<!ENTITY % dynamicdata SYSTEM "dynamic.ent" > %dynamicdata;
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- <!ENTITY cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.267 $">
+ <!ENTITY cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.282 $">
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revision of the original developer's reference in cvs-en-rev -->
<p>
If you want to print this reference, you should use the <url
id="developers-reference.pdf" name="pdf version">.
+This page is also available in <url id="index.fr.html" name="French">.
]]>
<toc detail="sect1">
<sect1 id="servers-non-us">The non-US server
<p>
-The non-US server, <tt>non-us.debian.org</tt>,
-holds the canonical copy of the non-US part of the Debian archive.
-If you need to upload a package into one of the non-US sections, upload it
-to this server; see <ref id="upload-non-us">.
- <p>
-Problems with the non-US package archive should generally be submitted as
-bugs against the <package>nonus.debian.org</package> pseudo-package (notice
-the lack of hyphen between "non" and "us" in the pseudo-package name
-— that's for backwards compatibility). Remember to check whether or
-not someone else has already reported the problem to the
-<url id="http://&bugs-host;/nonus.debian.org" name="Bug Tracking System">.
+The non-US server <tt>non-us.debian.org</tt>
+was discontinued with the release of sarge. The pseudo-package
+<package>nonus.debian.org</package>
+stil exists for now.
<sect1 id="servers-www">The www-master server
<p>
<p>
Usually the only reason to use a different host is when you need to publish
materials subject to the U.S. export restrictions, in which case you can use
-one of the other servers located outside the United States, such as the
-aforementioned <tt>non-us.debian.org</tt>.
+one of the other servers located outside the United States.
<p>
Send mail to &email-debian-devel; if you have any questions.
<p>
The Incoming system is responsible for collecting updated packages and
installing them in the Debian archive. It consists of a set of
-directories and scripts that are installed both on <tt>&ftp-master-host;</tt>
-and <tt>&non-us-host;</tt>.
+directories and scripts that are installed on <tt>&ftp-master-host;</tt>.
<p>
Packages are uploaded by all the maintainers into a directory called
<file>UploadQueue</file>.
<sect1 id="madison">The <prgn>madison</prgn> utility
<p>
<prgn>madison</prgn> is a command-line utility that is available
-on both <tt>&ftp-master-host;</tt> and <tt>&non-us-host;</tt>, and on
+on <tt>&ftp-master-host;</tt>, and on
the mirror on <tt>&ftp-master-mirror;</tt>. It
uses a single argument corresponding to a package name. In result
it displays which version of the package is available for each
archive maintenance software will parse the changes file and see that not
all files have been uploaded.
<p>
-<!-- FIXME: is this still topical? Explain the rationale? -->
-<em>Note:</em> Do not upload to <tt>ftp-master</tt> cryptographic
-packages which belong to <em>contrib</em> or <em>non-free</em>. Uploads of
-such software should go to <tt>non-us</tt> (see <ref
-id="upload-non-us">). Furthermore packages containing code that is
-patent-restricted by the United States government cannot be uploaded to
-<tt>ftp-master</tt>; depending on the case they may still be uploaded to
-<file>non-US/non-free</file> (it's in non-free because of distribution issues
-and not because of the license of the software). If you can't upload it to
-<tt>ftp-master</tt>, then neither can you upload it to backup
-queues that finally also end up on <tt>ftp-master</tt>. 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 packages <ref id="dupload"> or
<ref id="dput"> useful
when uploading packages. These handy programs help automate the
<sect1 id="upload-non-us">Uploading to <tt>non-US</tt>
<p>
-<em>Note:</em> non-us is currently not processed any more.
- <p>
-As discussed above, export controlled software should not be uploaded
-to <tt>ftp-master</tt>. Instead, upload the package with anonymous FTP
-to <ftpsite>non-us.debian.org</ftpsite>, placing the files in
-&upload-queue; (again, both <ref id="dupload"> and <ref
-id="dput"> can do this for you if invoked properly).
- <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. 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
-developers take all necessary steps to ensure that they are not
-breaking current US law by doing an upload to non-US, <em>including
-consulting a lawyer</em>.
- <p>
-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.
+<em>Note:</em> non-us was discontinued with release of sarge.
<sect1 id="delayed-incoming">Delayed uploads
<sect1>Other upload queues
<p>
-The scp queues on ftp-master, non-us, and security are mostly unusable
+The scp queues on ftp-master, and security are mostly unusable
due to the login restrictions on those hosts.
<p>
The anonymous queues on ftp.uni-erlangen.de and ftp.uk.debian.org are
Most Debian package maintainers are not native English speakers. So,
writing properly phrased templates may not be easy for them.
<p>
-Please use (and abuse) debian-l10n-english@lists.debian.org mailing
+Please use (and abuse) &email-debian-l10n-english; mailing
list. Have your templates proofread.
<p>
Badly written templates give a poor image of your package, of your
<sect2>Be kind to translators
<p>
Debconf templates may be translated. Debconf, along with its sister
-package po-debconf offers a simple framework for getting
+package <prgn>po-debconf</prgn> offers a simple framework for getting
templates translated by translation teams or even individuals.
<p>
-Please use gettext-based templates. Install po-debconf on your
+Please use gettext-based templates. Install <package>po-debconf</package> on your
development system and read its documentation ("man po-debconf" is a
good start).
<p>
translator's name and e-mail addresses are mentioned in the po files
headers.
<p>
+The use of the <prgn>podebconf-report-po</prgn> from the
+po-debconf package is highly recommended to warn translators which
+have incomplete translations and request them for updates.
+ <p>
If in doubt, you may also contact the translation team for a given
language (debian-l10n-xxxxx@lists.debian.org), or the
-debian-i18n@lists.debian.org mailing list.
+&email-debian-i18n; mailing list.
+ <p>
+Calls for translations posted to
+&email-debian-i18n; with the <file>debian/po/templates.pot</file> file
+attached or referenced in a URL are encouraged. Be sure to mentions in
+these calls for new translations which languages you have existing
+translations for, in order to avoid duplicate work.
+ <sect2>Unfuzzy complete translations when correcting typos and spelling
+ <p>
+When the text of a debconf template is corrected and you are
+<strong>sure</strong> that the change does <strong>not</strong> affect
+translations, please be kind to translators and unfuzzy their
+translations.
+ <p>
+If you don't do so, the whole template will not be translated as long
+as a translator will send you an update.
+ <p>
+To <strong>unfuzzy</strong> translations, you can proceed the following way:
+ <enumlist>
+ <item>
+Put all incomplete PO files out of the way. You can check the
+completeness by using (needs the <package>gettext</package> package installed):
+<example>for i in debian/po/*po; do echo -n $i: ; msgfmt -o /dev/null
+--statistics $i; done</example>
+ <item>
+move all files which report either fuzzy strings to a temporary
+place. Files which report no fuzzy strings (only translated and
+untranslated) will be kept in place.
+ <item>
+now <strong>and now only</strong>, modify the template for the typos
+and check again that translation are not impacted (typos, spelling
+errors, sometimes typographical corrections are usually OK)
+ <item>
+run <prgn>debconf-updatepo</prgn>. This will fuzzy all strings
+you modified in translations. You can see this by running the above
+again
+ <item>
+use the following command:
+<example>for i in debian/po/*po; do msgattrib --output-file=$i --clear-fuzzy $i; done</example>
+ <item>
+move back to debian/po the files which showed fuzzy strings in the first step
+ <item>
+run <prgn>debconf-updatepo</prgn> again
+ </enumlist>
<sect2>Do not make assumptions about interfaces
<p>
Templates text should not make reference to widgets belonging to some
meaning for users of graphical interfaces which use checkboxes for
boolean questions.
<p>
+String templates should also avoid mentioning the default values in
+their description. First, because this is redundant with the values
+seen by the users. Also, because these default values may be different
+from the maintainer choices (for instance, when the debconf database
+was preseeded).
+ <p>
More generally speaking, try to avoid referring to user actions.
Just give facts.