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+ <!-- CVS revision of this document -->
+ <!entity cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.99 $">
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+ <!entity FIXME "<em>FIXME:</em> ">
+
]>
<debiandoc>
<!--
<copyright>
<copyrightsummary>
-copyright ©1998 &ndash 2001 Adam Di Carlo</copyrightsummary>
+copyright ©1998–2002 Adam Di Carlo</copyrightsummary>
<copyrightsummary>
copyright ©1997, 1998 Christian Schwarz</copyrightsummary>
<p>
General Public License for more details.
<p>
A copy of the GNU General Public License is available as &file-GPL; in
-the Debian GNU/Linux distribution or on the World Wide Web at <url
+the &debian-formal; distribution or on the World Wide Web at <url
id="&url-gpl;" name="the GNU website">. You can also obtain it by
writing to the &fsf-addr;.
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the
recommended procedures and the available resources for Debian
developers.
+
+<!-- FIXME: rewrites -->
<p>
The procedures discussed within include how to become a maintainer
(<ref id="new-maintainer">); how to upload new packages (<ref
(<ref id="bug-handling">).
<p>
The resources discussed in this reference include the mailing lists
-and servers (<ref id="servers">); a discussion of the structure of the
-Debian archive (<ref id="archive">); explanation of the different
-servers which accept package uploads (<ref id="upload-ftp-master">); and a
-discussion of resources which can help maintainers with the quality of
-their packages (<ref id="tools">).
+(<ref id="mailing-lists">) and servers (<ref id="server-machines">); a
+discussion of the structure of the Debian archive (<ref
+id="archive">); explanation of the different servers which accept
+package uploads (<ref id="upload-ftp-master">); and a discussion of
+resources which can help maintainers with the quality of their
+packages (<ref id="tools">).
<p>
It should be clear that this reference does not discuss the technical
details of the Debian package nor how to generate Debian packages.
<chapt id="new-maintainer">Applying to Become a Maintainer
- <sect>Getting started
+ <sect id="getting-started">Getting started
<p>
-So, you've read all the documentation, you understand what everything
-in the <package>hello</package> example package is for, and you're about to
-Debianize your favourite piece of software. How do you actually
-become a Debian developer so that your work can be incorporated into
-the Project?
+So, you've read all the documentation, you've gone through the <url
+id="&url-newmaint-guide;" name="Debian New Maintainers' Guide">,
+understand what everything in the <package>hello</package> example
+package is for, and you're about to Debianize your favorite piece of
+software. How do you actually become a Debian developer so that your
+work can be incorporated into the Project?
<p>
Firstly, subscribe to &email-debian-devel; if you haven't already.
Send the word <tt>subscribe</tt> in the <em>Subject</em> of an email
Linux People IRC network (e.g., <tt>irc.debian.org</tt>) can also be
helpful.
+ <p>
+When you know how you want to contribute to &debian-formal;, you
+should get in contact with existing Debian maintainers who are working
+on similar tasks. That way, you can learn from experienced developers.
+For example, if you are interested in packaging existing software for
+Debian you should try to get a sponsor. A sponsor will work together
+with you on your package and upload it to the Debian archive once he
+is happy with the packaging work you have done. You can find a sponsor
+by mailing the &email-debian-mentors; mailing list, describing your
+package and yourself and asking for a sponsor (see <ref id="sponsoring">
+for more information on sponsoring). On the other hand, if you are
+interested in porting Debian to alternative architectures or kernels
+you can subscribe to port specific mailing lists and ask there how to
+get started. Finally, if you are interested in documentation or
+Quality Assurance (QA) work you can join maintainers already working on
+these tasks and submit patches and improvements.
+
<sect id="registering">Registering as a Debian developer
<p>
-Before you decide to register with the Debian Project, you will need
-to read the <url id="&url-social-contract;" name="Debian Social
-Contract">. Registering as a developer means that you agree with and
-pledge to uphold the Debian Social Contract; it is very important that
-maintainers are in accord with the essential ideas behind Debian
-GNU/Linux. Reading the <url id="&url-gnu-manifesto;" name="GNU
+Before you decide to register with &debian-formal;, you will need to
+read all the information available at the <url id="&url-newmaint;"
+name="New Maintainer's Corner">. It describes exactly the
+preparations you have to do before you can register to become a Debian
+developer.
+
+For example, before you apply, you have to to read the <url
+id="&url-social-contract;" name="Debian Social Contract">.
+Registering as a developer means that you agree with and pledge to
+uphold the Debian Social Contract; it is very important that
+maintainers are in accord with the essential ideas behind
+&debian-formal;. Reading the <url id="&url-gnu-manifesto;" name="GNU
Manifesto"> would also be a good idea.
<p>
The process of registering as a developer is a process of verifying
-your identity and intentions. As the number of people working on
-Debian GNU/Linux has grown to over &number-of-maintainers; people and
-our systems are used in several very important places we have to be
-careful about being compromised. Therefore, we need to verify new
-maintainers before we can give them accounts on our servers and
-let them upload packages.
- <p>
-Registration requires that the following information be sent in
-appropriate steps described at <url id="&url-newmaint-checklist;"
- name="Checklist for applicants">
-after the initial contact to &email-new-maintainer:
+your identity and intentions, and checking your technical skills. As
+the number of people working on &debian-formal; has grown to over
+&number-of-maintainers; people and our systems are used in several
+very important places we have to be careful about being compromised.
+Therefore, we need to verify new maintainers before we can give them
+accounts on our servers and let them upload packages.
+ <p>
+Before you actually register you should have shown that you can do
+competent work and will be a good contributor. You can show this by
+submitting patches through the Bug Tracking System or having a package
+sponsored by an existing maintainer for a while. Also, we expect that
+contributors are interested in the whole project and not just in
+maintaining their own packages. If you can help other maintainers by
+providing further information on a bug or even a patch, then do so!
+ <p>
+Registration requires that you are familiar with Debian's philosophy
+and technical documentation. Furthermore, you need a GnuPG key which
+has been signed by an existing Debian maintainer. If your GnuPG key
+is not signed yet, you should try to meet a Debian maintainer in
+person to get your key signed. There's a <url id="&url-gpg-coord;"
+name="GnuPG Key Signing Coordination page"> which should help you find
+a maintainer close to you (If you cannot find a Debian maintainer
+close to you, there's an alternative way to pass the ID check. You
+can send in a photo ID signed with your GnuPG key. Having your GnuPG
+key signed is the preferred way, however. See the
+<url id="&url-newmaint-id;" name="identification page"> for more
+information about these two options.)
-<list>
- <item>
-Your name.
- <item>
-Your preferred login name on <tt>master</tt> (eight characters or
-less), as well as the email address at which you'd prefer to be
-subscribed to &email-debian-private; (typically this will be either
-your primary mail address or your new <tt>debian.org</tt> address).
- <item>
-A phone number where we can call you. Remember that the new
-maintainer team usually calls during evening hours to save on long
-distance tolls. Please do not give a work number, unless you are
-generally there in the evening.
- <item>
-A statement of intention, that is, what package(s) you intend to work
-on, which Debian port you will be assisting, or how you intend to
-contribute to Debian.
- <item>
-A statement that you have read and agree to uphold the <url
-id="&url-social-contract;" name="Debian Social Contract">.
- <item>
-Some mechanism by which we can verify your real-life identity. For
-example, any of the following mechanisms would suffice:
-<list>
- <item>
-An OpenPGP key signed by any well-known signature, such as:
-<list>
- <item>
-Any current Debian developer you have met <em>in real life</em>.
- <item>
-Any formal certification service (such as Verisign, etc.) that
-verifies your identity. A certification that verifies your email
-address, and not your identity, is not sufficient.
- </list>
- <item>
-Alternatively, you may identify yourself with a scanned (or physically
-mailed) copy of any formal documents certifying your identity (such as
-a birth certificate, national ID card, U.S. Driver's License, etc.).
-If emailed, please sign the mail with your OpenPGP key.
- </list>
- </list>
<p>
If you do not have an OpenPGP key yet, generate one. Every developer
needs a OpenPGP key in order to sign and verify package uploads. You
information on maintaining your public key.
<p>
Debian uses the <prgn>GNU Privacy Guard</prgn> (package
-<package>gnupg</package> version 1 or better as its baseline standard.
+<package>gnupg</package> version 1 or better) as its baseline standard.
You can use some other implementation of OpenPGP as well. Note that
OpenPGP is a open standard based on <url id="&url-rfc2440;" name="RFC
2440">.
ID; this prevents user ID tampering. <prgn>gpg</prgn> does this
automatically.
<p>
-Also remember that one of the names on your key must match the email
-address you list as the official maintainer for your packages. For
-instance, I set the maintainer of the
-<package>developers-reference</package> package to ``Adam Di Carlo
-<aph@debian.org>''; therefore, one of the user IDs on my key is
-that same value, ``Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org>''.
- <p>
If your public key isn't on public key servers such as &pgp-keyserv;,
please read the documentation available locally in &file-keyservs;.
That document contains instructions on how to put your key on the
public key servers. The New Maintainer Group will put your public key
on the servers if it isn't already there.
<p>
-Due to export restrictions by the United States government some Debian
-packages, including <package>gnupg</package>, are located on ftp sites
-outside of the United States. You can find the current locations of
-those packages at <url id="&url-readme-non-us;">.
- <p>
Some countries restrict the use of cryptographic software by their
citizens. This need not impede one's activities as a Debian package
maintainer however, as it may be perfectly legal to use cryptographic
products for authentication, rather than encryption purposes (as is
-the case in France). The Debian Project does not require the use of
+the case in France). &debian-formal; does not require the use of
cryptography <em>qua</em> cryptography in any manner. If you live in a
country where use of cryptography even for authentication is forbidden
then please contact us so we can make special arrangements.
<p>
-Once you have all your information ready, and your public key is
-available on public key servers, send a message to
-&email-new-maintainer; to register as an offical Debian developer so
-that you will be able to upload your packages. This message must
-contain your name and your valid e-mail address. All the information
-discussed above is required after your Application Manager is
-assigned. Application Manager is your agent in the registration
-process, and you can always ask him about the status of your
-application. You can check the <url id="&url-newmaint-db;"
-name="Application StatusBoard"> as well.
+To apply as a new maintainer, you need an existing Debian maintainer
+to verify your application (an <em>advocate</em>). After you have
+contributed to Debian for a while, and you want to apply to become a
+registered developer, an existing developer with whom you
+have worked over the past months has to express his belief that you
+can contribute to Debian successfully.
+ <p>
+When you have found an advocate, have your GnuPG key signed and have
+already contributed to Debian for a while, you're ready to apply.
+You can simply register on our <url id="&url-newmaint-apply;"
+name="application page">. After you have signed up, your advocate
+has to confirm your application. When your advocate has completed
+this step you will be assigned an Application Manager who will
+go with you through the necessary steps of the New Maintainer process.
+You can always check your status on the <url id="&url-newmaint-db;"
+name="applications status board">.
<p>
For more details, please consult <url id="&url-newmaint;" name="New
-Maintainer's Corner"> at the Debian web site.
- <p>
-Once this information is received and processed, you should be
-contacted with information about your new Debian maintainer account.
-If you don't hear anything within a month, please send a followup
-message asking if your original application was received. Do
-<em>not</em> re-send your original application, that will just confuse
-the New Maintainer Group. Please be patient, especially near release
-points; mistakes do occasionally happen, and people do sometimes run
-out of volunteer time.
+Maintainer's Corner"> at the Debian web site. Make sure that you
+are familiar with the necessary steps of the New Maintainer process
+before actually applying. If you are well prepared, you can save
+a lot of timer later on.
- <sect id="mentors">Debian Mentors
+ <sect id="mentors">Debian mentors and sponsors
<p>
The mailing list &email-debian-mentors; has been set up for novice
maintainers who seek help with initial packaging and other
<p>
Those who prefer one-on-one help (e.g., via private email) should also
post to that list and an experienced developer will volunteer to help.
+ <p>
+In addition, if you have some packages ready for inclusion in Debian,
+but are waiting for your new maintainer application to go through, you
+might be able find a sponsor to upload your package for you. Sponsors
+are people who are official Debian maintainers, and who are willing to
+criticize and upload your packages for you. Those who are seeking a
+sponsor can request one at <url id="&url-sponsors;">.
+ <p>
+If you wish to be a mentor and/or sponsor, more information is
+available in <ref id="newmaint">.
<chapt id="developer-duties">Debian Developer's Duties
- <sect id="user-maint">Maintaining Your Debian Information
+ <sect id="user-maint">Maintaining your Debian information
<p>
There's a LDAP database containing many informations concerning all
developers, you can access it at <url id="&url-debian-db;">. You can
you're using as alias for your debian.org email. Most of the information
is not accessible to the public, for more details about this
database, please read its online documentation that you can find
-here : <url id="&url-debian-db-doc;">.
+at <url id="&url-debian-db-doc;">.
<p>
-You have to keep the information available there up to date.
+You have to keep the information available there up-to-date.
- <sect id="key-maint">Maintaining Your Public Key
+ <sect id="key-maint">Maintaining your public key
<p>
Be very careful with your private keys. Do not place them on any
public servers or multiuser machines, such as
id="&url-pgp-faq;" name="PGP FAQ">.
<p>
If you add signatures to your public key, or add user identities, you
-can update the debian keyring by sending your key to the key server at
+can update the debian key ring by sending your key to the key server at
<tt>&keyserver-host;</tt>. If you need to add a completely new key,
or remove an old key, send mail to &email-debian-keyring;. The same
key extraction routines discussed in <ref id="registering"> apply.
You can find a more in-depth discussion of Debian key maintenance in
the documentation for the <package>debian-keyring</package> package.
- <sect id="inform-vacation">Going On Vacation Gracefully
+
+ <sect id="voting">Voting
+ <p>
+&FIXME;<url id="url-vote">
+
+
+ <sect id="inform-vacation">Going on vacation gracefully
<p>
Most developers take vacations, and usually this means that they can't
work for Debian and they can't be reached by email if any problem occurs.
The other developers need to know that you're on vacation so that they'll
do whatever is needed when such a problem occurs. Usually this means that
other developers are allowed to NMU (see <ref id="nmu">) your package if a
-big problem (release critical bugs, security update, ...) occurs while
+big problem (release critical bugs, security update, etc.) occurs while
you're on vacation.
<p>
In order to inform the other developers, there's two things that you should do.
(this information is only accessible to debian developers). Don't forget
to remove the ``on vacation'' flag when you come back!
- <sect id="upstream-coordination">Coordination With Upstream Developers
+ <sect id="upstream-coordination">Coordination with upstream developers
<p>
A big part of your job as Debian maintainer will be to stay in contact
with the upstream developers. Debian users will sometimes report bugs
forward these patches upstream.
<p>
If you need to modify the upstream sources in order to build a policy
-conformant package, then you should propose a nice fix to the upstream
+compliant package, then you should propose a nice fix to the upstream
developers which can be included there, so that you won't have to
modify the sources of the next upstream version. Whatever changes you
need, always try not to fork from the upstream sources.
- <sect id="rc-bugs">Managing Release Critical Bugs
+ <sect id="rc-bugs">Managing release-critical bugs
<p>
-Release Critical Bugs (RCB) are all bugs that have severity
+Release-critical bugs (RCB) are all bugs that have severity
<em>critical</em>, <em>grave</em> or <em>serious</em>.
Those bugs can delay the Debian release
and/or can justify the removal of a package at freeze time. That's why
usual before they do their NMU if they have seen no recent activity from you
in the BTS).
- <sect id="qa-effort">Quality Assurance Effort
- <p>
-Even though there is a dedicated group of people for Quality
-Assurance, QA duties are not reserved solely for them. You can
-participate in this effort by keeping your packages as bug-free as
-possible, and as lintian-clean (see <ref id="lintian-reports">) as
-possible. If you do not find that possible, then you should consider
-orphaning some of your packages (see <ref
-id="orphaning">). Alternatively, you may ask the help of other people
-in order to catch up the backlog of bugs that you have (you can ask
-for help on &email-debian-qa; or &email-debian-devel;).
- <sect>Retiring Gracefully
+ <sect>Retiring
<p>
If you choose to leave the Debian project, you should make sure you do
the following steps:
</enumlist>
- <chapt id="servers">Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines
- <p>
+
+ <chapt id="resources">Resources for Debian Developers
+ <p>
In this chapter you will find a very brief road map of the Debian
mailing lists, the main Debian servers, and other Debian machines
which may be available to you as a developer.
&email-debian-policy;, &email-debian-user;, &email-debian-private;,
&email-debian-announce;, and &email-debian-devel-announce;. All
developers are expected to be subscribed to at least
-&email-debian-private; and &email-debian-devel-announce;. There are
-other mailing lists are available for a variety of special topics; see
+&email-debian-devel-announce;. There are
+other mailing lists available for a variety of special topics; see
<url id="&url-debian-lists-subscribe;"> for a list. Cross-posting
(sending the same message to multiple lists) is discouraged.
<p>
posts which for whatever reason should not be published publically.
As such, it is a low volume list, and users are urged not to use
&email-debian-private; unless it is really necessary. Moreover, do
-<em>not</em> forward email from that list to anyone.
+<em>not</em> forward email from that list to anyone. Archives of this
+list are not available on the web for obvious reasons, but you can see
+them using your shell account <tt>master.debian.org</tt> and looking
+in the <file>~debian/archive/debian-private</file> directory.
<p>
&email-debian-email; is a special mailing list used as a grab-bag
for Debian related correspondence such as contacting upstream authors
id="&url-lists-archives;">.
+
+ <sect id="doc-rsrcs">Documentation
+ <p>
+&FIXME; <url id="&url-devel-docs;">
+
+
+
<sect id="server-machines">Debian servers
<p>
Debian servers are well known servers which serve critical functions
<p>
The ftp-master server, <tt>ftp-master.debian.org</tt> (or
<tt>auric.debian.org</tt>), holds the canonical copy of the Debian
-archive (excluding the non-U.S. packages). Generally, package uploads
+archive (excluding the non-US packages). Generally, package uploads
go to this server; see <ref id="upload">.
<p>
Problems with the Debian FTP archive generally need to be reported as
Debian account should own the CVS root area, and why you need it.
- <sect1 id="servers-mirrors">Mirrors of Debian servers
+ <sect1 id="devel-db">The Developers Database
+ <p>
+The Developers Database, at <url id="&url-debian-db;">, is an LDAP
+directory for managing Debian developer attributes. You can use this
+resource to search the list of Debian developers. For information on
+keeping your entry the developer database up-to-date, see <ref
+id="user-maint">.
+
+
+ <sect id="servers-mirrors">Mirrors of Debian servers
<p>
The web and FTP servers have several mirrors available. Please do not
put heavy load on the canonical FTP or web servers. Ideally, the
have accounts on these machines.
- <sect id="other-machines">Other Debian Machines
+ <sect id="other-machines">Other Debian developer machines
<p>
There are other Debian machines which may be made available to you.
You can use these for Debian-related purposes as you see fit. Please
- <chapt id="archive">The Debian Archive
-
- <sect>Overview
+ <sect id="archive">The Debian archive
<p>
-The Debian GNU/Linux distribution consists of a lot of Debian packages
+The &debian-formal; distribution consists of a lot of packages
(<tt>.deb</tt>'s, currently around &number-of-pkgs;) and a few
-additional files (documentation, installation disk images, etc.).
+additional files (such documentation and installation disk images).
<p>
Here is an example directory tree of a complete Debian archive:
<p>
&sample-dist-dirtree;
<p>
As you can see, the top-level directory contains two directories,
-<tt>dists/</tt> and <tt>pool/</tt>. The latter is a ``pool'' in which the
+<tt>dists/</tt> and <tt>pool/</tt>. The latter is a “pool” in which the
packages actually are, and which is handled by the archive maintenance
database and the accompanying programs. The former contains the
distributions, <em>stable</em>, <em>testing</em> and <em>unstable</em>.
further into <em>subsections</em>.
- <sect>Sections
+ <sect1>Sections
<p>
The <em>main</em> section of the Debian archive is what makes up the
-<strong>official Debian GNU/Linux distribution</strong>.
-The <em>main</em> section is official because it fully complies with
-all our guidelines. The other two sections do not, to different degrees;
-as such, they are <strong>not</strong> officially part of Debian GNU/Linux.
+<strong>official &debian-formal; distribution</strong>. The
+<em>main</em> section is official because it fully complies with all
+our guidelines. The other two sections do not, to different degrees;
+as such, they are <strong>not</strong> officially part of
+&debian-formal;.
<p>
Every package in the main section must fully comply with the <url
id="&url-dfsg;" name="Debian Free Software Guidelines"> (DFSG) and
with all other policy requirements as described in the <url
id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian Policy Manual">. The DFSG is
-our definition of ``free software.'' Check out the Debian Policy
+our definition of “free software.” Check out the Debian Policy
Manual for details.
<p>
Packages in the <em>contrib</em> section have to comply with the DFSG,
vendor to vendor, this job can't be done by the Debian developers.)
- <sect>Architectures
+ <sect1>Architectures
<p>
In the first days, the Linux kernel was only available for the Intel
i386 (or greater) platforms, and so was Debian. But when Linux became
<em>alpha</em>, <em>powerpc</em>, <em>sparc</em>, <em>hurd-i386</em>,
and <em>arm</em>, as of this writing.
<p>
-Debian GNU/Linux 1.3 is only available as <em>i386</em>. Debian 2.0
+&debian-formal; 1.3 is only available as <em>i386</em>. Debian 2.0
shipped for <em>i386</em> and <em>m68k</em> architectures. Debian 2.1
ships for the <em>i386</em>, <em>m68k</em>, <em>alpha</em>, and
<em>sparc</em> architectures. Debian 2.2 adds support for the
pages">.
- <sect>Subsections
+ <sect1>Subsections
<p>
The sections <em>main</em>, <em>contrib</em>, and <em>non-free</em>
are split into <em>subsections</em> to simplify the installation
-process and the maintainance of the archive. Subsections are not
-formally defined, except perhaps the `base' subsection.
-Subsections simply exist to simplify the organization and browsing of
-available packages. Please check the current Debian distribution to
-see which sections are available.
+process and the maintenance of the archive. Subsections simply exist to
+simplify the organization and browsing of available packages. The
+<url id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian Policy Manual"> gives
+the authoritative list of subsections.
+
<p>
Note however that with the introduction of package pools (see the top-level
<em>pool/</em> directory), the subsections in the form of subdirectories
will eventually cease to exist. They will be kept in the packages' `Section'
header fields, though.
- <sect>Packages
+ <sect1>Packages
<p>
There are two types of Debian packages, namely <em>source</em> and
<em>binary</em> packages.
the package (maintainer, version, etc.).
- <sect>Distribution directories
+ <sect1>Distribution directories
<p>
The directory system described in the previous chapter is itself
contained within <em>distribution directories</em>. Each
directory of the archive (because of backwards compatibility).
- <sect1>Stable, testing, unstable, and sometimes frozen
+ <sect2 id="sec-dists">Stable, testing, and unstable
<p>
-There is always a distribution called <em>stable</em> (residing in
+There are always distributions called <em>stable</em> (residing in
<tt>dists/stable</tt>), one called <em>testing</em> (residing in
<tt>dists/testing</tt>), and one called <em>unstable</em> (residing in
<tt>dists/unstable</tt>). This reflects the development process of the
packages in this distribution at any time. Thus, the contents of this
distribution change from day-to-day. Since no special effort is done
to make sure everything in this distribution is working properly, it is
-sometimes ``unstable.''
+sometimes literally unstable.
<p>
-Packages get copied from <em>unstable</em> to <em>testing</em> if they
-satisfy certain criteria. To get into <em>testing</em> distribution, a
-package needs to be in the archive for two weeks and not have any release
-critical bugs. After that period, it will propagate into <em>testing</em>
-as soon as anything it depends on is also added. This process is automatic.
+The testing distribution is generated automatically by taking
+packages from unstable if they satisfy certain criteria. Those
+criteria should ensure a good quality for packages within testing.
+The <ref id="testing-scripts"> are launched each day after the
+new packages have been installed.
<p>
After a period of development, once the release manager deems fit, the
-<em>testing</em> distribution is renamed to <em>frozen</em>. Once
-that has been done, no changes are allowed to that distribution except
-bug fixes; that's why it's called ``frozen.'' After another month or
-a little longer, depending on the progress, the <em>frozen</em> distribution
+<em>testing</em> distribution is frozen, meaning that the policies
+which control how packages move from <em>unstable</em> to testing are
+tightened. Packages which are too buggy are removed. No changes are
+allowed into <em>testing</em> except for bug fixes. After some time
+has elapsed, depending on progress, the <em>testing</em> distribution
goes into a `deep freeze', when no changes are made to it except those
-needed for the installation system. This is called a ``test cycle'', and it
-can last up to two weeks. There can be several test cycles, until the
-distribution is prepared for release, as decided by the release manager.
-At the end of the last test cycle, the <em>frozen</em> distribution is
-renamed to <em>stable</em>, overriding the old <em>stable</em> distribution,
-which is removed at that time.
+needed for the installation system. This is called a “test cycle”,
+and it can last up to two weeks. There can be several test cycles,
+until the distribution is prepared for release, as decided by the
+release manager. At the end of the last test cycle, the
+<em>testing</em> distribution is renamed to <em>stable</em>,
+overriding the old <em>stable</em> distribution, which is removed at
+that time (although it can be found at <tt>&archive-host;</tt>).
<p>
This development cycle is based on the assumption that the
<em>unstable</em> distribution becomes <em>stable</em> after passing a
-period of testing as <em>frozen</em>. Even once a distribution is
-considered stable, a few bugs inevitably remain &mdash that's why the stable
-distribution is updated every now and then. However, these updates are
-tested very carefully and have to be introduced into the archive
-individually to reduce the risk of introducing new bugs. You can find
-proposed additions to <em>stable</em> in the <tt>proposed-updates</tt>
-directory. Those packages in <tt>proposed-updates</tt> that pass
-muster are periodically moved as a batch into the stable distribution
-and the revision level of the stable distribution is incremented
-(e.g., `1.3' becomes `1.3r1', `2.0r2' becomes `2.0r3', and so forth).
+period of being in <em>testing</em>. Even once a distribution is
+considered stable, a few bugs inevitably remain &mdash that's why the
+stable distribution is updated every now and then. However, these
+updates are tested very carefully and have to be introduced into the
+archive individually to reduce the risk of introducing new bugs. You
+can find proposed additions to <em>stable</em> in the
+<tt>proposed-updates</tt> directory. Those packages in
+<tt>proposed-updates</tt> that pass muster are periodically moved as a
+batch into the stable distribution and the revision level of the
+stable distribution is incremented (e.g., ‘3.0’ becomes ‘3.0r1’,
+‘2.2r4’ becomes ‘2.0r5’, and so forth).
<p>
Note that development under <em>unstable</em> continues during the
-``freeze'' period, since the <em>unstable</em> distribution remains in
-place when the <em>testing</em> is moved to <em>frozen</em>.
-Another wrinkle is that when the <em>frozen</em> distribution is
-offically released, the old stable distribution is completely removed
-from the Debian archives (although they do live on at
-<tt>archive-host;</tt>).
- <p>
-In summary, there is always a <em>stable</em>, a <em>testing</em> and an
-<em>unstable</em> distribution available, and a <em>frozen</em> distribution
-shows up for a couple of months from time to time.
+freeze period, since the <em>unstable</em> distribution remains in
+place in parallel with <em>testing</em>.
-
- <sect1>Experimental
+ <sect2>Experimental
<p>
The <em>experimental</em> distribution is a specialty distribution.
It is not a full distribution in the same sense as `stable' and
on <tt>people.debian.org</tt> (<tt>klecker.debian.org</tt>).
- <sect id="codenames">Release code names
+ <sect1 id="codenames">Release code names
<p>
Every released Debian distribution has a <em>code name</em>: Debian
1.1 is called `buzz'; Debian 1.2, `rex'; Debian 1.3, `bo'; Debian 2.0,
`slink'). These names stay the same during the development period and
after the release; symbolic links, which can be changed easily,
indicate the currently released stable distribution. That's why the
-real distribution directories use the <em>code names</em>, while symbolic
-links for <em>stable</em>, <em>testing</em>, <em>unstable</em>, and
-<em>frozen</em> point to the appropriate release directories.
+real distribution directories use the <em>code names</em>, while
+symbolic links for <em>stable</em>, <em>testing</em>, and
+<em>unstable</em> point to the appropriate release directories.
+
+ <sect id="testing-scripts">
+ <heading>The testing scripts</heading>
+ <p>
+The testing scripts are run each day after the installation of the
+updated packages. They generate the <file>Packages</file> files for
+the <em>testing</em> distribution, but they do so in an intelligent manner
+trying to avoid any inconsistency and trying to use only
+non-buggy packages.
+ <p>The inclusion of a package from <em>unstable</em> is conditionned:
+<list>
+ <item>
+The package must have been available in <em>unstable</em> for several days;
+the precise number depends on the urgency field's value of the upload. It
+is 10 days for low urgency, 5 days for medium urgency and 2 days for high
+urgency. Those delays may be doubled during a freeze.
+ <item>
+It must have less release-critical bugs than the version available
+in <em>testing</em>;
+ <item>
+It must be available on all architectures on which it has been
+previously built;
+ <item>
+It must not break any dependency of a package that is already available
+in <em>testing</em>;
+ <item>
+The packages on which it depends must either be available in <em>testing</em>
+or they must be accepted into <em>testing</em> at the same time (and they will
+if they respect themselves all the criteria);
+</list>
+ <p>
+The scripts are generating some output files to explain why some packages
+are kept out of testing. They are available at <url
+id="&url-testing-maint;">. Alternatively, it is possible to use
+the <prgn>grep-excuses</prgn> program part of the
+<package>devscripts</package> package. It can be easily put in a crontab
+to keep someone informed of the progression of his packages in testing.
+ <p>
+The <tt>update_excuses</tt> file does not always give the precise reason
+why the package is refused, one may have to find it by himself by looking
+what would break with the inclusion of the package. The <url
+id="&url-testing-faq;" name="testing FAQ"> gives some more information
+about the usual problems which may be causing such troubles.
+ <p>
+Sometimes, some packages never enter testing because the set of
+inter-relationship is too complicated and can not be sorted out
+by the scripts. In that case, the release manager must be
+contacted, and he will force the inclusion of the packages.
+
+ <chapt id="pkgs">Managing Packages
+ <p>
+This chapter contains information related to creating, uploading,
+maintaining, and porting packages.
- <chapt id="upload">Package uploads
+ <sect id="upload">Package uploads
- <sect>Announcing new packages
+ <sect1>New packages
<p>
If you want to create a new package for the Debian distribution, you
should first check the <url id="&url-wnpp;" name="Work-Needing and
-- <var>short description</var>'', substituting the name of the new
package for <var>foo</var>. The severity of the bug report must be set
to <em>wishlist</em>. If you feel it's necessary, send a copy to
-&email-debian-devel; by putting the address in the X-Debbugs-CC: header
-of the message (no, don't use CC:, because that way the message's subject
+&email-debian-devel; by putting the address in the <tt>X-Debbugs-CC:</tt> header
+of the message (no, don't use <tt>CC:</tt>, because that way the message's subject
won't indicate the bug number).
<p>
Please include a <tt>Closes: bug#<var>nnnnn</var></tt> entry on the
better feel of what is going on, and what is new, in the project.
</list>
+ <sect1 id="changelog-entries">
+ <heading>Adding an entry to <file>debian/changelog</file></heading>
+ <p>
+Changes that you make to the package need to be recorded in the
+<file>debian/changelog</file>. These changes should provide a concise
+description of what was changed, why (if it's in doubt), and note if
+any bugs were closed. They also record when the package was
+completed. This file will be installed in
+<file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/changelog.Debian.gz</file>, or
+<file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/changelog.gz</file> for native
+packages.
+ <p>
+The <file>debian/changelog</file> file conform to a certain structure,
+with a number of different fields. One field of note, the
+<em>distribution</em>, is described in <ref id="upload-dist">. More
+information about the structure of this file can be found in
+the Debian Policy section titled "<file>debian/changelog</file>".
+ <p>
+Changelog entries can be used to automatically close Debian bugs when
+the package is installed into the archive. See <ref
+id="upload-bugfix">.
+ <p>
+It is conventional that the changelog entry notating of a package that
+contains a new upstream version of the software looks like this:
+<example>
+ * new upstream version
+</example>
+ <p>
+There are tools to help you create entries and finalize the
+<file>changelog</file> for release — see <ref id="devscripts">
+and <ref id="dpkg-dev-el">.
+
+
- <sect id="upload-checking">Checking the package prior to upload
+ <sect1 id="upload-checking">Checking the package prior to upload
<p>
Before you upload your package, you should do basic testing on it. At
a minimum, you should try the following activities (you'll need to
</list>
- <sect>Generating the changes file
+ <sect1>Generating the changes file
<p>
When a package is uploaded to the Debian FTP archive, it must be
accompanied by a <tt>.changes</tt> file, which gives directions to the
id="upload-bugfix">.
- <sect1>The original source tarball
+ <sect2>The original source tarball
<p>
The first time a version is uploaded which corresponds to a particular
upstream version, the original source tar file should be uploaded and
By default, <prgn>dpkg-genchanges</prgn> and
<prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn> will include the original source tar
file if and only if the Debian revision part of the source version
-number is 0 or 1, indicating a new upstream version. This behaviour
+number is 0 or 1, indicating a new upstream version. This behavior
may be modified by using <tt>-sa</tt> to always include it or
<tt>-sd</tt> to always leave it out.
<p>
If no original source is included in the upload, the original
source tar-file used by <prgn>dpkg-source</prgn> when constructing the
<tt>.dsc</tt> file and diff to be uploaded <em>must</em> be
-byte-for-byte identical with the one already in the archive. If there
-is some reason why this is not the case, the new version of the
-original source should be uploaded, possibly by using the <tt>-sa</tt>
-flag.
+byte-for-byte identical with the one already in the archive.
- <sect1 id="upload-dist">Picking a distribution
+ <sect2 id="upload-dist">Picking a distribution
<p>
The <tt>Distribution</tt> field, which originates from the first line of
the <file>debian/changelog</file> file, indicates which distribution the
package is intended for.
<p>
-There are four possible values for this field: `stable', `unstable',
-`frozen', and `experimental'. Normally, packages are uploaded into
+There are three possible values for this field: `stable', `unstable',
+and `experimental'. Normally, packages are uploaded into
<em>unstable</em>.
<p>
-These values can be combined, but only a few combinations make sense.
-If Debian has been frozen, and you want to get a bug-fix release into
-<em>frozen</em>, you would set the distribution to `frozen unstable'.
-See <ref id="upload-frozen"> for more information on uploading to
-<em>frozen</em>.
- <p>
You should avoid combining `stable' with others because of potential
problems with library dependencies (for your package and for the package
built by the build daemons for other architecture).
It never makes sense to combine the <em>experimental</em> distribution
with anything else.
+<!--
<sect2 id="upload-frozen">Uploading to <em>frozen</em>
<p>
The Debian freeze is a crucial time for Debian. It is our chance to
original bug fixed and the severity of the bug newly introduced by the
fix.
+ -->
+
- <sect2 id="upload-stable">Uploading to <em>stable</em>
+ <sect3 id="upload-stable">Uploading to <em>stable</em>
<p>
Uploading to <em>stable</em> means that the package will be placed into the
<tt>proposed-updates</tt> directory of the Debian archive for further
package should only be uploaded to stable if one of the following happens:
<list>
<item>a security problem (e.g. a Debian security advisory)
- <item>a truely critical functionality problem
+ <item>a truly critical functionality problem
<item>the package becomes uninstallable
<item>a released architecture lacks the package
</list>
It is discouraged to change anything else in the package that isn't
important, because even trivial fixes can cause bugs later on. Uploading
new upstream versions to fix security problems is deprecated; applying the
-specific patch from the new upstream version to the old one ("backporting"
+specific patch from the new upstream version to the old one ("back-porting"
the patch) is the right thing to do in most cases.
<p>
Packages uploaded to <em>stable</em> need to be compiled on systems running
- <sect id="uploading">Uploading a package
+ <sect1 id="uploading">Uploading a package
- <sect1 id="upload-ftp-master">Uploading to <tt>ftp-master</tt>
+ <sect2 id="upload-ftp-master">Uploading to <tt>ftp-master</tt>
<p>
To upload a package, you need a personal account on
<ftpsite>ftp-master.debian.org</ftpsite>, which you should have as an
official maintainer. If you use <prgn>scp</prgn> or <prgn>rsync</prgn>
to transfer the files, place them into <tt>&us-upload-dir;</tt>;
if you use anonymous FTP to upload, place them into
-<ftppath>/pub/UploadQueue/</ftppath>.
+<ftppath>/pub/UploadQueue/</ftppath>. Please note that you should transfer
+the changes file last. Otherwise, your upload may be rejected because the
+archive maintenance software will parse the changes file and see that not
+all files have been uploaded. If you don't want to bother with transferring
+the changes file last, you can simply copy your files to a temporary
+directory on <tt>ftp-master</tt> and then move them to
+<tt>&us-upload-dir;</tt>.
<p>
<em>Note:</em> Do not upload to <tt>ftp-master</tt> packages
-containing software that is export-controlled by the United States
-government, nor to the overseas upload queues on <tt>chiark</tt> or
-<tt>erlangen</tt>. This prohibition covers almost all cryptographic
-software, and even sometimes software that contains ``hooks'' to
-cryptographic software, such as electronic mail readers that support
-PGP encryption and authentication. Uploads of such software should go
-to <tt>non-us</tt> (see <ref id="upload-non-us">). If you are not
-sure whether U.S. export controls apply to your package, post a
+containing software that is patent-restricted by the United States
+government, nor any cryptographic packages which belong to
+<em>contrib</em> or <em>non-free</em>. If you can't upload it to
+<tt>ftp-master</tt>, then neither can you upload it to the overseas
+upload queues on <tt>chiark</tt> or <tt>erlangen</tt>. Uploads of
+such software should go to <tt>non-us</tt> (see <ref
+id="upload-non-us">). If you are not sure whether U.S. patent
+controls or cryptographic controls apply to your package, post a
message to &email-debian-devel; and ask.
<p>
-You may also find the Debian package <package>dupload</package> useful
-when uploading packages. This handy program is distributed with
+You may also find the Debian packages <package>dupload</package> or
+<package>dput</package> useful
+when uploading packages. These handy program are distributed with
defaults for uploading via <prgn>ftp</prgn> to <tt>ftp-master</tt>,
-<tt>chiark</tt>, and <tt>erlangen</tt>. It can also be configured to
+<tt>chiark</tt>, and <tt>erlangen</tt>. They can also be configured to
use <prgn>ssh</prgn> or <prgn>rsync</prgn>. See <manref name="dupload"
-section="1"> and <manref name="dupload" section="5"> for more information.
+section="1">, <manref name="dupload" section="5"> and <manref name="dput"
+section="1"> for more information.
<p>
After uploading your package, you can check how the archive maintenance
software will process it by running <prgn>dinstall</prgn> on your changes
file: <example>dinstall -n foo.changes</example>
- <sect1 id="upload-non-us">Uploading to <tt>non-US</tt> (pandora)
+ <sect2 id="upload-non-us">Uploading to <tt>non-US</tt> (pandora)
<p>
As discussed above, export controlled software should not be uploaded
-to <tt>ftp-master</tt>. Instead, use <prgn>scp</prgn> or <prgn>rsync</prgn>
-to copy the package to <ftpsite>non-us.debian.org</ftpsite>, placing
-the files in <tt>&non-us-upload-dir;</tt>. By default, you can
-use the same account/password that works on <tt>ftp-master</tt>.
-If you use anonymous FTP to upload, place the files into
-<ftppath>/pub/UploadQueue/</ftppath>.
- <p>
-The program <prgn>dupload</prgn> comes with support for uploading to
-<tt>non-us</tt>; please refer to the documentation that comes with
-the program for details.
+to <tt>ftp-master</tt>. Instead, upload the package to
+<ftpsite>non-us.debian.org</ftpsite>, placing the files in
+<tt>&non-us-upload-dir;</tt> (both <ref id="dupload"> and <ref
+id="dput"> can be used also, with the right invocation). By default,
+you can use the same account/password that works on
+<tt>ftp-master</tt>. If you use anonymous FTP to upload, place the
+files into <ftppath>/pub/UploadQueue/</ftppath>.
<p>
You can check your upload the same way it's done on <tt>ftp-master</tt>,
with:
<example>dinstall -n foo.changes</example>
<p>
Note that U.S. residents or citizens are subject to restrictions on
-export of cryptographic software. As of this writing, U.S. citizens are
-allowed to export some cryptographic software, subject to notification
-rules by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
+export of cryptographic software. As of this writing, U.S. citizens
+are allowed to export some cryptographic software, subject to
+notification rules by the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, this
+restriction has been waived for software which is already available
+outside the U.S. Therefore, any cryptographic software which belongs
+in the <em>main</em> section of the Debian archive and does not depend
+on any package outside of <em>main</em> (e.g., does not depend on
+anything in <em>non-US/main</em>) can be uploaded to <tt>ftp-master</tt>
+or its queues, described above.
<p>
Debian policy does not prevent upload to non-US by U.S. residents or
citizens, but care should be taken in doing so. It is recommended that
breaking current US law by doing an upload to non-US, <em>including
consulting a lawyer</em>.
<p>
-For packages in non-US main or contrib, developers should at least
-follow the <url id="&url-u.s.-export;" name="procedure outlined by the
-US Government">. Maintainers of non-US/non-free packages should
-further consult these <url id="&url-notification-of-export;"
-name="rules on notification of export"> of non-free software.
+For packages in <em>non-US/main</em>, <em>non-US/contrib</em>,
+developers should at least follow the <url id="&url-u.s.-export;"
+name="procedure outlined by the US Government">. Maintainers of
+<em>non-US/non-free</em> packages should further consult the <url
+id="&url-notification-of-export;" name="rules on notification of
+export"> of non-free software.
<p>
This section is for information only and does not constitute legal
advice. Again, it is strongly recommended that U.S. citizens and
residents consult a lawyer before doing uploads to non-US.
- <sect1>Uploads via <tt>chiark</tt>
+ <sect2>Uploads via <tt>chiark</tt>
<p>
If you have a slow network connection to <tt>ftp-master</tt>, there are
alternatives. One is to upload files to <tt>Incoming</tt> via a
program for details.
- <sect1>Uploads via <tt>erlangen</tt>
+ <sect2>Uploads via <tt>erlangen</tt>
<p>
Another upload queue is available in Germany: just upload the files
via anonymous FTP to <url id="&url-upload-erlangen;">.
<tt>ftp-master</tt>'s <tt>Incoming</tt>, i.e., a <tt>.changes</tt> files
along with the other files mentioned in the <tt>.changes</tt>. The
queue daemon also checks that the <tt>.changes</tt> is correctly
-PGP-signed by a Debian developer, so that no bogus files can find
+signed with GnuPG or OpenPGP by a Debian developer, so that no bogus files can find
their way to <tt>ftp-master</tt> via this queue. Please also make sure that
the <tt>Maintainer</tt> field in the <tt>.changes</tt> contains
<em>your</em> e-mail address. The address found there is used for all
the program for details.
- <sect1>Other Upload Queues
+ <sect2>Other upload queues
<p>
Another upload queue is available which is based in the US, and is a
good backup when there are problems reaching <tt>ftp-master</tt>. You can
- <sect id="upload-announce">Announcing package uploads
+ <sect1 id="upload-announce">Announcing package uploads
<p>
When a package is uploaded, an announcement should be posted to one of
the ``debian-changes'' lists. This is now done automatically by the archive
maintenance software when it runs (usually once a day). You just need to use
a recent <package>dpkg-dev</package> (>= 1.4.1.2). The mail generated by
-the archive maintenance software will contain the PGP/GPG signed
+the archive maintenance software will contain the OpenPGP/GnuPG signed
<tt>.changes</tt> files that you uploaded with your package.
Previously, <prgn>dupload</prgn> used to send those announcements, so
please make sure that you configured your <prgn>dupload</prgn> not to
If a package is released with the <tt>Distribution:</tt> set to
`stable', the announcement is sent to &email-debian-changes;. If a
package is released with <tt>Distribution:</tt> set to `unstable',
-`experimental', or `frozen' (when present), the announcement will be
+or `experimental', the announcement will be
posted to &email-debian-devel-changes; instead.
- <p>
-The <prgn>dupload</prgn> program is clever enough to determine
-where the announcement should go, and will automatically mail the
-announcement to the right list. See <ref id="dupload">.
- <sect id="upload-notification">
+ <sect1 id="upload-notification">
<heading>Notification that a new package has been installed</heading>
<p>
The Debian archive maintainers are responsible for handling package
section the package was inserted into. If there is a disparity, you
will receive a separate email notifying you of that. Read on below.
- <sect1 id="override-file">The override file
+ <sect2 id="override-file">The override file
<p>
The <file>debian/control</file> file's <tt>Section</tt> and
<tt>Priority</tt> fields do not actually specify where the file will
- <chapt id="nmu">Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)
+ <sect id="nmu">Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)
<p>
Under certain circumstances it is necessary for someone other than the
official package maintainer to make a release of a package. This is
called a non-maintainer upload, or NMU.
<p>
-Debian porters, who compile packages for different architectures, do
-NMUs as part of their normal porting activity (see <ref
-id="porting">). Another reason why NMUs are done is when a Debian
-developers needs to fix another developers' packages in order to
+Debian porters, who compile packages for different architectures,
+occasionally do binary-only NMUs as part of their porting activity
+(see <ref id="porting">). Another reason why NMUs are done is when a
+Debian developers needs to fix another developers' packages in order to
address serious security problems or crippling bugs, especially during
the freeze, or when the package maintainer is unable to release a fix
in a timely fashion.
how NMUs should be done. A fundamental distinction is made between
source and binary-only NMUs, which is explained in the next section.
- <sect id="nmu-terms">Terminology
+ <sect1 id="nmu-terms">Terminology
<p>
There are two new terms used throughout this section: ``binary-only NMU''
and ``source NMU''. These terms are used with specific technical
a change to <file>debian/changelog</file>). This can be either a
change to the upstream source, or a change to the Debian bits of the
source. Note, however, that source NMUs may also include
-architecture-dependent packages, as well as an updated Debian diff
-(or, more rarely, new upstream source as well).
+architecture-dependent packages, as well as an updated Debian diff.
<p>
A binary-only NMU is a recompilation and upload of a binary package
for a given architecture. As such, it is usually part of a porting
binary, or binary-only.
- <sect id="nmu-who">Who can do an NMU
+ <sect1 id="nmu-who">Who can do an NMU
<p>
Only official, registered Debian maintainers can do binary or source
NMUs. An official maintainer is someone who has their key in the
quality patches and bug reports.
- <sect id="nmu-when">When to do a source NMU
+ <sect1 id="nmu-when">When to do a source NMU
<p>
Guidelines for when to do a source NMU depend on the target
-distribution, i.e., stable, unstable, or frozen. Porters have
+distribution, i.e., stable, unstable, or experimental. Porters have
slightly different rules than non-porters, due to their unique
circumstances (see <ref id="source-nmu-when-porter">).
<p>
cannot be reached in time, a security officer may upload a fixed
package (i.e., do a source NMU).
<p>
-During the release freeze (see <ref id="upload-frozen">), NMUs which
-fix serious or higher severity bugs are encouraged and accepted.
-Even during this window, however, you should endeavor to reach the
-current maintainer of the package; they might be just about to upload
-a fix for the problem. As with any source NMU, the guidelines found
-in <ref id="nmu-guidelines"> need to be followed.
+During the release cycle (see <ref id="sec-dists">), NMUs which fix
+serious or higher severity bugs are encouraged and accepted. Even
+during this window, however, you should endeavor to reach the current
+maintainer of the package; they might be just about to upload a fix
+for the problem. As with any source NMU, the guidelines found in <ref
+id="nmu-guidelines"> need to be followed.
<p>
Bug fixes to unstable by non-maintainers are also acceptable, but only
as a last resort or with permission. Try the following steps first,
- <sect id="nmu-guidelines">How to do a source NMU
+ <sect1 id="nmu-guidelines">How to do a source NMU
<p>
The following applies to porters insofar as they are playing the dual
role of being both package bug-fixers and package porters. If a
upload.
- <sect1 id="nmu-version">Source NMU version numbering
+ <sect2 id="nmu-version">Source NMU version numbering
<p>
Whenever you have made a change to a package, no matter how trivial,
the version number needs to change. This enables our packing system
<tt>-sa</tt> switch to force the build system to pick up the new
source package (normally it only looks for Debian revisions of '0' or
'1' — it's not yet clever enough to know about `0.1').
- <p>
-Remember, porters who are simply recompiling a package for a different
-architecture do not need to renumber. Porters should use new version
-numbers if and only if they actually have to modify the source package
-in some way, i.e., if they are doing a source NMU and not a binary
-NMU.
- <sect1 id="nmu-changelog">
+ <sect2 id="nmu-changelog">
<heading>Source NMUs must have a new changelog entry</heading>
<p>
A non-maintainer doing a source NMU must create a changelog entry,
describing which bugs are fixed by the NMU, and generally why the NMU
was required and what it fixed. The changelog entry will have the
non-maintainer's email address in the log entry and the NMU version
-number in it.</p>
+number in it.
<p>
By convention, source NMU changelog entries start with the line
<example>
* Non-maintainer upload
-</example></p></sect1>
+</example>
- <sect1 id="nmu-patch">Source NMUs and the Bug Tracking System
+ <sect2 id="nmu-patch">Source NMUs and the Bug Tracking System
<p>
Maintainers other than the official package maintainer should make as
few changes to the package as possible, and they should always send a
patch as a unified context diff (<tt>diff -u</tt>) detailing their
changes to the Bug Tracking System.
<p>
-What if you are simply recompiling the package? In this case, the
-process is different for porters than it is for non-porters, as
-mentioned above. If you are not a porter and are doing an NMU that
-simply requires a recompile (i.e., a new shared library is available
-to be linked against, a bug was fixed in
-<package>debhelper</package>), there must still be a changelog entry;
-therefore, there will be a patch. If you are a porter, you are
-probably just doing a binary-only NMU. (Note: this leaves out in the cold
-porters who have to do recompiles — chalk it up as a weakness in how
-we maintain our archive.)
+What if you are simply recompiling the package? If you just need to
+recompile it for a single architecture, then you may do a binary-only
+NMU as described in <ref id="binary-only-nmu"> which doesn't require any
+patch to be sent. If you want the package to be recompiled for all
+architectures, then you do a source NMU as usual and you will have to
+send a patch.
<p>
If the source NMU (non-maintainer upload) fixes some existing bugs,
-the bugs in the Bug Tracking System which are fixed need to be
-<em>notified</em> but not actually <em>closed</em> by the
-non-maintainer. Technically, only the official package maintainer or
-the original bug submitter are allowed to close bugs. However, the
-person making the non-maintainer release must send a short message to
-the relevant bugs explaining that the bugs have been fixed by the NMU.
-Using <email>control@bugs.debian.org</email>, the party doing the NMU
-should also set the severity of the bugs fixed in the NMU to `fixed'.
-This ensures that everyone knows that the bug was fixed in an NMU;
-however the bug is left open until the changes in the NMU are
-incorporated officially into the package by the official package
-maintainer. Also, open a bug with the patches needed to fix the
-problem, or make sure that one of the other (already open) bugs has
-the patches.
- <p>
-The normal maintainer will either apply the patch or employ an
-alternate method of fixing the problem. Sometimes bugs are fixed
-independently upstream, which is another good reason to back out an
-NMU's patch. If the maintainer decides not to apply the NMU's patch
-but to release a new version, the maintainer needs to ensure that the
-new upstream version really fixes each problem that was fixed in the
-non-maintainer release.
+these bugs should be tagged <em>fixed</em> in the Bug Tracking
+System rather than closed. By convention, only the official package
+maintainer or the original bug submitter are allowed to close bugs.
+Fortunately, Debian's archive system recognizes NMUs and thus marks
+the bugs fixed in the NMU appropriately if the person doing the NMU
+has listed all bugs in the changelog with the <tt>Closes:
+bug#<var>nnnnn</var></tt> syntax (see <ref id="upload-bugfix"> for
+more information describing how to close bugs via the changelog).
+Tagging the bugs <em>fixed</em> ensures that everyone knows that the
+bug was fixed in an NMU; however the bug is left open until the
+changes in the NMU are incorporated officially into the package by
+the official package maintainer.
+ <p>
+Also, after doing an NMU, you have to open a new bug and include a
+patch showing all the changes you have made. Alternatively you can send
+that information to the existing bugs that are fixed by your NMU.
+The normal maintainer will either apply the patch or employ an alternate
+method of fixing the problem. Sometimes bugs are fixed independently
+upstream, which is another good reason to back out an NMU's patch.
+If the maintainer decides not to apply the NMU's patch but to release a
+new version, the maintainer needs to ensure that the new upstream version
+really fixes each problem that was fixed in the non-maintainer release.
<p>
In addition, the normal maintainer should <em>always</em> retain the
entry in the changelog file documenting the non-maintainer upload.
- <sect1 id="nmu-build">Building source NMUs
+ <sect2 id="nmu-build">Building source NMUs
<p>
Source NMU packages are built normally. Pick a distribution using the
same rules as found in <ref id="upload-dist">. Just as described in
<ref id="uploading">, a normal changes file, etc., will be built. In
-fact, all the prescriptions from <ref id="upload"> apply, including
-the need to announce the NMU to the proper lists.
+fact, all the prescriptions from <ref id="upload"> apply.
<p>
Make sure you do <em>not</em> change the value of the maintainer in
the <file>debian/control</file> file. Your name as given in the NMU entry of
- <chapt id="porting">Porting and Being Ported
+ <sect id="porting">Porting and Being Ported
<p>
Debian supports an ever-increasing number of architectures. Even if
you are not a porter, and you don't use any architecture but one, it
maintainer's binary package. It is a unique and essential activity.
In fact, porters do most of the actual compiling of Debian packages.
For instance, for a single <em>i386</em> binary package, there must be
-a recompile for each architecture, which is amounts to
+a recompile for each architecture, which amounts to
&number-of-arches; more builds.
- <sect id="kind-to-porters">Being Kind to Porters
+ <sect1 id="kind-to-porters">Being kind to porters
<p>
Porters have a difficult and unique task, since they are required to
deal with a large volume of packages. Ideally, every source package
<package>debootstrap</package> package to create an unstable chroot
environment. Within that chrooted environment, install the
<package>build-essential</package> package and any package
-dependancies mention in <tt>Build-Depends</tt> and/or
+dependencies mention in <tt>Build-Depends</tt> and/or
<tt>Build-Depends-Indep</tt>. Finally, try building your package
within that chrooted environment.
<p>
architectures sometimes standardize on different compilers.
<item>
Make sure your debian/rules contains separate ``binary-arch'' and
-``binary-indep'' targets, as the Debian Packaging Manual requires.
+``binary-indep'' targets, as the Debian Policy Manual requires.
Make sure that both targets work independently, that is, that you can
call the target without having called the other before. To test this,
try to run <tt>dpkg-buildpackage -b</tt>.
</enumlist>
- <sect id="porter-guidelines">Guidelines for Porter Uploads
+ <sect1 id="porter-guidelines">Guidelines for porter uploads
<p>
If the package builds out of the box for the architecture to be ported
to, you are in luck and your job is easy. This section applies to
-that case; it describes how to build and upload your binary-only NMU so
+that case; it describes how to build and upload your binary package so
that it is properly installed into the archive. If you do have to
patch the package in order to get it to compile for the other
architecture, you are actually doing a source NMU, so consult <ref
id="nmu-guidelines"> instead.
<p>
-In a binary-only NMU, no real changes are being made to the source. You do
+For a porter upload, no changes are being made to the source. You do
not need to touch any of the files in the source package. This
includes <file>debian/changelog</file>.
<p>
The way to invoke <prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn> is as
-<tt>dpkg-buildpackage -B -e<var>porter-email</var></tt>. Of course,
+<tt>dpkg-buildpackage -B -m<var>porter-email</var></tt>. Of course,
set <var>porter-email</var> to your email address. This will do a
-binary-only build of only the architecture-dependant portions of the
+binary-only build of only the architecture-dependent portions of the
package, using the `binary-arch' target in <file>debian/rules</file>.
- <sect1 id="recompile-nmu-versioning">
- <heading>Recompilation Binary-Only NMU Versioning</heading>
+ <sect2 id="binary-only-nmu">
+ <heading>Recompilation or binary-only NMU</heading>
<p>
-Sometimes you need to recompile a package against other packages which
-have been updated, such as libraries. You do have to bump the version
-number in this case, so that the version comparison system can
-function properly. Even so, these are considered binary-only NMUs
-— there is no need in this case to trigger all other
-architectures to consider themselves out of date or requiring
-recompilation.
+Sometimes the initial porter upload is problematic because the environment
+in which the package was built was not good enough (outdated or obsolete
+library, bad compiler, ...). Then you may just need to recompile it in
+an updated environment. However, you do have to bump the version number in
+this case, so that the old bad package can be replaced in the Debian archive
+(<prgn>katie</prgn> refuses to install new packages if they don't have a
+version number greater than the currently available one). Despite the
+required modification of the changelog, these are called binary-only NMUs
+— there is no need in this case to trigger all other architectures
+to consider themselves out of date or requiring recompilation.
<p>
Such recompilations require special ``magic'' version numbering, so that
the archive maintenance tools recognize that, even though there is a
of ``3.4-2.1.1''.
- <sect1 id="source-nmu-when-porter">
+ <sect2 id="source-nmu-when-porter">
<heading>When to do a source NMU if you are a porter</heading>
<p>
Porters doing a source NMU generally follow the guidelines found in
the wait cycle for a porter's source NMU is smaller than for a
non-porter, since porters have to cope with a large quantity of
packages.
- <p>
Again, the situation varies depending on the distribution they are
-uploading to. Crucial fixes (i.e., changes need to get a source
+uploading to.
+
+<!--
+FIXME: commented out until I can work out how to upload to testing directly
+
+ Crucial fixes (i.e., changes need to get a source
package to compile for a released-targeted architecture) can be
uploaded with <em>no</em> waiting period for the `frozen' distribution.
+ -->
<p>
However, if you are a porter doing an NMU for `unstable', the above
guidelines for porting should be followed, with two variations.
-Firstly, the acceptable waiting period &mdash the time between when the
+Firstly, the acceptable waiting period — the time between when the
bug is submitted to the BTS and when it is OK to do an NMU — is seven
days for porters working on the unstable distribution. This period
can be shortened if the problem is critical and imposes hardship on
blessing or status, so buyer, beware.
- <sect>Tools for Porters
+ <sect1>Tools for porters
<p>
There are several tools available for the porting effort. This section
contains a brief introduction to these tools; see the package
documentation or references for full information.
- <sect1 id="quinn-diff">
+ <sect2 id="quinn-diff">
<heading><package>quinn-diff</package>
<p>
<package>quinn-diff</package> is used to locate the differences from
architecture <var>X</var>.
- <sect1 id="buildd">
+ <sect2 id="buildd">
<heading><package>buildd</package>
<p>
The <package>buildd</package> system is used as a distributed,
distributions quickly.
- <sect1 id="dpkg-cross">
+ <sect2 id="dpkg-cross">
<heading><package>dpkg-cross</package>
<p>
<package>dpkg-cross</package> is a tool for installing libraries and
- <chapt id="archive-manip">
+ <sect id="archive-manip">
<heading>Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning
Packages</heading>
<p>
maintainers. This chapter gives guidelines in what to do in these
cases.
- <sect>Moving packages
+ <sect1 id="moving-pkgs">Moving packages
<p>
Sometimes a package will change its section. For instance, a
package from the `non-free' section might be GPL'd in a later version,
If you need to change the section for one of your packages, change the
package control information to place the package in the desired
section, and re-upload the package (see the <url id="&url-debian-policy;"
-name="Debian Policy Manual"> for details). Carefully examine the
-installation log sent to you when the package is installed into the
-archive. If for some reason the old location of the package remains,
-file a bug against <tt>ftp.debian.org</tt> asking that the old
-location be removed. Give details on what you did, since it might be
-a bug in the archive maintenance software.
+name="Debian Policy Manual"> for details). If your new section is
+valid, it will be moved automatically. If it does not, then contact
+the ftpmasters in order to understand what happened.
<p>
If, on the other hand, you need to change the <em>subsection</em> of
one of your packages (e.g., ``devel'', ``admin''), the procedure is
slightly different. Correct the subsection as found in the control
-file of the package, and reupload that. Also, you'll need to get the
+file of the package, and re-upload that. Also, you'll need to get the
override file updated, as described in <ref id="override-file">.
- <sect id="removing-pkgs">Removing packages
+ <sect1 id="removing-pkgs">Removing packages
<p>
If for some reason you want to completely remove a package (say, if it
-is an old compatibility library which is not longer required), you
+is an old compatibility library which is no longer required), you
need to file a bug against <tt>ftp.debian.org</tt> asking that the
package be removed. Make sure you indicate which distribution the
-package should be removed from.
+package should be removed from. Normally, you can only have packages
+removed from <em>unstable</em> and <em>experimental</em>. Packages
+are not removed from <em>testing</em> directly. Rather, they will be
+removed automatically after the package has been removed from
+<em>unstable</em> and no package in <em>testing</em> depends on it.
+ <p>
+You also have to detail the reasons justifying that request. This is to
+avoid unwanted removals and to keep a trace of why a package has been
+removed. For example, you can provide the name of the package that
+supersedes the one to be removed.
+ <p>
+Usually you only ask the removal of a package maintained by yourself.
+If you want to remove another package, you have to get the approval
+of its last maintainer.
<p>
If in doubt concerning whether a package is disposable, email
&email-debian-devel; asking for opinions. Also of interest is the
<var>package</var></tt>, the program will show details for
<var>package</var>, including reverse depends.
- <sect1>Removing packages from <tt>Incoming</tt>
+ <sect2>Removing packages from <tt>Incoming</tt>
<p>
-If you decide to remove a package from <tt>Incoming</tt>, it is nice
-but not required to send a notification of that to the appropriate
-announce list (either &email-debian-changes; or
-&email-debian-devel-changes;).
+In the past, it was possible to remove packages from <tt>incoming</tt>.
+With the introduction of the New Incoming system this is no longer
+possible. Instead, you have to upload a new revision of your package with
+a higher version as the package you want to replace. Both versions will be
+installed in the archive but only the higher version will actually be
+available in <em>unstable</em> since the previous version will immediately
+be replaced by the higher. However, if you do proper testing of your
+packages, the need to replace a package should not occur too often anyway.
- <sect>Replacing or renaming packages
+ <sect1>Replacing or renaming packages
<p>
Sometimes you made a mistake naming the package and you need to rename
it. In this case, you need to follow a two-step process. First, set
against <tt>ftp.debian.org</tt> asking to remove the package with the
obsolete name.
- <sect id="orphaning">Orphaning a package
+ <sect1 id="orphaning">Orphaning a package
<p>
If you can no longer maintain a package, you need to inform the others
about that, and see that the package is marked as orphaned.
Read instructions on the <url id="&url-wnpp;" name="WNPP web pages">
for more information.
- <sect id="adopting">Adopting a package
+ <sect1 id="adopting">Adopting a package
<p>
A list of packages in need of a new maintainer is available at in the
<url name="Work-Needing and Prospective Packages list (WNPP)"
- <chapt id="bug-handling">Handling Bugs
+ <sect id="bug-handling">Handling package bugs
+ <p>
+Often as a package maintainer, you find bugs in other packages or else
+have bugs reported to your packages which need to be reassigned. The
+<url id="&url-bts-control;" name="BTS instructions"> can tell you how
+to do this. Some information on filing bugs can be found in <ref
+id="submit-bug">.
- <sect>Monitoring bugs
+ <sect1>Monitoring bugs
<p>
If you want to be a good maintainer, you should periodically check the
<url id="&url-bts;" name="Debian bug tracking system (BTS)"> for your
<tt>bugs.debian.org</tt>. Documentation on available commands can be
found at <url id="&url-bts;">, or, if you have installed the
<package>doc-debian</package> package, you can look at the local files
-<file>/usr/doc/debian/bug-*</file>.
+&file-bts-docs;.
<p>
Some find it useful to get periodic reports on open bugs. You can add
a cron job such as the following if you want to get a weekly email
outlining all the open bugs against your packages:
<example>
# ask for weekly reports of bugs in my packages
-0 17 * * fri echo "index maint <var>maintainer-address</var>" | mail request@bugs.debian.org
+&cron-bug-report;
</example>
-Replace <var>maintainer-address</var> with you official Debian
+Replace <var>address</var> with your official Debian
maintainer address.
- <sect id="submit-bug">Submitting Bugs
- <p>
-Often as a package maintainer, you find bugs in other packages or else
-have bugs reported to your packages which need to be reassigned. The
-<url id="&url-bts-control;" name="BTS instructions"> can tell you how
-to do this.
- <p>
-We encourage you to file bugs when there are problems. Try to submit
-the bug from a normal user account at which you are likely to receive
-mail. Do not submit bugs as root.
- <p>
-Make sure the bug is not already filed against a package. Try to do a
-good job reporting a bug and redirecting it to the proper location.
-For extra credit, you can go through other packages, merging bugs
-which are reported more than once, or setting bug severities to
-`fixed' when they have already been fixed. Note that when you are
-neither the bug submitter nor the package maintainer, you should
-not actually close the bug (unless you secure permission from the
-maintainer).
-
- <sect>Responding to Bugs
+ <sect1 id="bug-answering">Responding to bugs
<p>
Make sure that any discussions you have about bugs are sent both to
the original submitter of the bug, and the bug itself (e.g.,
<email>123@bugs.debian.org</email>).
<p>
-You should <em>never</em> close bugs via the bug server `close'
+You should <em>never</em> close bugs via the bug server <tt>close</tt>
command sent to &email-bts-control;. If you do so, the original
-submitter will not receive any feedback on why the bug was closed.
+submitter will not receive any information about why the bug was
+closed.
+
+ <sect1 id="bug-housekeeping">Bug housekeeping
+ <p>
+As a package maintainer, you will often find bugs in other packages or
+have bugs reported against your packages which are actually bugs in
+other packages. The <url id="&url-bts-control;" name="BTS
+instructions"> document the technical operation of the BTS, such as
+how to file, reassign, merge, and tag bugs. This section contains
+some guidelines for managing your own bugs, based on the collective
+Debian developer experience.
+ <p>
+Filing bugs for problems that you find in other packages is one of
+the "civic obligations" of maintainership, see <ref id="submit-bug">
+for details.
+ <p>
+&FIXME;Talk about tags, forwarding bugs, or else break it into
+different sections...
- <sect id="upload-bugfix">When bugs are closed by new uploads
+
+ <sect1 id="upload-bugfix">When bugs are closed by new uploads
<p>
If you fix a bug in your packages, it is your responsibility as the
package maintainer to close the bug when it has been fixed. However,
* Frobbed with options (closes: Bug#98339)
* Added safety to prevent operator dismemberment, closes: bug#98765,
bug#98713, #98714.
- * Added manpage. Closes: #98725.
+ * Added man page. Closes: #98725.
</example>
Technically speaking, the following Perl regular expression is what is
/closes:\s*(?:bug)?\#\s*\d+(?:,\s*(?:bug)?\#\s*\d+)*/ig
</example>
-The author prefers the <tt>(closes: Bug#<var>XXX</var>)</tt> syntax,
-since it stands out from the rest of the changelog entries.
+The author prefers the <tt>closes: #<var>XXX</var>)</tt> syntax, as
+one of the most concise and easiest to integrate with the text of the
+<file>changelog</file>.
<p>
If you want to close bugs the old fashioned, manual way, it is usually
sufficient to mail the <tt>.changes</tt> file to
bug number.
- <sect id="lintian-reports">Lintian reports
+ <sect1 id="lintian-reports">Lintian reports
<p>
You should periodically get the new <package>lintian</package> from
`unstable' and check over all your packages. Alternatively you can
latest <package>lintian</package>.
- <sect>Reporting lots of bugs at once
+ <chapt id="best-pkging-practices">
+ <heading>Best Packaging Practices</heading>
+ <p>
+Debian's quality is largely due to its Policy that all packages
+follow. But it's also because we accumulated years of experience
+in packaging; very talented people created great tools to make
+good packages without much troubles.
+ <p>
+This chapter provides the best known solutions to common problems
+faced during packaging. It also lists various advice collected on
+several mailing lists. By following them, you will make Debian's quality
+even better.
+
+ <sect id="misc-advice">
+ <heading>Miscellaenous advice</heading>
+
+ <sect1 id="writing-desc">
+ <heading>Writing useful descriptions</heading>
+ <p>
+The description of the package (as defined by the corresponding field
+in the <file>control</file> file) is usually the first information
+available to the user before he installs it. As such, it should
+provide all the required information to let him decide whether
+to install the package.
+ <p>
+For example, apart from the usual description that you adapt from the
+upstream <file>README</file>, you should include the URL of the
+website if there's any. If the package is not yet considered stable
+by the author, you may also want to warn the user that the
+package is not ready for production use.
+
+
+
+ <chapt id="beyond-pkging">
+ <heading>Beyond Packaging</heading>
+ <p>
+Debian is about a lot more than just packaging software and
+maintaining those packages. This chapter contains information about
+ways, often really critical ways, to contribute to Debian beyond
+simply creating and maintaining packages.
+ <p>
+As a volunteer organization, Debian relies on the discretion of its
+members in choosing what they want to work on, and choosing what is
+the most critical thing to spend their time on.
+
+ <sect id="submit-bug">
+ <heading>Bug Reporting</heading>
+ <p>
+We encourage you to file bugs as you find them in Debian packages. In
+fact, Debian developers are often the first line testers. Finding and
+reporting bugs in other developer's packages improves the quality of
+Debian.
+ <p>
+Try to submit the bug from a normal user account at which you are
+likely to receive mail. Do not submit bugs as root.
+ <p>
+Make sure the bug is not already filed against a package. Try to do a
+good job reporting a bug and redirecting it to the proper location.
+For extra credit, you can go through other packages, merging bugs
+which are reported more than once, or setting bug severities to
+`fixed' when they have already been fixed. Note that when you are
+neither the bug submitter nor the package maintainer, you should
+not actually close the bug (unless you secure permission from the
+maintainer).
+
+ <sect1 id="submit-many-bugs">Reporting lots of bugs at once
<p>
Reporting a great number of bugs for the same problem on a great
number of different packages &mdash i.e., more than 10 &mdash is a deprecated
list.
- <chapt id="newmaint">
- <heading>Interaction with Prospective Developers</heading>
+ <sect id="qa-effort">Quality Assurance effort
+ <p>
+Even though there is a dedicated group of people for Quality
+Assurance, QA duties are not reserved solely for them. You can
+participate in this effort by keeping your packages as bug-free as
+possible, and as lintian-clean (see <ref id="lintian-reports">) as
+possible. If you do not find that possible, then you should consider
+orphaning some of your packages (see <ref
+id="orphaning">). Alternatively, you may ask the help of other people
+in order to catch up the backlog of bugs that you have (you can ask
+for help on &email-debian-qa; or &email-debian-devel;).
+ <sect id="mia-qa">Dealing with unreachable maintainers
<p>
-This chapter describes procedures that existing Debian developers should
-follow when it comes to dealing with wannabe developers.
+If you notice that a package is lacking maintenance, you should
+make sure the maintainer is active and will continue to work on
+his packages. Try contacting him yourself.
+ <p>
+If you do not get a reply after a few weeks you should collect all
+useful information about this maintainer. Start by logging into
+the <url id="&url-debian-db;" name="Debian Developer's Database">
+and doing a full search to check whether the maintainer is on vacation
+and when he was last seen. Collect any important package names
+he maintains and any Release Critical bugs filled against them.
+ <p>
+Send all this information to &email-debian-qa;, in order to let the
+QA people do whatever is needed.
+
+
+
- <sect>Sponsoring packages
+ <sect id="newmaint">
+ <heading>Interacting with prospective Debian developers</heading>
+ <p>
+Debian's success depends on it's ability to attract and retain new and
+talented volunteers. If you are an experienced developer, we
+recommend that you get involved with the process of bringing in new
+developers. This section describes how to help new prospective
+developers.
+
+
+ <sect1 id="sponsoring">Sponsoring packages
<p>
Sponsoring a package means uploading a package for a maintainer who is not
able to do it on their own, a new maintainer applicant. Sponsoring a package
also means accepting responsibility for it.
<p>
+If you wish to volunteer as a sponsor, you can sign up at <url
+id="&url-sponsors;">.
+ <p>
New maintainers usually have certain difficulties creating Debian packages
— this is quite understandable. That is why the sponsor is there, to check
the package and verify that it is good enough for inclusion in Debian.
<p>
If you are an application manager for a prospective developer, you can also
be their sponsor. That way you can also verify the how the applicant is
-handling the `Tasks and Skills' part of their application.
+handling the 'Tasks and Skills' part of their application.
- <sect>Advocating new developers
+
+ <sect1>Advocating new developers
<p>
See the page about <url id="&url-newmaint-advocate;"
name="advocating a prospective developer"> at the Debian web site.
- <sect>Handling new maintainer applications
+ <sect1>Handling new maintainer applications
<p>
Please see <url id="&url-newmaint-amchecklist;" name="Checklist for
Application Managers"> at the Debian web site.
- <chapt id="tools">Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools
+ <appendix id="tools">Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools
<p>
This section contains a rough overview of the tools available to
-maintainers. These tools are meant to help convenience developers and
-free their time for critical tasks.
+maintainers. The following is by no means complete or definitive, but
+just a guide to some of the more popular tools.
+ <p>
+Debian maintainer tools are meant to help convenience developers and
+free their time for critical tasks. As Larry Wall says, there's more
+than one way to do it.
<p>
Some people prefer to use high-level package maintenance tools and
some do not. Debian is officially agnostic on this issue; any tool
<p>
Most of the descriptions of these packages come from the actual
package descriptions themselves. Further information can be found in
-the package documentation itself.
+the package documentation itself. You can also see more info with the
+command <tt>apt-cache show <var>package_name</var></tt>.
<sect id="dpkg-dev">
<p>
<package>debconf</package> provides a consistent interface to
configuring packages interactively. It is user interface
-intedependant, allowing end-users to configure packages with a
+independent, allowing end-users to configure packages with a
text-only interface, an HTML interface, or a dialog interface. New
interfaces can be added modularly.
<p>
+You can find documentation for this package in the
+<package>debconf-doc</package> package.
+ <p>
Many feel that this system should be used for all packages requiring
interactive configuration. <package>debconf</package> is not
currently required by Debian Policy, however, that may change in the
future.
+ <p>
<sect id="debhelper">
various files into your package, compress files, fix file permissions,
integrate your package with the Debian menu system.
<p>
-Unlike <package>debmake</package>, <package>debhelper</package> is
-broken into several small, granular commands which act in a consistent
-manner. As such, it allows a greater granularity of control than
-<package>debmake</package>.
+Unlike some approaches, <package>debhelper</package> is broken into
+several small, granular commands which act in a consistent manner. As
+such, it allows a greater granularity of control than some of the
+other "debian/rules tools".
+ <p>
+There are a number of little <package>debhelper</package> add-on
+packages, too transient to document. You can see the list of most of
+them by doing <tt>apt-cache search ^dh-</tt>.
<sect id="debmake">
favor of <package>debhelper</package>. However, it's not a bug to use
<package>debmake</package>.
+
<sect id="yada">
<heading><package>yada</package>
<p>
-<package>yada</package> is a new packaging helper tool with a slightly
-different philosophy. It uses a <file>debian/packages</file> file to
-auto-generate other necessary files in the <file>debian/</file>
-subdirectory.
+<package>yada</package> is another packaging helper tool. It uses a
+<file>debian/packages</file> file to auto-generate
+<file>debian/rules</file> and other necessary files in the
+<file>debian/</file> subdirectory.
<p>
-Note that <package>yada</package> is still quite new and possibly not
-yet as robust as other systems.
+Note that <package>yada</package> is called "essentially unmaintained"
+by it's own maintainer, Charles Briscoe-Smith. As such, it can be
+considered deprecated.
<sect id="equivs">
<sect id="dupload">
<heading><package>dupload</package>
<p>
-<package>dupload</package> is a package and a script to automagically
+<package>dupload</package> is a package and a script to automatically
upload Debian packages to the Debian archive, to log the upload, and
to send mail about the upload of a package. You can configure it for
new upload locations or methods.
+ <sect id="dput">
+ <heading><package>dput</package>
+ <p>
+The <package>dput</package> package and script does much the same
+thing as <package>dupload</package>, but in a different way. It has
+some features over <package>dupload</package>, such as the ability to
+check the GnuPG signature and checksums before uploading, and the
+possibility of running <tt>dinstall</tt> in dry-run mode after the
+upload.
+
+
<sect id="fakeroot">
<heading><package>fakeroot</package>
<p>
<package>fakeroot</package> simulates root privileges. This enables
you to build packages without being root (packages usually want to
install files with root ownership). If you have
-<package>fakeroot</package> installed, you can say, i.e.,
-<tt>dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot</tt> as a user.
+<package>fakeroot</package> installed, you can build packages as a
+user: <tt>dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot</tt>.
+
+
+ <sect id="debootstrap">
+ <heading><package>debootstrap</package>
+ <p>
+The <package>debootstrap</package> package and script allows you to
+"bootstrap" a Debian base system into any part of your file-system.
+By "base system", we mean the bare minimum of packages required to
+operate and install the rest of the system.
+ <p>
+Having a system like this can be useful in many ways. For instance,
+you can <prgn>chroot</prgn> into it if you want to test your build
+depends. Or, you can test how your package behaves when installed
+into a bare base system.
<sect id="devscripts">
<p>
<package>devscripts</package> is a package containing a few wrappers
and tools which you may find helpful for maintaining your Debian
-packages. Example scripts include <prgn>debchange</prgn>, which will
-manipulate your <file>debian/changelog</file> file from the
-command-line, and <prgn>debuild</prgn>, which is a wrapper around
-<prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn>.
+packages. Example scripts include <prgn>debchange</prgn> and
+<prgn>dch</prgn>, which manipulate your <file>debian/changelog</file>
+file from the command-line, and <prgn>debuild</prgn>, which is a
+wrapper around <prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn>.
+
+
+
+ <sect id="dpkg-dev-el">
+ <heading><package>dpkg-dev-el</package>
+ <p>
+<package>dpkg-dev-el</package> is an Emacs lisp package which provides
+assistance when editing some of the files in the <file>debian</file>
+directory of your package. For instance, when editing
+<file>debian/changelog</file>, there are handy functions for
+finalizing a version and listing the package's current bugs.
<sect id="debget">
<p>
<package>debget</package> is a package containing a convenient script
which can be helpful in downloading files from the Debian archive.
-You can use it to download source packages, for instance.
+You can use it to download source packages, for instance (although
+<tt>apt-get source <var>package</var></tt> does pretty much the same
+thing).
+
+<!-- FIXME: add the following
+ dpkg-awk
+ alien
+ dpkg-repack
+ grep-dctrl
+ pbuilder -->
</book>
~ianmdlvl / developers-reference.git / blobdiff