "Policy Manual</ulink> for details). You must ensure that you include the "
1797 "<filename>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename> in your upload (even if you are "
1798 "not uploading a new upstream version), or it will not appear in the new "
1799 "section together with the rest of the package. If your new section is "
1800 "valid, it will be moved automatically. If it does not, then contact the "
1801 "ftpmasters in order to understand what happened."
1804 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1807 "If, on the other hand, you need to change the <literal>subsection</literal> "
1808 "of one of your packages (e.g., ``devel'', ``admin''), the procedure is "
1809 "slightly different. Correct the subsection as found in the control file of "
1810 "the package, and re-upload that. Also, you'll need to get the override file "
1811 "updated, as described in <xref linkend=\"override-file\"/>."
1814 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1815 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1817 msgid "Removing packages"
1820 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1823 "If for some reason you want to completely remove a package (say, if it is an "
1824 "old compatibility library which is no longer required), you need to file a "
1825 "bug against <literal>ftp.debian.org</literal> asking that the package be "
1826 "removed; as all bugs, this bug should normally have normal severity. The "
1827 "bug title should be in the form <literal>RM: <replaceable>package</"
1828 "replaceable> <replaceable>[architecture list]</replaceable> -- "
1829 "<replaceable>reason</replaceable></literal>, where <replaceable>package</"
1830 "replaceable> is the package to be removed and <replaceable>reason</"
1831 "replaceable> is a short summary of the reason for the removal request. "
1832 "<replaceable>[architecture list]</replaceable> is optional and only needed "
1833 "if the removal request only applies to some architectures, not all. Note "
1834 "that the <command>reportbug</command> will create a title conforming to "
1835 "these rules when you use it to report a bug against the <literal> ftp.debian."
1836 "org</literal> pseudo-package."
1839 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1840 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1843 "If you want to remove a package you maintain, you should note this in the "
1844 "bug title by prepending <literal>ROM</literal> (Request Of Maintainer). "
1845 "There are several other standard acronyms used in the reasoning for a "
1846 "package removal, see <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/removals.html\"></"
1847 "ulink> for a complete list. That page also provides a convenient overview of "
1848 "pending removal requests."
1851 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1852 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1855 "Note that removals can only be done for the <literal>unstable </literal>, "
1856 "<literal>experimental</literal> and <literal>stable </literal> "
1857 "distribution. Packages are not removed from <literal>testing</literal> "
1858 "directly. Rather, they will be removed automatically after the package has "
1859 "been removed from <literal>unstable</literal> and no package in "
1860 "<literal>testing </literal> depends on it."
1863 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1864 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1867 "There is one exception when an explicit removal request is not necessary: If "
1868 "a (source or binary) package is an orphan, it will be removed semi-"
1869 "automatically. For a binary-package, this means if there is no longer any "
1870 "source package producing this binary package; if the binary package is just "
1871 "no longer produced on some architectures, a removal request is still "
1872 "necessary. For a source-package, this means that all binary packages it "
1873 "refers to have been taken over by another source package."
1876 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1877 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1880 "In your removal request, you have to detail the reasons justifying the "
1881 "request. This is to avoid unwanted removals and to keep a trace of why a "
1882 "package has been removed. For example, you can provide the name of the "
1883 "package that supersedes the one to be removed."
1886 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1887 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1890 "Usually you only ask for the removal of a package maintained by yourself. "
1891 "If you want to remove another package, you have to get the approval of its "
1892 "maintainer. Should the package be orphaned and thus have no maintainer, you "
1893 "should first discuss the removal request on &email-debian-qa;. If there is a "
1894 "consensus that the package should be removed, you should reassign and "
1895 "retitle the <literal>O:</literal> bug filed against the <literal>wnpp</"
1896 "literal> package instead of filing a new bug as removal request."
1899 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1900 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1903 "Further information relating to these and other package removal related "
1904 "topics may be found at <ulink url=\"http://wiki.debian.org/ftpmaster_Removals"
1905 "\"></ulink> and <ulink url=\"&url-debian-qa;howto-remove.html\"></ulink>."
1908 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1909 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1912 "If in doubt concerning whether a package is disposable, email &email-debian-"
1913 "devel; asking for opinions. Also of interest is the <command>apt-cache</"
1914 "command> program from the <systemitem role=\"package\">apt</systemitem> "
1915 "package. When invoked as <literal>apt-cache showpkg <replaceable>package</"
1916 "replaceable></literal>, the program will show details for "
1917 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>, including reverse depends. Other useful "
1918 "programs include <literal>apt-cache rdepends</literal>, <command>apt-"
1919 "rdepends</command>, <command>build-rdeps</command> (in the <systemitem role="
1920 "\"package\">devscripts</systemitem> package) and <command>grep-dctrl</"
1921 "command>. Removal of orphaned packages is discussed on &email-debian-qa;."
1924 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1927 "Once the package has been removed, the package's bugs should be handled. "
1928 "They should either be reassigned to another package in the case where the "
1929 "actual code has evolved into another package (e.g. <literal>libfoo12</"
1930 "literal> was removed because <literal>libfoo13</literal> supersedes it) or "
1931 "closed if the software is simply no longer part of Debian. When closing the "
1932 "bugs, to avoid marking the bugs as fixed in versions of the packages in "
1933 "previous Debian releases, they should be marked as fixed in the version "
1934 "<literal><most-recent-version-ever-in-Debian>+rm</literal>."
1937 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1938 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
1940 msgid "Removing packages from <filename>Incoming</filename>"
1943 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1944 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
1947 "In the past, it was possible to remove packages from <filename>incoming</"
1948 "filename>. However, with the introduction of the new incoming system, this "
1949 "is no longer possible. Instead, you have to upload a new revision of your "
1950 "package with a higher version than the package you want to replace. Both "
1951 "versions will be installed in the archive but only the higher version will "
1952 "actually be available in <literal>unstable</literal> since the previous "
1953 "version will immediately be replaced by the higher. However, if you do "
1954 "proper testing of your packages, the need to replace a package should not "
1955 "occur too often anyway."
1958 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1959 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1961 msgid "Replacing or renaming packages"
1964 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1965 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1968 "When the upstream maintainers for one of your packages chose to rename their "
1969 "software (or you made a mistake naming your package), you should follow a "
1970 "two-step process to rename it. In the first step, change the "
1971 "<filename>debian/control</filename> file to reflect the new name and to "
1972 "replace, provide and conflict with the obsolete package name (see the <ulink "
1973 "url=\"&url-debian-policy;\"> Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for details). "
1974 "Please note that you should only add a <literal>Provides</literal> relation "
1975 "if all packages depending on the obsolete package name continue to work "
1976 "after the renaming. Once you've uploaded the package and the package has "
1977 "moved into the archive, file a bug against <literal> ftp.debian.org</"
1978 "literal> asking to remove the package with the obsolete name (see <xref "
1979 "linkend=\"removing-pkgs\"/>). Do not forget to properly reassign the "
1980 "package's bugs at the same time."
1983 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
1986 "At other times, you may make a mistake in constructing your package and wish "
1987 "to replace it. The only way to do this is to increase the version number "
1988 "and upload a new version. The old version will be expired in the usual "
1989 "manner. Note that this applies to each part of your package, including the "
1990 "sources: if you wish to replace the upstream source tarball of your package, "
1991 "you will need to upload it with a different version. An easy possibility is "
1992 "to replace <filename>foo_1.00.orig.tar.gz</filename> with <filename>foo_1.00"
1993 "+0.orig.tar.gz</filename> or <filename>foo_1.00.orig.tar.bz2</filename>. "
1994 "This restriction gives each file on the ftp site a unique name, which helps "
1995 "to ensure consistency across the mirror network."
1998 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
1999 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2001 msgid "Orphaning a package"
2004 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2005 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2008 "If you can no longer maintain a package, you need to inform others, and see "
2009 "that the package is marked as orphaned. You should set the package "
2010 "maintainer to <literal>Debian QA Group &orphan-address;</literal> and submit "
2011 "a bug report against the pseudo package <systemitem role=\"package\">wnpp</"
2012 "systemitem>. The bug report should be titled <literal>O: "
2013 "<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</"
2014 "replaceable></literal> indicating that the package is now orphaned. The "
2015 "severity of the bug should be set to <literal>normal</literal>; if the "
2016 "package has a priority of standard or higher, it should be set to "
2017 "important. If you feel it's necessary, send a copy to &email-debian-devel; "
2018 "by putting the address in the X-Debbugs-CC: header of the message (no, don't "
2019 "use CC:, because that way the message's subject won't indicate the bug "
2023 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2024 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2027 "If you just intend to give the package away, but you can keep maintainership "
2028 "for the moment, then you should instead submit a bug against <systemitem "
2029 "role=\"package\">wnpp</systemitem> and title it <literal>RFA: "
2030 "<replaceable>package</replaceable> -- <replaceable>short description</"
2031 "replaceable></literal>. <literal>RFA</literal> stands for <literal>Request "
2032 "For Adoption</literal>."
2035 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2036 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2039 "More information is on the <ulink url=\"&url-wnpp;\">WNPP web pages</ulink>."
2042 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2043 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2045 msgid "Adopting a package"
2048 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2049 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2052 "A list of packages in need of a new maintainer is available in the <ulink "
2053 "url=\"&url-wnpp;\">Work-Needing and Prospective Packages list (WNPP)</"
2054 "ulink>. If you wish to take over maintenance of any of the packages listed "
2055 "in the WNPP, please take a look at the aforementioned page for information "
2059 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2062 "It is not OK to simply take over a package that you feel is neglected — that "
2063 "would be package hijacking. You can, of course, contact the current "
2064 "maintainer and ask them if you may take over the package. If you have "
2065 "reason to believe a maintainer has gone AWOL (absent without leave), see "
2066 "<xref linkend=\"mia-qa\"/>."
2069 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2070 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2073 "Generally, you may not take over the package without the assent of the "
2074 "current maintainer. Even if they ignore you, that is still not grounds to "
2075 "take over a package. Complaints about maintainers should be brought up on "
2076 "the developers' mailing list. If the discussion doesn't end with a positive "
2077 "conclusion, and the issue is of a technical nature, consider bringing it to "
2078 "the attention of the technical committee (see the <ulink url=\"&url-tech-"
2079 "ctte;\">technical committee web page</ulink> for more information)."
2082 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2083 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2086 "If you take over an old package, you probably want to be listed as the "
2087 "package's official maintainer in the bug system. This will happen "
2088 "automatically once you upload a new version with an updated "
2089 "<literal>Maintainer:</literal> field, although it can take a few hours after "
2090 "the upload is done. If you do not expect to upload a new version for a "
2091 "while, you can use <xref linkend=\"pkg-tracking-system\"/> to get the bug "
2092 "reports. However, make sure that the old maintainer has no problem with the "
2093 "fact that they will continue to receive the bugs during that time."
2096 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2097 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2099 msgid "Porting and being ported"
2102 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2103 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2106 "Debian supports an ever-increasing number of architectures. Even if you are "
2107 "not a porter, and you don't use any architecture but one, it is part of your "
2108 "duty as a maintainer to be aware of issues of portability. Therefore, even "
2109 "if you are not a porter, you should read most of this chapter."
2112 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2113 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2116 "Porting is the act of building Debian packages for architectures that are "
2117 "different from the original architecture of the package maintainer's binary "
2118 "package. It is a unique and essential activity. In fact, porters do most "
2119 "of the actual compiling of Debian packages. For instance, when a maintainer "
2120 "uploads a (portable) source packages with binaries for the <literal>i386 </"
2121 "literal> architecture, it will be built for each of the other architectures, "
2122 "amounting to &number-of-arches; more builds."
2125 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2126 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2128 msgid "Being kind to porters"
2131 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2132 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2135 "Porters have a difficult and unique task, since they are required to deal "
2136 "with a large volume of packages. Ideally, every source package should build "
2137 "right out of the box. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. This "
2138 "section contains a checklist of ``gotchas'' often committed by Debian "
2139 "maintainers — common problems which often stymie porters, and make their "
2140 "jobs unnecessarily difficult."
2143 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2144 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2147 "The first and most important thing is to respond quickly to bug or issues "
2148 "raised by porters. Please treat porters with courtesy, as if they were in "
2149 "fact co-maintainers of your package (which, in a way, they are). Please be "
2150 "tolerant of succinct or even unclear bug reports; do your best to hunt down "
2151 "whatever the problem is."
2154 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2155 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2158 "By far, most of the problems encountered by porters are caused by "
2159 "<emphasis>packaging bugs</emphasis> in the source packages. Here is a "
2160 "checklist of things you should check or be aware of."
2163 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2166 "Make sure that your <literal>Build-Depends</literal> and <literal>Build-"
2167 "Depends-Indep</literal> settings in <filename>debian/control</filename> are "
2168 "set properly. The best way to validate this is to use the <systemitem role="
2169 "\"package\">debootstrap</systemitem> package to create an <literal>unstable</"
2170 "literal> chroot environment (see <xref linkend=\"debootstrap\"/>). Within "
2171 "that chrooted environment, install the <systemitem role=\"package\">build-"
2172 "essential</systemitem> package and any package dependencies mentioned in "
2173 "<literal>Build-Depends</literal> and/or <literal>Build-Depends-Indep</"
2174 "literal>. Finally, try building your package within that chrooted "
2175 "environment. These steps can be automated by the use of the "
2176 "<command>pbuilder</command> program which is provided by the package of the "
2177 "same name (see <xref linkend=\"pbuilder\"/>)."
2180 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2183 "If you can't set up a proper chroot, <command>dpkg-depcheck</command> may be "
2184 "of assistance (see <xref linkend=\"dpkg-depcheck\"/>)."
2187 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2188 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2191 "See the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink> for "
2192 "instructions on setting build dependencies."
2195 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2196 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2199 "Don't set architecture to a value other than <literal>all</literal> or "
2200 "<literal>any</literal> unless you really mean it. In too many cases, "
2201 "maintainers don't follow the instructions in the <ulink url=\"&url-debian-"
2202 "policy;\">Debian Policy Manual</ulink>. Setting your architecture to only "
2203 "one architecture (such as <literal>i386</literal> or <literal>amd64</"
2204 "literal>) is usually incorrect."
2207 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2208 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2211 "Make sure your source package is correct. Do <literal>dpkg-source -x "
2212 "<replaceable>package</replaceable>.dsc</literal> to make sure your source "
2213 "package unpacks properly. Then, in there, try building your package from "
2214 "scratch with <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command>."
2217 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2218 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2221 "Make sure you don't ship your source package with the <filename>debian/"
2222 "files</filename> or <filename>debian/substvars</filename> files. They "
2223 "should be removed by the <literal>clean</literal> target of <filename>debian/"
2227 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2228 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2231 "Make sure you don't rely on locally installed or hacked configurations or "
2232 "programs. For instance, you should never be calling programs in <filename>/"
2233 "usr/local/bin</filename> or the like. Try not to rely on programs being "
2234 "setup in a special way. Try building your package on another machine, even "
2235 "if it's the same architecture."
2238 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2239 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2242 "Don't depend on the package you're building being installed already (a sub-"
2243 "case of the above issue). There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but "
2244 "be aware that any case like this needs manual bootstrapping and cannot be "
2245 "done by automated package builders."
2248 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2249 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2252 "Don't rely on the compiler being a certain version, if possible. If not, "
2253 "then make sure your build dependencies reflect the restrictions, although "
2254 "you are probably asking for trouble, since different architectures sometimes "
2255 "standardize on different compilers."
2258 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2259 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
2262 "Make sure your debian/rules contains separate <literal>binary-arch</literal> "
2263 "and <literal>binary-indep</literal> targets, as the Debian Policy Manual "
2264 "requires. Make sure that both targets work independently, that is, that you "
2265 "can call the target without having called the other before. To test this, "
2266 "try to run <command>dpkg-buildpackage -B</command>."
2269 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2270 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2272 msgid "Guidelines for porter uploads"
2275 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2276 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2279 "If the package builds out of the box for the architecture to be ported to, "
2280 "you are in luck and your job is easy. This section applies to that case; it "
2281 "describes how to build and upload your binary package so that it is properly "
2282 "installed into the archive. If you do have to patch the package in order to "
2283 "get it to compile for the other architecture, you are actually doing a "
2284 "source NMU, so consult <xref linkend=\"nmu-guidelines\"/> instead."
2287 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2288 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2291 "For a porter upload, no changes are being made to the source. You do not "
2292 "need to touch any of the files in the source package. This includes "
2293 "<filename>debian/changelog</filename>."
2296 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2297 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2300 "The way to invoke <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command> is as <literal>dpkg-"
2301 "buildpackage -B -m<replaceable>porter-email</replaceable></literal>. Of "
2302 "course, set <replaceable>porter-email</replaceable> to your email address. "
2303 "This will do a binary-only build of only the architecture-dependent portions "
2304 "of the package, using the <literal>binary-arch</literal> target in "
2305 "<filename>debian/rules </filename>."
2308 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2309 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2312 "If you are working on a Debian machine for your porting efforts and you need "
2313 "to sign your upload locally for its acceptance in the archive, you can run "
2314 "<command>debsign</command> on your <filename>.changes</filename> file to "
2315 "have it signed conveniently, or use the remote signing mode of <command>dpkg-"
2319 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2320 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2322 msgid "Recompilation or binary-only NMU"
2325 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2328 "Sometimes the initial porter upload is problematic because the environment "
2329 "in which the package was built was not good enough (outdated or obsolete "
2330 "library, bad compiler, etc.). Then you may just need to recompile it in an "
2331 "updated environment. However, you have to bump the version number in this "
2332 "case, so that the old bad package can be replaced in the Debian archive "
2333 "(<command>dak</command> refuses to install new packages if they don't have a "
2334 "version number greater than the currently available one)."
2337 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2338 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2341 "You have to make sure that your binary-only NMU doesn't render the package "
2342 "uninstallable. This could happen when a source package generates arch-"
2343 "dependent and arch-independent packages that have inter-dependencies "
2344 "generated using dpkg's substitution variable <literal>$(Source-Version) </"
2348 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2349 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2352 "Despite the required modification of the changelog, these are called binary-"
2353 "only NMUs — there is no need in this case to trigger all other architectures "
2354 "to consider themselves out of date or requiring recompilation."
2357 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2358 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2361 "Such recompilations require special ``magic'' version numbering, so that the "
2362 "archive maintenance tools recognize that, even though there is a new Debian "
2363 "version, there is no corresponding source update. If you get this wrong, "
2364 "the archive maintainers will reject your upload (due to lack of "
2365 "corresponding source code)."
2368 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para><footnote><para>
2369 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para><footnote><para>
2372 "In the past, such NMUs used the third-level number on the Debian part of the "
2373 "revision to denote their recompilation-only status; however, this syntax was "
2374 "ambiguous with native packages and did not allow proper ordering of "
2375 "recompile-only NMUs, source NMUs, and security NMUs on the same package, and "
2376 "has therefore been abandoned in favor of this new syntax."
2379 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2382 "The ``magic'' for a recompilation-only NMU is triggered by using a suffix "
2383 "appended to the package version number, following the form <literal> "
2384 "b<replaceable>number</replaceable></literal>. For instance, if the latest "
2385 "version you are recompiling against was version <literal>2.9-3</literal>, "
2386 "your binary-only NMU should carry a version of <literal>2.9-3+b1</literal>. "
2387 "If the latest version was <literal>3.4+b1 </literal> (i.e, a native package "
2388 "with a previous recompilation NMU), your binary-only NMU should have a "
2389 "version number of <literal>3.4+b2</literal>. <placeholder type=\"footnote\" "
2393 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2394 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2397 "Similar to initial porter uploads, the correct way of invoking <command>dpkg-"
2398 "buildpackage</command> is <literal>dpkg-buildpackage -B</literal> to only "
2399 "build the architecture-dependent parts of the package."
2402 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2403 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2405 msgid "When to do a source NMU if you are a porter"
2408 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2409 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2412 "Porters doing a source NMU generally follow the guidelines found in <xref "
2413 "linkend=\"nmu\"/> , just like non-porters. However, it is expected that the "
2414 "wait cycle for a porter's source NMU is smaller than for a non-porter, since "
2415 "porters have to cope with a large quantity of packages. Again, the "
2416 "situation varies depending on the distribution they are uploading to. It "
2417 "also varies whether the architecture is a candidate for inclusion into the "
2418 "next stable release; the release managers decide and announce which "
2419 "architectures are candidates."
2422 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2423 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2426 "If you are a porter doing an NMU for <literal>unstable</literal>, the above "
2427 "guidelines for porting should be followed, with two variations. Firstly, "
2428 "the acceptable waiting period — the time between when the bug is submitted "
2429 "to the BTS and when it is OK to do an NMU — is seven days for porters "
2430 "working on the <literal>unstable</literal> distribution. This period can be "
2431 "shortened if the problem is critical and imposes hardship on the porting "
2432 "effort, at the discretion of the porter group. (Remember, none of this is "
2433 "Policy, just mutually agreed upon guidelines.) For uploads to "
2434 "<literal>stable</literal> or <literal>testing </literal>, please coordinate "
2435 "with the appropriate release team first."
2438 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2439 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2442 "Secondly, porters doing source NMUs should make sure that the bug they "
2443 "submit to the BTS should be of severity <literal>serious</literal> or "
2444 "greater. This ensures that a single source package can be used to compile "
2445 "every supported Debian architecture by release time. It is very important "
2446 "that we have one version of the binary and source package for all "
2447 "architectures in order to comply with many licenses."
2450 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2451 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2454 "Porters should try to avoid patches which simply kludge around bugs in the "
2455 "current version of the compile environment, kernel, or libc. Sometimes such "
2456 "kludges can't be helped. If you have to kludge around compiler bugs and the "
2457 "like, make sure you <literal>#ifdef</literal> your work properly; also, "
2458 "document your kludge so that people know to remove it once the external "
2459 "problems have been fixed."
2462 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2463 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2466 "Porters may also have an unofficial location where they can put the results "
2467 "of their work during the waiting period. This helps others running the port "
2468 "have the benefit of the porter's work, even during the waiting period. Of "
2469 "course, such locations have no official blessing or status, so buyer beware."
2472 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2473 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2475 msgid "Porting infrastructure and automation"
2478 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2479 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2482 "There is infrastructure and several tools to help automate package porting. "
2483 "This section contains a brief overview of this automation and porting to "
2484 "these tools; see the package documentation or references for full "
2488 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2489 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2491 msgid "Mailing lists and web pages"
2494 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2495 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2498 "Web pages containing the status of each port can be found at <ulink url="
2499 "\"&url-debian-ports;\"></ulink>."
2502 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2503 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2506 "Each port of Debian has a mailing list. The list of porting mailing lists "
2507 "can be found at <ulink url=\"&url-debian-port-lists;\"></ulink>. These "
2508 "lists are used to coordinate porters, and to connect the users of a given "
2509 "port with the porters."
2512 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2513 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2515 msgid "Porter tools"
2518 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2521 "Descriptions of several porting tools can be found in <xref linkend=\"tools-"
2525 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2526 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
2528 msgid "<systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem>"
2531 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2532 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2535 "The <systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem> system is used as "
2536 "a distributed, client-server build distribution system. It is usually used "
2537 "in conjunction with build daemons running the <systemitem role=\"package"
2538 "\">buildd </systemitem> program. <literal>Build daemons</literal> are "
2539 "``slave'' hosts which contact the central <systemitem role=\"package\"> "
2540 "wanna-build</systemitem> system to receive a list of packages that need to "
2544 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2547 "<systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build</systemitem> is not yet available "
2548 "as a package; however, all Debian porting efforts are using it for automated "
2549 "package building. The tool used to do the actual package builds, "
2550 "<systemitem role=\"package\">sbuild</systemitem> is available as a package, "
2551 "see its description in <xref linkend=\"sbuild\"/>. Please note that the "
2552 "packaged version is not the same as the one used on build daemons, but it is "
2553 "close enough to reproduce problems."
2556 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2557 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2560 "Most of the data produced by <systemitem role=\"package\">wanna-build </"
2561 "systemitem> which is generally useful to porters is available on the web at "
2562 "<ulink url=\"&url-buildd;\"></ulink>. This data includes nightly updated "
2563 "statistics, queueing information and logs for build attempts."
2566 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2567 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2570 "We are quite proud of this system, since it has so many possible uses. "
2571 "Independent development groups can use the system for different sub-flavors "
2572 "of Debian, which may or may not really be of general interest (for instance, "
2573 "a flavor of Debian built with <command>gcc</command> bounds checking). It "
2574 "will also enable Debian to recompile entire distributions quickly."
2577 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2580 "The wanna-build team, in charge of the buildds, can be reached at "
2581 "<literal>debian-wb-team@lists.debian.org</literal>. To determine who (wanna-"
2582 "build team, release team) and how (mail, BTS) to contact, refer to <ulink "
2583 "url=\"&url-wb-team;\"></ulink>."
2586 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
2589 "When requesting binNMUs or give-backs (retries after a failed build), please "
2590 "use the format described at <ulink url=\"&url-release-wb;\"/>."
2593 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2594 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2596 msgid "When your package is <emphasis>not</emphasis> portable"
2599 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2600 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2603 "Some packages still have issues with building and/or working on some of the "
2604 "architectures supported by Debian, and cannot be ported at all, or not "
2605 "within a reasonable amount of time. An example is a package that is SVGA-"
2606 "specific (only available for <literal>i386</literal> and <literal>amd64</"
2607 "literal>), or uses other hardware-specific features not supported on all "
2611 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2612 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2615 "In order to prevent broken packages from being uploaded to the archive, and "
2616 "wasting buildd time, you need to do a few things:"
2619 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2620 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2623 "First, make sure your package <emphasis>does</emphasis> fail to build on "
2624 "architectures that it cannot support. There are a few ways to achieve "
2625 "this. The preferred way is to have a small testsuite during build time that "
2626 "will test the functionality, and fail if it doesn't work. This is a good "
2627 "idea anyway, as this will prevent (some) broken uploads on all "
2628 "architectures, and also will allow the package to build as soon as the "
2629 "required functionality is available."
2632 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2633 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2636 "Additionally, if you believe the list of supported architectures is pretty "
2637 "constant, you should change <literal>any</literal> to a list of supported "
2638 "architectures in <filename>debian/control</filename>. This way, the build "
2639 "will fail also, and indicate this to a human reader without actually trying."
2642 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2645 "In order to prevent autobuilders from needlessly trying to build your "
2646 "package, it must be included in <filename>packages-arch-specific</filename>, "
2647 "a list used by the <command>wanna-build</command> script. The current "
2648 "version is available as <ulink url=\"&url-buildd-p-a-s;\"/>; please see the "
2649 "top of the file for whom to contact for changes."
2652 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2653 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2656 "Please note that it is insufficient to only add your package to Packages-"
2657 "arch-specific without making it fail to build on unsupported architectures: "
2658 "A porter or any other person trying to build your package might accidently "
2659 "upload it without noticing it doesn't work. If in the past some binary "
2660 "packages were uploaded on unsupported architectures, request their removal "
2661 "by filing a bug against <systemitem role=\"package\">ftp.debian.org</"
2665 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2666 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
2668 msgid "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
2671 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2672 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
2675 "Every package has one or more maintainers. Normally, these are the people "
2676 "who work on and upload new versions of the package. In some situations, it "
2677 "is useful that other developers can upload a new version as well, for "
2678 "example if they want to fix a bug in a package they don't maintain, when the "
2679 "maintainer needs help to respond to issues. Such uploads are called "
2680 "<emphasis>Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMU)</emphasis>."
2683 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2684 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2686 msgid "When and how to do an NMU"
2689 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2690 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2692 msgid "Before doing an NMU, consider the following questions:"
2695 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2696 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2699 "Does your NMU really fix bugs? Fixing cosmetic issues or changing the "
2700 "packaging style in NMUs is discouraged."
2703 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2704 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2707 "Did you give enough time to the maintainer? When was the bug reported to the "
2708 "BTS? Being busy for a week or two isn't unusual. Is the bug so severe that "
2709 "it needs to be fixed right now, or can it wait a few more days?"
2712 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2713 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2716 "How confident are you about your changes? Please remember the Hippocratic "
2717 "Oath: \"Above all, do no harm.\" It is better to leave a package with an "
2718 "open grave bug than applying a non-functional patch, or one that hides the "
2719 "bug instead of resolving it. If you are not 100% sure of what you did, it "
2720 "might be a good idea to seek advice from others. Remember that if you break "
2721 "something in your NMU, many people will be very unhappy about it."
2724 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2725 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2728 "Have you clearly expressed your intention to NMU, at least in the BTS? It is "
2729 "also a good idea to try to contact the maintainer by other means (private "
2733 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2734 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2737 "If the maintainer is usually active and responsive, have you tried to "
2738 "contact him? In general it should be considered preferable that a maintainer "
2739 "takes care of an issue himself and that he is given the chance to review and "
2740 "correct your patch, because he can be expected to be more aware of potential "
2741 "issues which an NMUer might miss. It is often a better use of everyone's "
2742 "time if the maintainer is given an opportunity to upload a fix on their own."
2745 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2746 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2749 "When doing an NMU, you must first make sure that your intention to NMU is "
2750 "clear. Then, you must send a patch with the differences between the current "
2751 "package and your proposed NMU to the BTS. The <literal>nmudiff</literal> "
2752 "script in the <literal>devscripts</literal> package might be helpful."
2755 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2756 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2759 "While preparing the patch, you should better be aware of any package-"
2760 "specific practices that the maintainer might be using. Taking them into "
2761 "account reduces the burden of getting your changes integrated back in the "
2762 "normal package workflow and thus increases the possibilities that that will "
2763 "happen. A good place where to look for for possible package-specific "
2764 "practices is <ulink url=\"&url-debian-policy;ch-source.html#s-readmesource"
2765 "\"><literal>debian/README.source</literal></ulink>."
2768 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2769 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2772 "Unless you have an excellent reason not to do so, you must then give some "
2773 "time to the maintainer to react (for example, by uploading to the "
2774 "<literal>DELAYED</literal> queue). Here are some recommended values to use "
2778 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2779 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2781 msgid "Upload fixing only release-critical bugs older than 7 days: 2 days"
2784 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2785 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2787 msgid "Upload fixing only release-critical and important bugs: 5 days"
2790 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2791 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
2793 msgid "Other NMUs: 10 days"
2796 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2797 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2800 "Those delays are only examples. In some cases, such as uploads fixing "
2801 "security issues, or fixes for trivial bugs that blocking a transition, it is "
2802 "desirable that the fixed package reaches <literal>unstable</literal> sooner."
2805 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2806 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2809 "Sometimes, release managers decide to allow NMUs with shorter delays for a "
2810 "subset of bugs (e.g release-critical bugs older than 7 days). Also, some "
2811 "maintainers list themselves in the <ulink url=\"&url-low-threshold-nmu;"
2812 "\">Low Threshold NMU list</ulink>, and accept that NMUs are uploaded without "
2813 "delay. But even in those cases, it's still a good idea to give the "
2814 "maintainer a few days to react before you upload, especially if the patch "
2815 "wasn't available in the BTS before, or if you know that the maintainer is "
2819 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2820 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2823 "After you upload an NMU, you are responsible for the possible problems that "
2824 "you might have introduced. You must keep an eye on the package (subscribing "
2825 "to the package on the PTS is a good way to achieve this)."
2828 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2829 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2832 "This is not a license to perform NMUs thoughtlessly. If you NMU when it is "
2833 "clear that the maintainers are active and would have acknowledged a patch in "
2834 "a timely manner, or if you ignore the recommendations of this document, your "
2835 "upload might be a cause of conflict with the maintainer. You should always "
2836 "be prepared to defend the wisdom of any NMU you perform on its own merits."
2839 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2840 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2842 msgid "NMUs and debian/changelog"
2845 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2846 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2849 "Just like any other (source) upload, NMUs must add an entry to "
2850 "<literal>debian/changelog</literal>, telling what has changed with this "
2851 "upload. The first line of this entry must explicitely mention that this "
2852 "upload is an NMU, e.g.:"
2855 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
2858 msgid " * Non-maintainer upload.\n"
2861 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2863 msgid "The way to version NMUs differs for native and non-native packages."
2866 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2869 "If the package is a native package (without a debian revision in the version "
2870 "number), the version must be the version of the last maintainer upload, plus "
2871 "<literal>+nmu<replaceable>X</replaceable></literal>, where <replaceable>X</"
2872 "replaceable> is a counter starting at <literal>1</literal>. If the last "
2873 "upload was also an NMU, the counter should be increased. For example, if "
2874 "the current version is <literal>1.5</literal>, then an NMU would get version "
2875 "<literal>1.5+nmu1</literal>."
2878 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2881 "If the package is a not a native package, you should add a minor version "
2882 "number to the debian revision part of the version number (the portion after "
2883 "the last hyphen). This extra number must start at 1. For example, if the "
2884 "current version is <literal>1.5-2</literal>, then an NMU would get version "
2885 "<literal>1.5-2.1</literal>. If a new upstream version is packaged in the "
2886 "NMU, the debian revision is set to <literal>0</literal>, for example "
2887 "<literal>1.6-0.1</literal>."
2890 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2893 "In both cases, if the last upload was also an NMU, the counter should be "
2894 "increased. For example, if the current version is <literal>1.5+nmu3</"
2895 "literal> (a native package which has already been NMUed), the NMU would get "
2896 "version <literal>1.5+nmu4</literal>."
2899 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2900 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2903 "A special versioning scheme is needed to avoid disrupting the maintainer's "
2904 "work, since using an integer for the Debian revision will potentially "
2905 "conflict with a maintainer upload already in preparation at the time of an "
2906 "NMU, or even one sitting in the ftp NEW queue. It also has the benefit of "
2907 "making it visually clear that a package in the archive was not made by the "
2908 "official maintainer."
2911 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2912 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2915 "If you upload a package to testing or stable, you sometimes need to \"fork\" "
2916 "the version number tree. This is the case for security uploads, for "
2917 "example. For this, a version of the form <literal>+deb<replaceable>XY</"
2918 "replaceable>u<replaceable>Z</replaceable></literal> should be used, where "
2919 "<replaceable>X</replaceable> and <replaceable>Y</replaceable> are the major "
2920 "and minor release numbers, and <replaceable>Z</replaceable> is a counter "
2921 "starting at <literal>1</literal>. When the release number is not yet known "
2922 "(often the case for <literal>testing</literal>, at the beginning of release "
2923 "cycles), the lowest release number higher than the last stable release "
2924 "number must be used. For example, while Etch (Debian 4.0) is stable, a "
2925 "security NMU to stable for a package at version <literal>1.5-3</literal> "
2926 "would have version <literal>1.5-3+deb40u1</literal>, whereas a security NMU "
2927 "to Lenny would get version <literal>1.5-3+deb50u1</literal>. After the "
2928 "release of Lenny, security uploads to the <literal>testing</literal> "
2929 "distribution will be versioned <literal>+deb51uZ</literal>, until it is "
2930 "known whether that release will be Debian 5.1 or Debian 6.0 (if that becomes "
2931 "the case, uploads will be versioned as <literal>+deb60uZ</literal>."
2934 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2935 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2937 msgid "Using the <literal>DELAYED/</literal> queue"
2940 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2941 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2944 "Having to wait for a response after you request permission to NMU is "
2945 "inefficient, because it costs the NMUer a context switch to come back to the "
2946 "issue. The <literal>DELAYED</literal> queue (see <xref linkend=\"delayed-"
2947 "incoming\"/>) allows the developer doing the NMU to perform all the "
2948 "necessary tasks at the same time. For instance, instead of telling the "
2949 "maintainer that you will upload the updated package in 7 days, you should "
2950 "upload the package to <literal>DELAYED/7</literal> and tell the maintainer "
2951 "that he has 7 days to react. During this time, the maintainer can ask you "
2952 "to delay the upload some more, or cancel your upload."
2955 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2956 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2959 "The <literal>DELAYED</literal> queue should not be used to put additional "
2960 "pressure on the maintainer. In particular, it's important that you are "
2961 "available to cancel or delay the upload before the delay expires since the "
2962 "maintainer cannot cancel the upload himself."
2965 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2966 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2969 "If you make an NMU to <literal>DELAYED</literal> and the maintainer updates "
2970 "his package before the delay expires, your upload will be rejected because a "
2971 "newer version is already available in the archive. Ideally, the maintainer "
2972 "will take care to include your proposed changes (or at least a solution for "
2973 "the problems they address) in that upload."
2976 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2977 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
2979 msgid "NMUs from the maintainer's point of view"
2982 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2983 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2986 "When someone NMUs your package, this means they want to help you to keep it "
2987 "in good shape. This gives users fixed packages faster. You can consider "
2988 "asking the NMUer to become a co-maintainer of the package. Receiving an NMU "
2989 "on a package is not a bad thing; it just means that the package is "
2990 "interesting enough for other people to work on it."
2993 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2994 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
2997 "To acknowledge an NMU, include its changes and changelog entry in your next "
2998 "maintainer upload. If you do not acknowledge the NMU by including the NMU "
2999 "changelog entry in your changelog, the bugs will remain closed in the BTS "
3000 "but will be listed as affecting your maintainer version of the package."
3003 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3004 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3006 msgid "Source NMUs vs Binary-only NMUs (binNMUs)"
3009 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3010 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3013 "The full name of an NMU is <emphasis>source NMU</emphasis>. There is also "
3014 "another type, namely the <emphasis>binary-only NMU</emphasis>, or "
3015 "<emphasis>binNMU</emphasis>. A binNMU is also a package upload by someone "
3016 "other than the package's maintainer. However, it is a binary-only upload."
3019 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3020 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3023 "When a library (or other dependency) is updated, the packages using it may "
3024 "need to be rebuilt. Since no changes to the source are needed, the same "
3025 "source package is used."
3028 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3029 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3032 "BinNMUs are usually triggered on the buildds by wanna-build. An entry is "
3033 "added to debian/changelog, explaining why the upload was needed and "
3034 "increasing the version number as described in <xref linkend=\"binary-only-nmu"
3035 "\"/>. This entry should not be included in the next upload."
3038 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3039 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3042 "Buildds upload packages for their architecture to the archive as binary-only "
3043 "uploads. Strictly speaking, these are binNMUs. However, they are not "
3044 "normally called NMU, and they don't add an entry to debian/changelog."
3047 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3048 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3050 msgid "NMUs vs QA uploads"
3053 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3054 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3057 "NMUs are uploads of packages by somebody else than their assigned "
3058 "maintainer. There is another type of upload where the uploaded package is "
3059 "not yours: QA uploads. QA uploads are uploads of orphaned packages."
3062 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3063 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3066 "QA uploads are very much like normal maintainer uploads: they may fix "
3067 "anything, even minor issues; the version numbering is normal, and there is "
3068 "no need to use a delayed upload. The difference is that you are not listed "
3069 "as the Maintainer or Uploader for the package. Also, the changelog entry of "
3070 "a QA upload has a special first line:"
3073 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><screen>
3076 msgid " * QA upload.\n"
3079 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3080 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3083 "If you want to do an NMU, and it seems that the maintainer is not active, it "
3084 "is wise to check if the package is orphaned (this information is displayed "
3085 "on the package's Package Tracking System page). When doing the first QA "
3086 "upload to an orphaned package, the maintainer should be set to "
3087 "<literal>Debian QA Group <packages@qa.debian.org></literal>. Orphaned "
3088 "packages which did not yet have a QA upload still have their old maintainer "
3089 "set. There is a list of them at <ulink url=\"&url-orphaned-not-qa;\"/>."
3092 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3093 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3096 "Instead of doing a QA upload, you can also consider adopting the package by "
3097 "making yourself the maintainer. You don't need permission from anybody to "
3098 "adopt an orphaned package, you can just set yourself as maintainer and "
3099 "upload the new version (see <xref linkend=\"adopting\"/>)."
3102 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3104 msgid "NMUs vs team uploads"
3107 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3110 "Sometimes you are fixing and/or updating a package because you are member of "
3111 "a packaging team (which uses a mailing list as Maintainer or Uploader, see "
3112 "<xref linkend=\"collaborative-maint\"/>) but you don't want to add yourself "
3113 "to Uploaders because you do not plan to contribute regularly to this "
3114 "specific package. If it conforms with your team's policy, you can perform a "
3115 "normal upload without being listed directly as Maintainer or Uploader. In "
3116 "that case, you should start your changelog entry with the following line: "
3117 "<code> * Team upload.</code>."
3120 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3121 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3123 msgid "Collaborative maintenance"
3126 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3127 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3130 "Collaborative maintenance is a term describing the sharing of Debian package "
3131 "maintenance duties by several people. This collaboration is almost always a "
3132 "good idea, since it generally results in higher quality and faster bug fix "
3133 "turnaround times. It is strongly recommended that packages with a priority "
3134 "of <literal>Standard</literal> or which are part of the base set have co-"
3138 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3139 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3142 "Generally there is a primary maintainer and one or more co-maintainers. The "
3143 "primary maintainer is the person whose name is listed in the "
3144 "<literal>Maintainer</literal> field of the <filename>debian/control</"
3145 "filename> file. Co-maintainers are all the other maintainers, usually "
3146 "listed in the <literal>Uploaders</literal> field of the <filename>debian/"
3147 "control</filename> file."
3150 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3151 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3154 "In its most basic form, the process of adding a new co-maintainer is quite "
3158 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3161 "Setup the co-maintainer with access to the sources you build the package "
3162 "from. Generally this implies you are using a network-capable version "
3163 "control system, such as <command>CVS</command> or <command>Subversion</"
3164 "command>. Alioth (see <xref linkend=\"alioth\"/>) provides such tools, "
3168 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3169 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3172 "Add the co-maintainer's correct maintainer name and address to the "
3173 "<literal>Uploaders</literal> field in the first paragraph of the "
3174 "<filename>debian/control</filename> file."
3177 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><screen>
3180 msgid "Uploaders: John Buzz <jbuzz@debian.org>, Adam Rex <arex@debian.org>\n"
3183 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3186 "Using the PTS (<xref linkend=\"pkg-tracking-system\"/>), the co-maintainers "
3187 "should subscribe themselves to the appropriate source package."
3190 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3191 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3194 "Another form of collaborative maintenance is team maintenance, which is "
3195 "recommended if you maintain several packages with the same group of "
3196 "developers. In that case, the Maintainer and Uploaders field of each "
3197 "package must be managed with care. It is recommended to choose between one "
3198 "of the two following schemes:"
3201 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3202 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3205 "Put the team member mainly responsible for the package in the Maintainer "
3206 "field. In the Uploaders, put the mailing list address, and the team members "
3207 "who care for the package."
3210 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3211 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><orderedlist><listitem><para>
3214 "Put the mailing list address in the Maintainer field. In the Uploaders "
3215 "field, put the team members who care for the package. In this case, you "
3216 "must make sure the mailing list accept bug reports without any human "
3217 "interaction (like moderation for non-subscribers)."
3220 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
3223 "In any case, it is a bad idea to automatically put all team members in the "
3224 "Uploaders field. It clutters the Developer's Package Overview listing (see "
3225 "<xref linkend=\"ddpo\"/>) with packages one doesn't really care for, and "
3226 "creates a false sense of good maintenance. For the same reason, team members "
3227 "do not need to add themselves to the Uploaders field just because they are "
3228 "uploading the package once, they can do a “Team upload” (see <xref linkend="
3229 "\"nmu-team-upload\"/>). Conversely, it it a bad idea to keep a package with "
3230 "only the mailing list address as a Maintainer and no Uploaders."
3233 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3234 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
3236 msgid "The testing distribution"
3239 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3240 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3245 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3246 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3249 "Packages are usually installed into the <literal>testing</literal> "
3250 "distribution after they have undergone some degree of <literal>testing</"
3251 "literal> in <literal>unstable</literal>."
3254 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3255 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3258 "They must be in sync on all architectures and mustn't have dependencies that "
3259 "make them uninstallable; they also have to have generally no known release-"
3260 "critical bugs at the time they're installed into <literal>testing </"
3261 "literal>. This way, <literal>testing</literal> should always be close to "
3262 "being a release candidate. Please see below for details."
3265 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3266 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3268 msgid "Updates from unstable"
3271 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3272 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3275 "The scripts that update the <literal>testing</literal> distribution are run "
3276 "twice each day, right after the installation of the updated packages; these "
3277 "scripts are called <literal>britney</literal>. They generate the "
3278 "<filename>Packages</filename> files for the <literal>testing</literal> "
3279 "distribution, but they do so in an intelligent manner; they try to avoid any "
3280 "inconsistency and to use only non-buggy packages."
3283 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3284 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3287 "The inclusion of a package from <literal>unstable</literal> is conditional "
3291 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3292 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3295 "The package must have been available in <literal>unstable</literal> for 2, 5 "
3296 "or 10 days, depending on the urgency (high, medium or low). Please note "
3297 "that the urgency is sticky, meaning that the highest urgency uploaded since "
3298 "the previous <literal>testing</literal> transition is taken into account. "
3299 "Those delays may be doubled during a freeze, or <literal>testing</literal> "
3300 "transitions may be switched off altogether;"
3303 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3304 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3307 "It must not have new release-critical bugs (RC bugs affecting the version "
3308 "available in <literal>unstable</literal>, but not affecting the version in "
3309 "<literal>testing</literal>);"
3312 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3313 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3316 "It must be available on all architectures on which it has previously been "
3317 "built in <literal>unstable</literal>. <xref linkend=\"dak-ls\"/> may be of "
3318 "interest to check that information;"
3321 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3322 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3325 "It must not break any dependency of a package which is already available in "
3326 "<literal>testing</literal>;"
3329 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3330 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3333 "The packages on which it depends must either be available in "
3334 "<literal>testing</literal> or they must be accepted into <literal>testing</"
3335 "literal> at the same time (and they will be if they fulfill all the "
3336 "necessary criteria);"
3339 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3340 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3343 "To find out whether a package is progressing into <literal>testing</literal> "
3344 "or not, see the <literal>testing</literal> script output on the <ulink url="
3345 "\"&url-testing-maint;\">web page of the testing distribution</ulink>, or use "
3346 "the program <command>grep-excuses</command> which is in the <systemitem role="
3347 "\"package\">devscripts</systemitem> package. This utility can easily be "
3348 "used in a <citerefentry> <refentrytitle>crontab</refentrytitle> "
3349 "<manvolnum>5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> to keep yourself informed of the "
3350 "progression of your packages into <literal>testing</literal>."
3353 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3354 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3357 "The <filename>update_excuses</filename> file does not always give the "
3358 "precise reason why the package is refused; you may have to find it on your "
3359 "own by looking for what would break with the inclusion of the package. The "
3360 "<ulink url=\"&url-testing-maint;\">testing web page</ulink> gives some more "
3361 "information about the usual problems which may be causing such troubles."
3364 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3365 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3368 "Sometimes, some packages never enter <literal>testing</literal> because the "
3369 "set of inter-relationship is too complicated and cannot be sorted out by the "
3370 "scripts. See below for details."
3373 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3374 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3377 "Some further dependency analysis is shown on <ulink url=\"http://release."
3378 "debian.org/migration/\"></ulink> — but be warned, this page also shows build "
3379 "dependencies which are not considered by britney."
3382 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3383 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3388 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3389 #. FIXME: better rename this file than document rampant professionalism?
3390 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3393 "For the <literal>testing</literal> migration script, outdated means: There "
3394 "are different versions in <literal>unstable</literal> for the release "
3395 "architectures (except for the architectures in fuckedarches; fuckedarches is "
3396 "a list of architectures that don't keep up (in <filename>update_out.py</"
3397 "filename>), but currently, it's empty). outdated has nothing whatsoever to "
3398 "do with the architectures this package has in <literal>testing</literal>."
3401 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3402 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3404 msgid "Consider this example:"
3407 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3408 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3409 #: pkgs.dbk:2419 pkgs.dbk:2452
3413 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3414 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3415 #: pkgs.dbk:2420 pkgs.dbk:2453
3419 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3420 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3421 #: pkgs.dbk:2425 pkgs.dbk:2459 pkgs.dbk:2521
3425 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3426 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3427 #: pkgs.dbk:2426 pkgs.dbk:2431 pkgs.dbk:2460 pkgs.dbk:2461 pkgs.dbk:2468
3431 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3432 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3433 #: pkgs.dbk:2427 pkgs.dbk:2462 pkgs.dbk:2467
3437 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3438 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3439 #: pkgs.dbk:2430 pkgs.dbk:2465 pkgs.dbk:2522
3443 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3444 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3445 #: pkgs.dbk:2432 pkgs.dbk:2466
3449 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3450 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3453 "The package is out of date on alpha in <literal>unstable</literal>, and will "
3454 "not go to <literal>testing</literal>. Removing the package would not help at "
3455 "all, the package is still out of date on <literal>alpha</literal>, and will "
3456 "not propagate to testing."
3459 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3460 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3463 "However, if ftp-master removes a package in <literal>unstable</literal> "
3464 "(here on <literal>arm</literal>):"
3467 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3468 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><thead><row><entry>
3473 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3474 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3477 "In this case, the package is up to date on all release architectures in "
3478 "<literal>unstable</literal> (and the extra <literal>hurd-i386</literal> "
3479 "doesn't matter, as it's not a release architecture)."
3482 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3483 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3486 "Sometimes, the question is raised if it is possible to allow packages in "
3487 "that are not yet built on all architectures: No. Just plainly no. (Except "
3488 "if you maintain glibc or so.)"
3491 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3492 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3494 msgid "Removals from testing"
3497 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3498 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3501 "Sometimes, a package is removed to allow another package in: This happens "
3502 "only to allow <emphasis>another</emphasis> package to go in if it's ready in "
3503 "every other sense. Suppose e.g. that <literal>a</literal> cannot be "
3504 "installed with the new version of <literal>b</literal>; then <literal>a</"
3505 "literal> may be removed to allow <literal>b</literal> in."
3508 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3509 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3512 "Of course, there is another reason to remove a package from <literal>testing "
3513 "</literal>: It's just too buggy (and having a single RC-bug is enough to be "
3517 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3518 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3521 "Furthermore, if a package has been removed from <literal>unstable</literal>, "
3522 "and no package in <literal>testing</literal> depends on it any more, then it "
3523 "will automatically be removed."
3526 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3527 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3529 msgid "circular dependencies"
3532 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3533 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3536 "A situation which is not handled very well by britney is if package "
3537 "<literal>a</literal> depends on the new version of package <literal>b</"
3538 "literal>, and vice versa."
3541 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3542 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3544 msgid "An example of this is:"
3547 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3548 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3553 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3554 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3556 msgid "1; depends: b=1"
3559 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3560 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3562 msgid "2; depends: b=2"
3565 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3566 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3571 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3572 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3574 msgid "1; depends: a=1"
3577 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3578 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><informaltable><tgroup><tbody><row><entry>
3580 msgid "2; depends: a=2"
3583 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3584 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3587 "Neither package <literal>a</literal> nor package <literal>b</literal> is "
3588 "considered for update."
3591 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3592 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3595 "Currently, this requires some manual hinting from the release team. Please "
3596 "contact them by sending mail to &email-debian-release; if this happens to "
3597 "one of your packages."
3600 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3601 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3603 msgid "influence of package in testing"
3606 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3607 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3610 "Generally, there is nothing that the status of a package in <literal>testing "
3611 "</literal> means for transition of the next version from <literal>unstable </"
3612 "literal> to <literal>testing</literal>, with two exceptions: If the RC-"
3613 "bugginess of the package goes down, it may go in even if it is still RC-"
3614 "buggy. The second exception is if the version of the package in <literal> "
3615 "testing</literal> is out of sync on the different arches: Then any arch "
3616 "might just upgrade to the version of the source package; however, this can "
3617 "happen only if the package was previously forced through, the arch is in "
3618 "fuckedarches, or there was no binary package of that arch present in "
3619 "<literal>unstable </literal> at all during the <literal>testing</literal> "
3623 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3624 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3627 "In summary this means: The only influence that a package being in <literal> "
3628 "testing</literal> has on a new version of the same package is that the new "
3629 "version might go in easier."
3632 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3633 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3638 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3639 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3641 msgid "If you are interested in details, this is how britney works:"
3644 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3645 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3648 "The packages are looked at to determine whether they are valid candidates. "
3649 "This gives the update excuses. The most common reasons why a package is not "
3650 "considered are too young, RC-bugginess, and out of date on some arches. For "
3651 "this part of britney, the release managers have hammers of various sizes to "
3652 "force britney to consider a package. (Also, the base freeze is coded in "
3653 "that part of britney.) (There is a similar thing for binary-only updates, "
3654 "but this is not described here. If you're interested in that, please peruse "
3658 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3659 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3662 "Now, the more complex part happens: Britney tries to update <literal>testing "
3663 "</literal> with the valid candidates. For that, britney tries to add each "
3664 "valid candidate to the testing distribution. If the number of uninstallable "
3665 "packages in <literal>testing</literal> doesn't increase, the package is "
3666 "accepted. From that point on, the accepted package is considered to be part "
3667 "of <literal>testing</literal>, such that all subsequent installability tests "
3668 "include this package. Hints from the release team are processed before or "
3669 "after this main run, depending on the exact type."
3672 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3673 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3676 "If you want to see more details, you can look it up on <filename>merkel:/org/"
3677 "&ftp-debian-org;/testing/update_out/</filename> (or in <filename>merkel:~aba/"
3678 "testing/update_out</filename> to see a setup with a smaller packages file). "
3679 "Via web, it's at <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/"
3680 "update_out_code/\"></ulink>"
3683 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3684 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3687 "The hints are available via <ulink url=\"http://&ftp-master-host;/testing/"
3688 "hints/\"></ulink>."
3691 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3692 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3694 msgid "Direct updates to testing"
3697 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3698 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3701 "The <literal>testing</literal> distribution is fed with packages from "
3702 "<literal>unstable</literal> according to the rules explained above. "
3703 "However, in some cases, it is necessary to upload packages built only for "
3704 "<literal> testing</literal>. For that, you may want to upload to <literal> "
3705 "testing-proposed-updates</literal>."
3708 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3709 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3712 "Keep in mind that packages uploaded there are not automatically processed, "
3713 "they have to go through the hands of the release manager. So you'd better "
3714 "have a good reason to upload there. In order to know what a good reason is "
3715 "in the release managers' eyes, you should read the instructions that they "
3716 "regularly give on &email-debian-devel-announce;."
3719 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3720 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3723 "You should not upload to <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal> when "
3724 "you can update your packages through <literal>unstable</literal>. If you "
3725 "can't (for example because you have a newer development version in "
3726 "<literal>unstable </literal>), you may use this facility, but it is "
3727 "recommended that you ask for authorization from the release manager first. "
3728 "Even if a package is frozen, updates through <literal>unstable</literal> are "
3729 "possible, if the upload via <literal>unstable</literal> does not pull in any "
3733 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3734 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3737 "Version numbers are usually selected by adding the codename of the "
3738 "<literal>testing</literal> distribution and a running number, like "
3739 "<literal>1.2sarge1</literal> for the first upload through <literal>testing-"
3740 "proposed-updates</literal> of package version <literal>1.2</literal>."
3743 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3744 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
3746 msgid "Please make sure you didn't miss any of these items in your upload:"
3749 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3750 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3753 "Make sure that your package really needs to go through <literal>testing-"
3754 "proposed-updates</literal>, and can't go through <literal> unstable</"
3758 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3759 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3761 msgid "Make sure that you included only the minimal amount of changes;"
3764 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3765 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3768 "Make sure that you included an appropriate explanation in the changelog;"
3771 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3772 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3775 "Make sure that you've written <literal>testing</literal> or <literal>testing-"
3776 "proposed-updates</literal> into your target distribution;"
3779 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3780 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3783 "Make sure that you've built and tested your package in <literal>testing</"
3784 "literal>, not in <literal>unstable</literal>;"
3787 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3788 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3791 "Make sure that your version number is higher than the version in "
3792 "<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>testing-proposed-updates</literal>, "
3793 "and lower than in <literal>unstable</literal>;"
3796 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3797 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
3800 "After uploading and successful build on all platforms, contact the release "
3801 "team at &email-debian-release; and ask them to approve your upload."
3804 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3805 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
3807 msgid "Frequently asked questions"
3810 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3811 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3813 msgid "What are release-critical bugs, and how do they get counted?"
3816 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3817 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3820 "All bugs of some higher severities are by default considered release-"
3821 "critical; currently, these are <literal>critical</literal>, <literal>grave</"
3822 "literal> and <literal>serious</literal> bugs."
3825 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3826 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3829 "Such bugs are presumed to have an impact on the chances that the package "
3830 "will be released with the <literal>stable</literal> release of Debian: in "
3831 "general, if a package has open release-critical bugs filed on it, it won't "
3832 "get into <literal>testing</literal>, and consequently won't be released in "
3833 "<literal> stable</literal>."
3836 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3837 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3840 "The <literal>unstable</literal> bug count are all release-critical bugs "
3841 "which are marked to apply to <replaceable>package</replaceable>/"
3842 "<replaceable>version </replaceable> combinations that are available in "
3843 "unstable for a release architecture. The <literal>testing</literal> bug "
3844 "count is defined analogously."
3847 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3848 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><title>
3851 "How could installing a package into <literal>testing</literal> possibly "
3852 "break other packages?"
3855 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3856 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3859 "The structure of the distribution archives is such that they can only "
3860 "contain one version of a package; a package is defined by its name. So when "
3861 "the source package <literal>acmefoo</literal> is installed into "
3862 "<literal>testing</literal>, along with its binary packages <literal>acme-foo-"
3863 "bin</literal>, <literal> acme-bar-bin</literal>, <literal>libacme-foo1</"
3864 "literal> and <literal> libacme-foo-dev</literal>, the old version is removed."
3867 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3868 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3871 "However, the old version may have provided a binary package with an old "
3872 "soname of a library, such as <literal>libacme-foo0</literal>. Removing the "
3873 "old <literal>acmefoo</literal> will remove <literal>libacme-foo0</literal>, "
3874 "which will break any packages which depend on it."
3877 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3878 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3881 "Evidently, this mainly affects packages which provide changing sets of "
3882 "binary packages in different versions (in turn, mainly libraries). However, "
3883 "it will also affect packages upon which versioned dependencies have been "
3884 "declared of the ==, <=, or << varieties."
3887 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3888 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3891 "When the set of binary packages provided by a source package change in this "
3892 "way, all the packages that depended on the old binaries will have to be "
3893 "updated to depend on the new binaries instead. Because installing such a "
3894 "source package into <literal>testing</literal> breaks all the packages that "
3895 "depended on it in <literal>testing</literal>, some care has to be taken now: "
3896 "all the depending packages must be updated and ready to be installed "
3897 "themselves so that they won't be broken, and, once everything is ready, "
3898 "manual intervention by the release manager or an assistant is normally "
3902 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3903 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><section><para>
3906 "If you are having problems with complicated groups of packages like this, "
3907 "contact &email-debian-devel; or &email-debian-release; for help."