X-Git-Url: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ucgi/~ianmdlvl/git?p=developers-reference.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=developers-reference.sgml;h=098d58b2abfb74fdd340361d737f378e312ce83d;hp=063538a0d3e791d558e296e68b4ca1db4eb3c43c;hb=bc066cf3b9ecfd136d824d950c7d601a64cea47c;hpb=4bd1fb55987619c54bf47a50c2ab7e846c005d05

diff --git a/developers-reference.sgml b/developers-reference.sgml
index 063538a..098d58b 100644
--- a/developers-reference.sgml
+++ b/developers-reference.sgml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   <!entity % commondata  SYSTEM "common.ent" > %commondata;
 
   <!-- CVS revision of this document -->
-  <!entity cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.182 $">
+  <!entity cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.187 $">
   <!-- if you are translating this document, please notate the CVS
        revision of the developers reference here -->
   <!--
@@ -3151,38 +3151,99 @@ this problem, though.
     <sect id="bpp-debian-control">
 	<heading>Best practices for <file>debian/control</file></heading>
         <p>
-The following practices supplement the <url
-            id="&url-debian-policy;ch-miscellaneous.html#s-descriptions"
-            name="Policy on package descriptions">.</p>
+The following practices are relevant to the
+<file>debian/control</file> file.  They supplement the <url
+id="&url-debian-policy;ch-miscellaneous.html#s-descriptions"
+name="Policy on package descriptions">.
+        <p>
+The description of the package, as defined by the corresponding field
+in the <file>control</file> file, contains both the package synopsis
+and the long description for the package.
+
+
+
+	<sect1 id="bpp-desc-basics">
+          <heading>General guidelines for package descriptions</heading>
+          <p>
+The package description should be written for the average likely user,
+the average person who will use and benefit from the package.  For
+instance, development packages are for developers, and can be
+technical in their language.  More general-purpose applications, such
+as editors, should be written for a less technical user.
+          <p>
+Our review of package descriptions lead us to conclude that most
+package descriptions are technical, that is, are not written to make
+sense for non-technical users.  Unless your package really is only for
+technical users, this is a problem.
+          <p>
+How do you write for non-technical users?  Avoid jargon.  Avoid
+referring to other applications or frameworks that the user might not
+be familiar with &mdash; "GNOME" or "KDE" is fine, but "GTK+" is
+probably not.  Try not to assume any knowledge at all.  If you must
+use technical terms, introduce them.
+          <p>
+References to the names of any other software packages, protocol names,
+standards, or specifications should use their canonical forms, if one
+exists.  For example, use "X Window System", "X11", or "X"; not "X
+Windows", "X-Windows", or "X Window". Use "GTK+", not "GTK" or "gtk".
+Use "GNOME", not "Gnome".  Use "PostScript", not "Postscript" or
+"postscript".
+
+
+	<sect1 id="bpp-pkg-synopsis">
+          <heading>The package synopsis, or short description</heading>
+	    <p>
+The synopsis line (the short description) should be concise.  It
+must not repeat the package's name (this is policy).
+	    <p>
+It's a good idea to think of the synopsis as an appositive clause, not
+a full sentence.  An appositive clause is defined in WordNet as a
+grammatical relation between a word and a noun phrase that follows,
+e.g., "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer".  The appositive clause here is
+"red-nosed reindeer".  Since the synopsis is a clause, rather than a
+full sentence, we recommend that it neither start with a capital nor
+end with a full stop (period).  Imagine that the synopsis is combined
+with the package name in the following way:
+
+<example>The <var>package-name</var> is a <var>synopsis</var>.</example>
+	    <p>
+If the package name is an acronym, it is sometimes useful to expand
+the acronym.  For instance, the synopsis for <package>vim</package> is
+"Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor".
+
 
 	<sect1 id="bpp-pkg-desc">
-	    <heading>Writing useful descriptions</heading>
+          <heading>The long description</heading>
 	    <p>
-The description of the package (as defined by the corresponding field
-in the <file>control</file> file) is the primary information available
-to the user about a package before they install it.  It should provide
-all the required information to let the user decide whether to install
-the package.
+The long description is the primary information available to the user
+about a package before they install it.  It should provide all the
+information needed to let the user decide whether to install the
+package.  Assume that the user has already read the package synopsis.
 	    <p>
-The following practices supplement the <url name="Policy on the descriptions
-of packages" id="&url-debian-policy;ch-miscellaneous.html#s-descriptions">.
+The long description should consist of full and complete sentences.
+It is recommended to use two spaces after full stops in sentences.  We
+realize this is an American style rather than European, but it is
+additionally helpful in creating visual space in fixed-width fonts.
 	    <p>
-The synopsis line (the short description) should primarily be concise.
-You may capitalize the first letter for aesthetics. It is customary to
-make the synopsis an appositive clause (not a full sentence) in which
-case there's no need to put a full stop (period) at the end.
+The first paragraph of the long description should answer the
+following questions: what does the package do?  what task does it help
+the user accomplish?  It is important to describe this in a
+non-technical way, unless of course the audience for the package is
+necessarily technical.
 	    <p>
-The long description should, however, always consist of full sentences.
+The following paragraphs should answer the following questions: Why do
+I as a user need this package?  What other features does the package
+have?  What outstanding features and deficiencies are there compared
+to other packages (e.g., "if you need X, use Y instead")?  Is this
+package related to other packages in some way that is not handled by
+the package manager (e.g., "this is the client to the foo server")?
 	    <p>
-Since the first user impression is based on the description, be
-careful to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes. Ensure that you
+Be careful to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes. Ensure that you
 spell-check it.  <prgn>ispell</prgn> has a special <tt>-g</tt> option
 for <file>debian/control</file> files:
 
 <example>ispell -d american -g debian/control</example>
 
-If you want someone to proofread the description that you
-intend to use you may ask on &email-debian-l10n-english;.
         </sect1>
 
         <sect1 id="bpp-upstream-info">
@@ -3283,16 +3344,10 @@ for instance, in a changelog entry like this:
 <example>
   * Maintainer upload, closes: #42345, #44484, #42444.
 </example>
-This will close the NMU bugs in "fixed" state when the package makes
-it into the archive (and also the bug for the fact that an NMU was
-done).  It is also perfectly acceptable to close NMU-fixed bugs by
-other means; see <ref id="bug-answering">.
-	<p>
-Changelogs shouldn't include general statements on life, the universe
-and everything ("sorry this upload took me so long, but I caught the
-flu").  Exceptions can be made if the comment is funny ;-) Obviously,
-this is subjective, so it's likely best if it's kept out of technical
-documentation such as changelogs.
+This will close the NMU bugs tagged "fixed" when the package makes
+it into the archive. The bug for the fact that an NMU was done can be
+closed the same way. Of course, it's also perfectly acceptable to
+close NMU-fixed bugs by other means; see <ref id="bug-answering">.
         </sect1>
 
 	<sect1 id="bpp-changelog-errors">
@@ -3549,24 +3604,25 @@ Lisp packages should register themselves with
 	sympa may be an example package
 -->	
 
-	<sect1 id="bpp-archindepdata">Architecture-independent data
-	<p>
-	It is not uncommon to have a large amount of architecture-independent
-	data packaged with a program. For example, collection of icons,
-	wallpapers or other graphic files, or audio files. If the size of
-	this data is negligible compared to the size of the remainder of the
-	package, you can keep it all in the same package.
-
-	<p>
-	However, if the size of the data is considerable, consider splitting
-	it out into a separate, architecture-independent package
-	("_all.deb"). By doing this, you avoid needless duplication of the
-	same data into eleven or more .debs per each architecture. While
-	this adds some extra overhead into the Packages files, it can save a
-	lot of disk space on Debian mirrors, and it also reduces processing
-	time of Lintian or Linda when run over the entire Debian archive. 
-	</sect1>
-
+	<sect1 id="bpp-archindepdata">
+          <heading>Architecture-independent data</heading>
+          <p>
+It is not uncommon to have a large amount of architecture-independent
+data packaged with a program.  For example, audio files, a collection
+of icons, wallpaper patterns, or other graphic files.  If the size of
+this data is negligible compared to the size of the rest of the
+package, it's probably best to keep it all in a single package.
+          <p>
+However, if the size of the data is considerable, consider splitting
+it out into a separate, architecture-independent package ("_all.deb").
+By doing this, you avoid needless duplication of the same data into
+eleven or more .debs, one per each architecture.  While this
+adds some extra overhead into the <file>Packages</file> files, it
+saves a lot of disk space on Debian mirrors.  Separating out
+architecture-independent data also reduces processing time of
+<prgn>lintian</prgn> or <prgn>linda</prgn> (see <ref id="tools-lint">)
+when run over the entire Debian archive.
+        </sect1>
       </sect>
 
     </chapt>