1 developers-reference (3.4.7) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
4 * Document some best practices for meta-packages. Extend those for
5 transitional packages. Based on a patch by Luca Falavigna
6 <dktrkranz@debian.org> (thanks!). Closes: #569219
7 * Update license pointer to correctly point to GPL-2. Closes: #643929
8 Thanks to Luca Falavigna.
9 * Update URL of Debian Mentors FAQ. Closes: #643930
10 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
11 * Refresh some release-specific information. Closes: #643931
12 Based on a patch by Luca Falavigna.
13 * Refresh some ftpmaster-related information. Closes: #643932
14 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
15 * Update minimal GPG key length to match current requirements.
16 Closes: #643933 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
17 * Update login information for rt.debian.org. Closes: #643934
18 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
19 * Drop section about yada. Its usage is highly discouraged. Closes: #643935
20 Thanks to Luca Falavigna for the patch.
21 * Update best practice about unfuzzying PO file translations to recommend
22 msguntypot. Thanks to David Prévot for the patch.
23 Acked-by Christian Perrier. Closes: #655153
26 * Add doc-base file for the German translation.
27 * Update French translation.
28 * Typo fix, thanks to Andreas Moog. Closes: #655096
29 * Use XeTeX backend, that fix quotes in examples. Closes: #629530
30 * Build the Japanese PDF, thanks to Osamu Aoki and the maint-guide build
33 -- David Prévot <taffit@debian.org> Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:46:30 -0400
35 developers-reference (3.4.6) unstable; urgency=low
38 * Update the NMU rules to take into account the 0-day NMU rule
39 instituted by the release managers. Closes: #625449
42 * Update my email address.
43 * Encourage the use of RT to contact the security team.
44 Patch from Thijs Kinkhorst. Closes: #610782
45 * Document the process of returning after retirement.
46 Patch from Serafeim Zanikolas. Closes: #540249
47 * Add instructions how to mark a non-free package as auto-buildable.
48 Patch from Moritz Muehlenhoff, ACKed by Andreas Barth.
51 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@debian.org> Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:52:10 +0200
53 developers-reference (3.4.5) unstable; urgency=low
58 * Remove part about -v for package uploads from experimental to unstable,
59 version tracking removed that requirement.
62 * Rework section on "sponsoring packages" and include a basic
63 checklist for the sponsor. Closes: #453313
64 * Update the "Debian Developer's Duties" chapter to be more explicit
65 about duties of package maintainers. Closes: #548867
66 * Update references to merkel (which is decommissionned) where
67 needed. Closes: #619990
68 Thanks to Charles Plessy for the patch.
69 * Many typos fixed by Chris Leick <c.leick@vollbio.de>. Closes: #623512
72 * Initial German translation.
75 * Activate German package. Closes: #623489
76 * Update French translation.
77 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.9.2. No changes needed.
78 * Add build-arch and build-indep targets.
79 * Explicitly refer to GPL-2 file in debian/copyright.
82 * Update Japanese translation.
84 -- David Prévot <taffit@debian.org> Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:56:46 -0400
86 developers-reference (3.4.4) unstable; urgency=low
89 * Document the new derivatives-bugs PTS keyword.
90 * Removed hp.debian.or.jp reference. Closes: 561597
93 * Update description of the PTS "summary" keyword. Thanks to
94 Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the patch. Closes: #469154
95 * Add accent on my first name in debian/control.
96 * Use "3.0 (native)" source format with bzip2 compression.
97 Created debian/source/{format,options} for this.
98 * Update guideline for override change to point to BTS
99 instead of email. Thanks to Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the
100 patch. Closes: #540231
101 * Include full URL to the README of the upload queue. Thanks to Simon
102 McVittie <smcv@debian.org> for the patch. Closes: #540974
103 * The key protecting #debian-private is now stored on a file
104 on master.debian.org, it's no more required to search into
105 the debian-private archives. Thanks to gregor herrmann <gregoa@debian.org>
106 for the patch. Closes: #548823
107 * Update information about upload queues. Thanks to Simon McVittie
108 <smcv@debian.org> for the patches:
109 - point to official names {ftp,ssh}.upload.debian.org. Closes: #554054
110 - drop references to non-working queues. Closes: #554077
111 * Mention docbook, POD and reST as convenient formats to write new manual
112 pages. Thanks to Charles Plessy and the debian-mentors list
113 for the idea and the patch. Closes: #557298
114 * Update several sections to take into account the new source formats “3.0
115 (quilt)” and “3.0 (native)”. Closes: #561952
116 * Drop reference to “dbs” in the section about including binary files.
117 * Fix typo “transfered“ → “transferred”. Closes: #555685
118 * Fix typo “programms“ → “programs”. Closes: #560808
119 * Drop section about debmake, it has been removed of Debian since lenny.
120 * Update URL of the security tracker. Thanks to Salvatore Bonaccorso.
122 * Update URL of Packages-arch-specific. Closes: #553974
123 * Update section about Alioth to mention FusionForge instead of GForge.
124 Drop mention of separate cvs.debian.org it's managed by Alioth too.
126 * Document new "buildd" keyword from the PTS.
127 * Update URL explaining the "Debian Maintainer" status, it's now at
128 http://wiki.debian.org/DebianMaintainer. Closes: #564414
129 * Update number of source packages. Thanks Karl Goetz. Closes: #567235
130 * Update and simplify list of architectures. Thanks Karl Goetz.
132 * Small typo fixes and clarifications/rewordings suggested by Karl Goetz.
134 * Document the notion of "team upload": it looks like an NMU but it's not
135 really one because the uploader is an implicit co-maintainer since he's
136 part of the maintenance team. Thanks to Charles Plessy for the initial
137 patch. Closes: #573110
138 * Update standards-version to 3.9.1 and add missing ${misc:Depends} in
140 * Fix debian/tocsubstvars to cope with the new way dpkg-dev handles
141 multi-lines substitution variables.
144 * Update outdated mentions, typos and tags. Closes: #578664
145 * French translation updated from the 2006 debiandoc version.
146 * Apply updated patch from Nicolas François. Closes: #257150
147 * dinstall run happens four times a day. Closes: #585161
148 * Activate Japanese package.
149 * Handle addendum if it exists.
151 -- Raphaël Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org> Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:28:03 -0400
153 developers-reference (3.4.3) unstable; urgency=low
155 * Fixed working of the repackaged tarballs section to avoid giving the
156 impression that it's a standard packages must comply with. Closes:
158 * Specify that bugs from removed packages must be closed in foo+rm.
160 * Change the maintainer address to debian-policy@, based on discussion
162 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.3. No changes needed.
163 * Update copyright notices and list of authors.
165 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:56:19 +0200
167 developers-reference (3.4.2) unstable; urgency=low
169 * Applied patch from Justin B Rye that improves the discussion on writing
170 package descriptions. Closes: #516436.
171 * Lenny has been released, update the list of codenames. Closes: #527008.
172 * Applied patch from Paul Wise that adds a paragraph about hostile
173 upstreams. Closes: #523985.
174 * Applied patch from Charles Plessy about providing information to the
175 ftpmasters. Closes: #526410.
176 * In the section about patch systems, mention quilt (wasn not
177 mentionned before) and describe it as the recommended patch system.
178 also mention dpatch and cdbs' patch system. drop dbs. Closes: #525668.
179 * Added a note in the wanna-build section to mention
180 http://release.debian.org/wanna-build.txt. Closes: #516375.
181 * Clarified NMU versioning to reflect existing practices. Closes: #532945.
182 * s/README.Debian-source/README.source/ in the section
183 about repackaged upstream tarballs.
184 * Mention the Gandi.net hosting discount in section 4.13.
185 Applied patch from Tim Retout. Closes: #538245.
186 * Reduce length of title of L10N section so that it is no longer split.
187 Applied patch from Justin B Rye. Closes: #534688.
188 * Bumped debhelper compat level to 5 (4 was deprecated)
189 * Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.2. No changes needed.
190 * Added pointer to debian-project@ post about the wanna-build team.
192 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:28:04 +0200
194 developers-reference (3.4.1) unstable; urgency=low
197 * Create a publish target in the Makefile to reenable builds on the
201 * Commited DEP1: rework the whole NMU section.
202 The most important changes are:
203 + NMUs are now explicitely allowed for all bugs, not just "serious bugs".
204 + It is recommended to use the DELAYED queue, and some example delays are
207 + Describe the process of acknowleding NMUs in a way that works
208 with the BTS's version-tracking. Closes: #480723.
209 + No longer mention that only DDs can do NMU. Don't make any
210 distinction. Closes: #464230.
211 + Switch to +nmu for NMU versioning. Closes: #437392.
212 + Mention nmudiff. Closes: #483227.
213 * Mention docbook-xml, and that debiandoc-sgml is deprecated. Thanks to
214 W. Martin Borgert for the patch. Closes: #485689.
215 * Fixed typo and example in the blurb about debug packages.
216 Thanks to Theppitak Karoonboonyanan for the patch.
218 * Update instructions on the delayed queue.
219 Thanks to Thijs Kinkhorst for the patch.
221 * Clarify wording about repackaged .orig.tar.gz.
222 Thanks to Cyril Brulebois for the patch.
224 * Improved README.contrib. Mention command to checkout the SVN
225 version. Thanks to Christine Spang for the patch.
227 * Document usertags. Thanks to Chris Lamb for the patch.
229 * Updated documentation on translation updates.
230 Thanks to Christian Perrier for the patch.
232 * Update instructions on handling of security issues.
233 Thanks to Thijs Kinkhorst for the patch.
234 Closes: #512620, #510783.
236 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:57:54 +0100
238 developers-reference (3.4.0) unstable; urgency=low
241 * Update Vcs-* fields after DDP's SVN restructuring. Closes: #483428.
242 * Fix conditions for updates from unstable to testing. Closes: #470754.
243 * linda has been removed. Remove section A.2.2. Closes: #483242.
244 * Co-maintainers are listed in the Uploaders field. Closes: #483230.
245 * Collaborative Maintenance: the 'global part' of debian/control
246 is the first paragraph, about the source package. Closes: #483231.
247 * debian-private archives are on master. Closes: #475531.
248 * Mention Debian Maintainers and the debian-maintainers package.
250 * README.contrib: document that short lines are preferred.
252 * build-rdeps allows to list reverse build-dependencies.
255 [ Marc 'HE' Brockschmidt ]
256 * Replace abused <emphasis> tags with <literal> tags.
257 * In the same spirit, wrap all uses of stable/testing/unstable and
258 release codenames in <literal>
259 * Remove reference to upload queue on auric in section 5.6.5, auric
260 doesn't exist anymore.
261 * Fix several typesetting errors and typos noticed by Sandro Tosi,
262 thanks for the notes! Closes: #483223
263 * Update several bits about release management/testing transitions
264 and release-critical bugs. Closes: #483237, #456494
265 * Update and rewrite the porting guidelines in chapter 5, bringing
266 the dev-ref up to the state of porting in the year 2008. Also
267 fixes several wording issues, such as possible misunderstandings
268 about the need to rebuild uploads. Closes: #483226
269 * Update the instructions for uploads to the (old)stable
270 distributions. Emphasize the importance of contacting the SRM
271 team before upload. Closes: #459343
272 * Update instructions for package removal requests. Closes: #454216
273 * Clarify instructions for bug reassignment, emphasizing the
274 need to inform the maintainers you reassign the bug to. Also
275 hint to using cloned bugs to avoid re-reporting. Heavily based
276 on patch by Marc Haber - thanks for the work! Closes: #484806
277 * Clarify instructions for replacing/renaming binary packages,
278 pointing out that using Provides is sometimes advisable. Closes:
280 * Update description of the madison tool (by replacing it with a
281 description of the dak ls tool). Update the example while we're
283 * Update explanation of best practice for closing bugs, seems to
284 have been forgotten when everything was upgraded to use
285 debbugs version-tracking. Closes: #485969
286 * Clarify ITP instructions and emphasize our wish that people send
287 ITPs, explaining a few of the reasons. Thanks for the note,
288 Thomas. Closes: #485837
290 + Update Uploaders to include Lucas, Raphael and me.
291 + Bump Standards-Version to 3.8.0. No changes needed!
293 -- Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:45:49 +0200
295 developers-reference (3.3.9) unstable; urgency=low
299 - bump standards-version to 3.7.3 (no change)
300 - fix debian/copyright
301 - move debhelper to Build-Depends.
302 - add pdf for French version.
303 * Document changes to stable release management. Closes: #414291
304 * Debconf error templates no longer discouraged. Thanks,
305 Christian Perrier. Closes: #427832
306 * Keyring now uses RT. Closes: #428846
307 * Document -dbg-packages within BPs. Thanks, Joey Hess. Closes: #420540
308 * NMUs now also close bugs. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum. Closes: #419507
309 * Fix documentation about gender neutral. Closes: #384178
310 * Fix typo. Closes: #405453
311 * More details on how to write documentation. Thanks, Josh Triplett.
313 * Add XS-Vcs-*. Thanks to Stefano Zacchiroli. Closes: #391023
314 * Small brushup to debconf description. Thanks, Thomas Huriaux.
316 * Document Team-Maintainence better. Thanks, Lucas Nussbaum.
318 * Add link to more removal ressources. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt,
319 Justin Pryzby. Closes: #412757, #356720
320 * Repacking source packages need to be documented in copyright.
321 Thanks, Russ Allbery. Closes: #413320
322 * Better describe version of debian native packages NMUs. Closes: #405818
323 * Source, HTML and text are now encoded in UTF-8. Thanks, Jörg Sommer.
325 * Source is now DocBook XML instead of debiandoc. Closes: #374220
328 * Add a link to enrico's excellent Debian Community Guidelines.
329 * Recommend the use of DSA's request tracker instead of mailing them.
330 * Remove reference to #debian-sf, #debian-bsd which don't exist anymore. Put
331 a reference to #debian-dpkg instead.
332 * Remove all stuff concerning non-US.
333 * Update information concerning Alioth.
334 * Update information concerning the Package Tracking System.
335 * Mention Alioth as the main resource for VCS repositories and deprecate
337 * Remove XS- prefix for Vcs-* fields since dpkg now supports them.
338 * Document the Homepage field. Thanks, Christian Perrier. Closes:
340 * Add Vcs-Svn and Vcs-Browser fields pointing to the new SVN
343 -- W. Martin Borgert <debacle@debian.org> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:16:40 +0000
345 developers-reference (3.3.8) unstable; urgency=low
347 * mia-history is replaced by mia-query. Thanks, Christoph Berg.
349 * fix missing quite. Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #365994
350 * use gnugp instead of gpg. Thanks, Justin Pryzby, Jon Dowland.
352 * better destinction between maintainer and developer. Thanks for
353 the suggestion to Colin Tuckley. Closes: #380458
354 * irc.d.o points to oftc. Thanks, Christoph Biedl, Jon Dowland.
356 * Bugs are now always closed thanks to version tracking.
357 Closes: #339552, #353447, #376199
358 * Clarify what "a conflicts b" means in testing migration.
360 * Packages in testing disappear if they're removed from unstable.
361 Thanks, Frank Küster, Al Stone. Closes: #365993
362 * Document only the most recent changelog entry is used. Thanks
363 to Kevin Glynn to the suggestion. Closes: #374738
364 * Add more tools for reverse depends. Close: #376582
365 * delayed-queue on gluck is uploaded more often now. Closes: #397907
366 * stop using capitals, minor fixes, language fixes.
367 Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Colin Tuckley, Russ Allbery.
368 Closes: #368046, #378929, #361744
369 * add CVE Ids to your changelog. Closes: #376961
370 * add reasoning why debconf questions shouldn't be longer than
371 20 lines. Thanks, Thijs Kinkhorst, Christian Perrier, Russ Allbery.
373 * section changing needs re-uploading orig.tar.gz.
374 Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #387154
375 * binary files in diffs could be en/decoded with perl.
376 Thanks, Frank Küster. Closes: #397786
377 * Add pointer to new-reject-FAQ. Closes: #324967
378 * Hint to dd-list/whodepends. Closes: #353874
379 * Don't use too generic mail ids. Closes: #355725
380 * pts/summary is actually used. Thanks, Holger Levsen. Closes: #387108
381 * clarify that one should append the NMU-diff to a bug. Closes: #394033
382 * more detailed instructions on binary package removals.
386 - French translation updated to version 3.3.8
388 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sat, 11 Nov 2006 10:55:44 -0700
390 developers-reference (3.3.7) unstable; urgency=low
393 - adjust information about distributions with reality.
394 - add note on alioth accounts. Thanks, Phillip Kern. Closes: #306630
395 - correct manpage section of dpkg-scanpackages. Closes: #297069
396 - fix RFC 2440 URL. Closes: #308103
397 - add $arch@buildd information. Closes: #295483
398 - link to keyring.d.o for key replacement. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
400 - add information about Packages-arch-specific. Thanks, Frank Küster.
402 - add hint about LWN subscription. Thanks, Martin Michlmayr.
404 - more about debconf-style translation. Thanks, Christian Perrier.
406 - non-us discontinued.
407 - document nmu changes wrt version tracking. Thanks, Justin Pryzby.
409 - fix spelling issues. Thanks to various people.
410 Closes: #336146, #326857, #338660
411 - update menu policy helpers. Thanks, Florian Ernst. Closes: #340024
412 - send mia-mail to mia@qa. Thanks, Adam D. Barratt. Closes: #341568
413 - Joerg Jaspert is now freenode contact. Closes: #344303
414 - give a clearer description of the gpg v4-key issues. Thanks,
415 Martin Michlmayr and Peter Palfrader. Closes: #317411
416 - more verbose about Homepage. Closes: #339826
417 - add sarge and etch. Closes: #327682
418 - document severity of RoM-request bugs. Closes: #305947
419 - update FSF address. Closes: #334820
420 - fix P-a-s link. Closes: #341195
421 - reflect binNMU changes. Closes: #349493
422 - new security upload queue. Closes: #352749
423 - fix experimental's sources.list entry. Closes: #347229
424 - remove deprecated "Closes:..." to ACK NMU bug fixes. Closes: #353447
425 - when resigning, gpg-sign your mail. Closes: #348160
426 - make pristine source and repackaged origtargz anchors work.
428 - same number of RC bugs is ok. Closes: #351944
429 - dpkg-source doesn't keep permissions. Thanks, Enrico Zini.
431 - also mention aspell. Closes: #320981
434 - French translation updated to version 3.3.7, proofread by Bernard Adrian
436 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 09 Apr 2006 11:31:52 -0600
438 developers-reference (3.3.6) unstable; urgency=low
441 - closes: and NMUs/experimental uploads. Closes: #284714
442 - madison is on merkel.
443 - more gender-neutral. Closes: #290583, #290584, #263114
444 - explain current incoming. Closes: #290019
445 - remove broken sponsoring URL. Closes: #291698
446 - add handling hints about orig.tar.gz. Thanks, Frank. Closes: #278524
447 - duplicate bug reports should be merged. Closes: #285381
448 - if you're on vacation, please check whether someone needs keysigning.
450 - freenode has developer cloacks. Closes: #285687
451 - cleaned up uploaders / maintainer field
452 - explain how dak detects NMUs. Closes: #292354
453 - add "mass" to lots of bugs. Closes: #292946
454 - sync NM rules with reality.
456 - French translation updated to version 3.3.6
458 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:08:49 -0700
460 developers-reference (3.3.5) unstable; urgency=low
463 - uploads to more than one dist are not possible.
464 - updated upload queues. Closes: #235213
465 - updated URL of vanilla rules files. Closes: #237557, #252048
466 - please speak with stable RM before uploading to stable. Closes: #261464
467 - information on wnpp usage synced with wnpp. Closes: #255298
468 - spelling, grammer fixes.
469 Closes: #202444, #202499, #203202, #203378, #221902, #226208
470 - add hint about partitial key id. Closes: #243968
471 - spohr is restriced, and also ftp-master. Closes: #255814
472 - bpp: Hint about locale generation as non-root. Closes: #208021
473 - bpp: deborphan-compliant transition packages. Closes: #183654
474 - add myself to uploaders.
475 - add chapter about i10n. Closes: #208156
476 - add information about dchroot. Closes: #211845
477 - add information about NEWS.Debian. Closes: #212402
478 - add information about mia-database. Closes: #213961
479 - add link to debian-mentors FAQ.
480 - add verbose information about the package description. Closes: #214792
481 - add hint about -v<version> to experimental. Closes: #232930
482 - update information about yada. Closes: #217956
483 - urgency is sticky. Closes: #261914
484 - updated information about testing distribution. Closes: #266649.
485 - rewrote the NMU section, and
486 + made the possible severities of "target bugs" clearer. Closes: #233088.
487 + mention QA uploads. Closes: #202416.
488 + add -B for binNMUs, and local debsign usage. Closes: #208839.
489 + warning about breaking all-packages by binNMU. Closes: #213348.
490 - add information about gpg usage. Closes: #175815.
491 - make key replacement instructions more details. Closes: #275921
492 - typo and language fixes. Thanks, Era Eriksson. Closes: #277576
493 - add hints about debconf templates from Christian Perrier.
495 - Security uploads get urgency=high
496 - Be even more explicit about not uploading security updates
498 - French translation updated to version 3.3.5
500 -- Andreas Barth <aba@not.so.argh.org> Mon, 22 Nov 2004 19:07:26 +0100
502 developers-reference (3.3.4) unstable; urgency=low
505 - fixed language in the PTS section, prompted by a patch from
506 Romain FRANCOISE, thank you; closes: #197741
507 - updated the mailing lists section (again)
508 - documented Alioth, somewhat
510 - French translation updated to version 3.3.3 (more or less)
511 - proofread by Patrice Karatchentzeff
513 - Don't upload security updates directly to stable
514 - Always include an external reference in security changelog entries
515 - Be careful not to re-use a version number in security uploads
516 - More explicit instructions about what is appropriate for a security
520 - replace <!entity...> with <!ENTITY...> and other SGML hygenics
522 - Release this package as is to flush changes between June and now.
523 Yes, its been an age between releases here, for which I apologize.
524 Since CVS upstream for this package is back, I'm working on closing
525 bugs in this package now, I just wanted to get it out as is before I
528 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 29 Feb 2004 14:09:48 -0500
530 developers-reference (3.3.3) unstable; urgency=low
533 - corrections by Michel Grentzinger
535 - updated documentation concerning the PTS
536 - added a paragraph about the PTS web interface
537 - documented how to add custom news item in the PTS
539 - updates and clarifications to instructions for security bugs
540 - deprecate uploads to stable for security fixes, reference
541 section on security bugs; closes: #196516
542 - use dpkg-buildpackage -B to test binary-arch, not -b;
545 - Sec "Managing sponsored packages": remove unnecessary 'debsign' cmd;
547 - fix debconf-devel(7) man page section; closes: #189512
548 - Sec "Responding to bugs": mention what FTBFS means; closes: #186605
549 - Sec "Distribution directories" renamed "Distributions"
550 - Sec "The testing distribution" moved under Sec "Distribution
551 directories" and renamed "More information about the testing
553 - Secs "Uploads to {stable,testing-proposed-updates}" retitled to make
554 it clear these are special cases
555 - Sec "Uploading to ftp-master": xref to "Delayed incoming";
557 - check compliance with Policy version 3.5.10
559 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Jun 2003 04:08:29 -0400
561 developers-reference (3.3.2) unstable; urgency=low
564 - French translation updated to version 3.3.1
565 - proofread by Philippe Batailler and Patrice Karatchentzeff
567 - French translation requires debiandoc-sgml 1.1.76 or better
569 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Apr 2003 09:48:59 -0400
571 developers-reference (3.3.1) unstable; urgency=low
574 - package description said it contained French and Japanese, fixed,
576 - Sec "Experimental": sources.list entries
577 - Sec "Basic rules for [mailing list] use": cosmetic, link to this sec
578 - Sec "Handling bugs": retitle and expand section
580 - more improvements to package synopsis and description
581 - the synopsis formula changed to either
582 <package-name> is a <synopsis>
584 <package-name> is <synopsis>
586 <package-name> are <synopsis>
588 - the synopsis itself should not start with an article
589 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control": expand intro
590 - fix doc-check URL; closes: #187144
591 - Sec "Multiple binary packages": fix awkward wording about vim source
592 package; closes: #187143
594 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 4 Apr 2003 14:26:52 -0500
596 developers-reference (3.3) unstable; urgency=low
599 - French translation updated to version 3.2.2 (more or less)
600 - proofread by Philippe Batailler
602 - added "ddtp" keyword in the PTS documentation
604 - split out the doc-files per language, closes: #177448
605 - shuffled stuff around in the packages chapter
606 - added a section describing how to handle large amounts of
607 architecture-independent data bundled with programs
608 - added best practices on debian/changelog files, based on a patch
609 kindly provided by Daniel Kobras, closes: #166388
610 - described debdiff and dpkg-depcheck, and linked to them from the
611 right places in the document, closes: #172897
612 - describe the current practice in writing synopsis lines,
616 - convert to debhelper (compat mode 4); maintainer scripts no longer
618 - split -ja and -fr versions out into separate packages
619 - top-level makefile deletes targets on error; clean is cleaner
620 - replace the manual debian/control processing to show the document's
621 table of contents (TOC) with a new script 'debian/tocsubstvars';
622 note that the TOC displayed in the developers-reference-{fr,ja}
623 package descriptions are in English until UTF8 control files are
624 allowed; proper escaping of single quotes here requires newest
626 - editorial changes on material added in this version
627 - reorder "Best Packaging Practices" a bit
628 - rework "Best practices for debian/control" based on contributions
629 from Colin Walters, Branden Robinson, Sebastian Rittau and others;
630 closes: #139957, #108416
631 - primary author is developers-reference@packages.debian.org; remove
632 emails from other authors to prevent spam and confusion
634 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:29:07 -0500
636 developers-reference (3.2.2) unstable; urgency=low
639 - slightly rewrote and updated links in the mirrors section
641 - Policy compliance checked and updated to 3.5.8, no changes needed
642 - TODO: remove some tasks which are done
643 - ship README-contrib and TODO in the doc dir
644 - Sec "Upstream home page": some revisions based on discussion on
646 - Sec "Documentation" added under Sec "Common packaging situations"
647 for best practices for documentation
648 - Add tools entries for autotools-dev, dpkg-repack, alien, debsums;
649 new Sec "Documentation and information", add entries there for
650 debview, debiandoc-sgml, debian-keyring; we believe this manual now
651 covers all of the established, general Debian maintainer tool
653 - spell-checking pass
655 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Dec 2002 13:45:23 -0500
657 developers-reference (3.2.1) unstable; urgency=low
660 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control" added, Sec "Writing useful
661 descriptions" moved under there
662 - Sec "Upstream home page" added in debian/control section
663 - Sec "Miscellaneous advice" empty, removed
664 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": tools now categorized into
665 subgroups; do cross-linking from this section into other parts of
666 the document where these tools are discussed
667 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": add entries for sbuild,
668 build-essential, linda; improved entries for pbuilder, devscripts
669 - Sec "Tools for porters" renamed and readapted to "Porting
670 infrastructure and automation"; move tool discussion down to the
671 appendix; improve Sec "buildd" a bit
672 - README-contrib added giving information for authors, contributors,
674 - eliminate the ByHand stuff, I'm pretty sure it's not needed now
675 with the DDP builder process, or if it is needed, it's a probably
676 that can be fixed by DDP folks
677 - stop shipping SGML source -- use 'apt-get source developers-reference'
678 after all, this is supposed to be a binary package, right?
679 - simply PS and PDF building rules
681 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 9 Dec 2002 03:04:19 -0500
683 developers-reference (3.2) unstable; urgency=low
686 - merged a bit misplaced lintian-reports section within the lintian
687 section and adjusted links
688 - added the missing description of dh-make and adjusted links
690 - ChangeLog attribution updates
691 - fix typos, closes: #171781
692 - expand the doc-base abstract and authors
693 - Ch "Packaging Practices" rewritten intro
694 - Sec "Packaging tools and common cases" renamed to "Best Practices
695 for debian/rules", and write an intro
696 - Sec "Helper scripts" in practices section rewritten, giving
697 arguments for and against debhelper, mostly for :)
698 - Sec "Package with multiple patches" renamed to "Patching source
699 versus patching at build time" and rewritten
700 - Sec "Multiple binary packages" rewritten
701 - Sec "Handling debconf translations" moved under an
702 "Internationalization" section, and some edits
703 - Sec "Internationalized Documentation" added under Sec
704 "Internationalization"
705 - Sec "Specific packaging practices" renamed to "Common packaging situations"
706 - Sec "Packages using autoconf/automake" rewritten
707 - Sec "Configuration management" moved forward in practices chapter
708 - Sec "Other specific packages" renamed to "Specific types of
709 packages", add info for SGML/XML and Lisp packages
710 - Sec "Writing useful descriptions" heavily edited
711 - Sec "Best practices for maintainer scripts" added, special credit
712 here to Charles Briscoe-Smith for work dating back to 1998; include
713 a POSIX shell snippet showing how to check if a command is the PATH,
715 - Apdx "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove debget, it's
716 rather useless and broken
717 - normalize up-casing on sections, which should only up-case proper
718 names and the first word
719 - new 'translation-status' script to check status of translations,
720 adapted from doc-check in boot-floppies, source pkg only --
721 oh my, French translation is 54 CVS revisions behind, and Japanese
723 - postinst: don't set /usr/doc symlink, aesthetics
724 - prerm: don't use 'command -v', it's not POSIX
725 - rules: produce md5sums file; break out a 'test' target
727 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 7 Dec 2002 02:28:06 -0500
729 developers-reference (3.1.2) unstable; urgency=low
732 - DDP publishing update
734 - doc-base file includes French and Japanese files
735 - debsign invocation was slightly wrong, closes: #170523
736 - Sec "Handling debconf translations", updates from Martin Quinson
737 for po-debconf with minimal editorial changes, closes: #169007
739 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 27 Nov 2002 21:16:30 -0500
741 developers-reference (3.1.1) unstable; urgency=low
744 - updated IRC stuff, thanks to Ben Armstrong, closes: #161403
745 - fixed/updated/extended stuff about bugs, hoping to address the
746 issue of people abusing the changelog bug closing feature
748 - added myself as co-author
749 - fix a typo in Sec "Collaborative maintenance", closes: #161488
751 - updated security information, merging in Joey's stuff from the
752 Security Team FAQ and various updates and clarifications
754 - fix some bad URLs, closes: #168357
755 - fix a grammar typo, closes: #166098
757 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 12 Nov 2002 23:15:03 -0500
759 developers-reference (3.1) unstable; urgency=low
762 - Corrected several errors with —
763 - Applied patch from Peter Palfrader, correcting
764 the URL for the Debian Voting Information page. closes: #150427
765 - Applied patch from Matej Vela, dpkg-buildpackage does no more
766 require -sa for version -0.1. closes: #150861
767 - Applied the reformulations proposed by David Kimdon. closes: #150572
768 - Applied the patch of Matt Zimmerman. Thanks Matt! closes: #145287
769 - Added the explanation about how to replace an .orig.tar.gz.
771 - Mostly deleted the paragraph about security upload in the
772 section explaining source NMU. Just added a link to point to
773 "Handling security-related bugs". closes: #159935
774 - Added a link to the Technical Committee web page (in the "Bug
775 housekeeping" section). closes: #151365
776 - Explain uploads to testing-proposed-updates, mentions briefly
777 stable-security and testing-security. closes: #149666
778 Removed the comment about uploads to frozen.
779 - Documented the "Developer's packages overview" web portal.
781 - Added a reference to debian-l10n-english in "Writing useful
782 descriptions". closes: #158609
783 - Added a Best Packaging Practice section for "Packages using
784 autoconf/automake". closes: #158045
785 - Documented associated features to db.debian.org like SSH key
786 replication and *.debian.net DNS entry. closes: #155389
787 - Added a section about "Bug Squashing Parties".
789 - removed obsolete, needless dupload variables
790 - applied linguistic fixes from David Kimdon, closes: #150572
791 - random proofreading, mostly changing he -> they
792 - added people.d.o and non-us.d.o to the Debian servers section, and
793 mostly rewrote it to exclude real machine names and be better organized
794 - updated the mailing lists section
796 - debian/changelog: remove obsolete Emacs variables
797 - editorial review of the changes above, minor tagging changes,
800 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 10 Sep 2002 21:57:41 -0400
802 developers-reference (3.0) unstable; urgency=low
805 - welcome Manoj Srivastava as a co-maintainer
806 - welcome Raphael Hertzog as a co-maintainer
808 - new Chapter "Resource for Debian Developers", incorporating
810 Ch "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines"
811 Ch "The Debian Archive"
813 - new Chapter "Managing Packages", incorporating former chapters
815 Ch "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
816 Ch "Porting and Being Ported"
817 Ch "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning Packages"
818 Ch "Handling Bugs" (retitled "Handling package bugs")
819 Sec "Bug housekeeping" (new section, some parts stubbed out)
821 - new Chapter "Beyond Packaging" recommends ways to contribute
822 to Debian beyond issues of package maintenance; incoporates
823 Ch "Interaction with Prospective Developers", retitled to
824 Sec "Interacting with Prospective Debian Developers"
825 Sec "Submitting Bugs", renamed to "Reporting Bugs"
826 Sec "QA" moved here from old Sec "Quality Assurance effort"
827 Sec "Dealing with unreachable maintainers"
829 - Sec "The Developers Database" added under Resources
830 - new Sec "Collaborative Maintenance" concerning multiple maintainers
833 - Sec "Getting started": add link to New Maintainers' Guide
834 - Sec "Debian Mentors" renamed to "Debian Mentors and Sponsors",
835 we add some info on sponsoring; also in Sec "Sponsoring packages"
836 - Section's first word capitalized, rest are normal case
837 - purge a reference to the Packaging Manual; closes: #145039
838 - misc. cross-referencing with new or moved sections
839 - change some literal quotes to ‘, ”, etc.
840 - tagging improvements: replace <tt> with <file> for files and
841 directories; since <tt><var> and <example><var> doesn't look right,
842 work-around with <...>
843 - entity'ize master.debian.org, us-upload-dir, non-us-upload-dir
844 - update copyright date
845 - some simplifications on the TeX suffix rule
846 - spell check and grammar corrections
850 - changed -e by -m in the dpkg-buildpackage command line example;
852 - clarify wording between "porter upload", "binary-only NMU", "simple
853 recompile"; closes: #102626
854 - extended "removing a package"; closes: #135560
855 - Ch "Best Packaging Practices": new chapter, including new
856 Sec "Writing useful descriptions" as a first entry in that
857 chapter; closes: #53109, #129848
858 - indicate that the list of subsections is defined in the policy;
860 - removed some cruft in `Announcing package uploads'
861 - document the testing scripts; closes: #129445
862 - explain how to reassign/close bugs of removed packages;
864 - updates the note about software subject to US patents;
866 - new Section "Contacting other maintainers" under "Beyond packaging"
867 Document the package@packages.debian.org alias; closes: #114553
868 - new Section "Package's information" under Resources
869 Document http://packages.debian.org/<package>,
870 http://bugs.debian.org/<package> and the madison utility
871 - Sec "Reporting bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/from:email@isp.com
872 - Sec "Handling bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/login@debian.org
873 - Sec "The Incoming system" in "Resources", describe how it works and
874 also speak of the DELAYED directory; closes: #135562, #136774
876 - Sec "Developer Database": added a sentence about finger
878 - update the total number of packages and the example directory tree
880 - updated the list of available architectures.
881 - commented out the "Subsections" section since it will RSN have nothing
882 to with the Debian archive. It's just a generic information field
883 of the package and nothing more.
884 - added more incentive to use experimental since it doesn't cause
885 any pain to the ftpmasters.
886 - Sec "When to do a source NMU": updated the NMU "protocol" and suggest
887 the use of the delayed queue.
888 - new Section "Acknowledging the NMUs" to explain the need to integrate
889 the changes introduced by NMUs. Insists on the fact that one shouldn't
891 - stubbed in new Section "Collaborative maintenance"
892 - stubbed in new Section "The Package Tracking System"
893 - Sec "The Package Tracking System": filled with content from
894 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, heavily updated by myself
895 - new Section "Managing sponsored packages" contributed by
896 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, slightly updated by myself
897 - new Sec "Bug housekeeping"; closes: #39519
899 - new Sec "Documentation"
900 - added Sec "IRC channels" in the Resources chapter
901 - added Sec "pbuilder" in the appendix. Mention it in the section
902 "Being kind to porter" too
903 - extended Sec "devscripts" with info about "bts" and "uscan"
904 - completed Sec "Helper scripts"
905 - completed Sec "Package with multiple patches",
906 "Multiple binary packages", "Libraries", "Other specific packages",
907 "The wise use of debconf" -- all those are quite simplistic, they
909 - integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
910 Denis Barbier -- thanks, Denis!
913 - update French translation
915 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 14 Jun 2002 01:18:19 -0400
917 developers-reference (2.11) unstable; urgency=low
920 - some grammar corrections
921 - update French translation
923 - changes in upload situation, not possible to remove from Incoming
924 anymore; closes: #135559
925 - also talk about dput a tiny bit
927 - Ch "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools":
929 - Charles Briscoe-Smith deprecates yada (I think new maintainers of
930 that would be welcome)
931 - debconf-doc mentioned for debconf
932 - debhelper: don't talk about debmake; mention how to get info on the dh-* pkgs
933 - dput: new section, closes: #129378
934 - debootstrap: new section, closes: #129377
935 - dpkg-dev-el: new section
936 - other minor wording changes
937 - Sec "Mailing Lists": where to find private archives, closes: #96780
938 - Ch "Package uploads":
939 - new Sec "Adding an entry to debian/changelog"
940 - rename Sec "Announcing new packages" to "New packages"
941 - crypto is in main, non-US is for patent restrictions, so:
942 - excise some text from "Registering as a Debian developer"
943 - changes in Sec "Uploading to ftp-master"
944 - changes in Sec "Uploading to non-US"
945 * old bugs closed out, closes: #110573
947 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 7 Apr 2002 23:34:08 -0700
949 developers-reference (2.10.0) unstable; urgency=low
951 * from Martin Michlmayr
952 - update the "Applying to Become a New Maintainer" section, with
953 review by Raphael Hertzog, closes: #133965
954 - bugs closed in NMUs should uses 'closes' changelog entries,
956 - developers are not required to subscribe to debian-private
958 - some suggestions on places to use the proper term, Debian GNU/Linux,
960 - fix some typos, closes: #133956
962 - frozen doesn't exist anymore, just testing; note, however, that
963 there is a way to upload to 'woody-proposed-updates' -- if I can
964 find some description of that, I'll document it; closes: #133948
967 - isolate a few more language-independent bits
969 - change /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc, and typo in debian/copyright,
972 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 24 Feb 2002 14:46:46 -0500
974 developers-reference (2.9.0) unstable; urgency=low
977 - created a new subsection about uploading to stable, and elaborated
979 - removed a stray sentence about stable from the paragraph about
980 security uploads (which apply to all distributions equally)
981 - replaced the nonexistent term "Security Manager" with "security officer"
982 - uploading to stable and unstable is deprecated; updated the section
983 about the experimental distribution; other fixes in the section
984 talking about uploading to distributions
985 - better organize some subsections in the section about package uploads
986 - replaced some bogus <ftppath>s with <tt>s
987 - noted how there is an upload queue on pandora, too
989 - French translation updated
991 - normalize '--' as — for prettier output
992 - integrate changes from James Troup, part of #102626
993 - typo fix thanks to Mark Hodge
995 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Oct 2001 01:03:01 -0400
997 developers-reference (2.8.8) unstable; urgency=low
1000 - a few more strong words about sponsoring
1001 - started a new chapter about the relationship between old and new
1004 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Jul 2001 17:53:47 -0400
1006 developers-reference (2.8.7) unstable; urgency=low
1009 * fix a typo in a link
1010 * dpkg-buildpackage -m<addr> flag was changed for -e<addr> when NMU'ing;
1011 update documentation accordingly
1013 * Matt Zimmerman fixes up some wording in the section talking about
1014 forwarding bugs upstream
1016 * provide proper l10n for SGML date entities; now we have &date-<LANG>
1017 entities which should be used
1018 * debian/rules: fixes for new debiandoc-sgml
1019 * debian/control: depend on debiandoc-sgml 1.1.48 or better
1021 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 21 Jun 2001 14:43:42 -0400
1023 developers-reference (2.8.6) unstable; urgency=low
1025 * fix a typo, thanks to Antoine Hulin
1026 * French version: completely up-to-date now
1027 * Makefile: add a 'validate' target
1028 * prepare and ship "upstream" ChangeLog; move the debian changelog to
1030 * all versions: change the email address to use when orphaning
1033 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 13 Apr 2001 03:32:08 -0400
1035 developers-reference (2.8.5) unstable; urgency=low
1037 * expunge references to the Debian Packaging Manual, which is now in the
1039 * Japanese version: also comment out some references packaging manual;
1040 this translation needs updating
1041 * deny request to shut down non-maintainer bug maintenance bug closure
1042 practices (closes: Bug#88623)
1043 * add some advice about U.S. citizens uploading to non-US
1045 * debian/control: Build-Depends should have been Build-Depends-Indep
1046 * French version: First complete translation of the Debian developer's
1047 reference guide. Much work done by Antoine Hulin. Reviewed by Nicolas
1049 * Portuguese version: work is started by Carlos Laviola, nothing
1050 included yet, however
1052 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 8 Apr 2001 01:25:51 -0400
1054 developers-reference (2.8.4) unstable; urgency=low
1056 * debian/control: remove reference to obsolete packaging-manual package
1058 * debian/control: fill in the description a bit more
1059 * doc-base: index.html corrected to be index.en.html
1061 * Makefile: clean is cleaner
1063 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 25 Feb 2001 12:47:06 -0500
1065 developers-reference (2.8.3) unstable; urgency=low
1067 * build and provide French and Japanese versions
1068 * devolve build logic from debian/rules to top-level Makefile
1069 * developers-reference.jp.sgml: minor changes so it will build (is out
1071 * debian/rules: stop making useless /usr/share/developers-reference dir
1073 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 22 Jan 2001 02:02:02 -0500
1075 developers-reference (2.8.2) unstable; urgency=low
1078 - fix typographic errors reported by David Martinez (closes: Bug#80740)
1079 - common.ent: upped the numbers a little bit, updated lintian reports URL
1080 - updated regarding va->klecker move, and www->people move, changed
1081 most mentions of dinstall to a generic term "archive maintenance
1082 software", removed full path to it because it is in PATH now,
1083 mentioned "dak" and "katie" (somewhat vaguely), changed week to
1084 month regarding FTP archive waiting time since that\'s more often
1085 the case, and changed weeks to hours regarding Maintainers file
1086 updates since that\'s also more often the case now, updated some
1087 URLs to entities, s/debian-doc/doc-debian/
1088 - replaced evil latin1-only quotation marks, replaced mentions of
1089 important severity (in RCB context) with serious severity, some
1091 - common.ent (1.10): fixed email-debian-user alias; updated
1092 sample-dist-dirtree (with more to come)
1093 - described testing; described package pools (this particular part
1094 required quite a bit of changes, and it might be a bit rough, but
1095 it's a start); described the frozen test cycles et al; some other
1097 - another update WRT sid/unstable/testing, from Colin Watson
1099 * debian/control: add Recommends for debian-policy, packaging-manual
1100 * update copyright notice for 2001
1101 * fix for WNPP bug filing severities from David Schleef
1102 * clarify the status of the Developers's reference as "normative"
1103 * add a reference to debconf (closes: Bug#82413)
1105 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Jan 2001 18:10:21 -0500
1107 developers-reference (2.8.1) unstable; urgency=low
1109 * update WNPP instructions, based on patch from Marcelo E. Magallon
1111 * spelling corrections, awkward grammar suggestions from Andreas Krueger
1113 * debian/rules: remove some obsolete source-depends stuff
1115 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 4 Nov 2000 13:22:21 -0500
1117 developers-reference (2.8.0) unstable; urgency=low
1119 * Almost all changes for this release are from Josip Rodin
1120 <joy@debian.org>. Thanks, Josip!
1122 * debian/control, postinst, prerm, rules: Policy 3.2.1 (closes:
1123 Bug#68929, Bug#70384)
1124 * fixed bug closing example (closes: Bug#71198)
1125 * update the perl regexp from current /usr/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog/debian
1126 * updated keyring/keyserver information (closes: Bug#67783)
1127 * updated new-maintainer stuff (closes: Bug#67841)
1128 * updated for master -> ftp-master move (closes: Bug#68369)
1129 * noted www.d.o is the right host for web pages, but all other machines
1130 could be used if necessary
1131 * reorder mentions of scp to come before FTP, as it is more secure;
1132 mention the rsync dupload method
1133 * reorder mentions of pandora <-> non-us, canonical name non-us is
1135 * other small corrections
1136 * fixed orphaning/adopting instructions with regard to the new WNPP
1137 * common.ent: fix urls for cvs.d.o, wnpp, Debian machines page,
1138 lists-archives, www.d.o BTS
1139 * common.ent: changed link for machines from devel/maintainer_contacts
1141 * Makefile: remove unnecessary subshell
1143 * Adam's change: update debian/copyright for new Policy, and put my name
1144 in there a bit with updated years; update doc-base file for FHS
1146 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 15 Oct 2000 03:25:21 -0400
1148 developers-reference (2.7.2) frozen unstable; urgency=medium
1150 * I believe this should go into frozen because (a) it's only
1151 documentation, so it can't introduce RC bugs, and (b) it fixes an
1152 error which prevented it from building properly; however, whatever
1153 ftpmaster feels is best is fine
1155 * include common.ent as well as version.ent
1156 (closes: Bug#52582, Bug#48926)
1157 * debian/rules: fix build error caused by newer debiandoc-sgml; remove
1158 constitution.en.html, since that is now located in the doc-debian
1159 package (closes: Bug#54778, Bug#42014); don't compress .pdf file
1161 * All changes below from Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
1163 * Sec. "Uploading to master" and "Uploading to pandora":
1164 explained dinstall -n (closes: Bug#45079)
1165 * Sec. "Picking a distribution": added reference to the debian-release
1166 team (closes: Bug#52906)
1167 * Sec. "Announcing package uploads": rewrote it to take care of the fact
1168 that dinstall is doing it automatically (closes: Bug#43877)
1169 * Sec. "Mailing lists": added a paragraph about debian-email
1171 * Changed the "Maintaining Your Debian Information" into "Debian
1172 Developer's Duties" (closes: Bug#28908)
1173 - added a section about the LDAP database
1174 - added a section about the "on vacation" message
1175 - added a section about the coordination with upstream developers
1177 - added a section about managing Release Critical bugs
1178 - added a section about Quality Assurance effort
1180 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 16 Apr 2000 23:24:33 -0400
1182 developers-reference (2.7.1) unstable; urgency=low
1184 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": we are transitioning away
1185 from non-free PGP -- remove allusions to non-free software such as
1186 PGPv2 or v5 insofar as possible; recommend use of DSS keys rather than
1188 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": remove PGP-centric stuff
1189 * Sec. "When bugs are closed by new uploads": describe how to close bugs
1190 via a magic changelog entry (closes: Bug#43690)
1191 * Sec. "Generating the changes file": refer to Sec. "When bugs are
1192 closed by new uploads" for closing bugs via a changelog entry
1193 * developers-reference.sgml: re-enable RCS variables in CVS sources
1194 * debian/control,rules: dynamically generate the TOC in the package
1195 description from developers-reference.sgml
1197 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 12 Sep 1999 18:15:59 -0400
1199 developers-reference (2.7.0) unstable; urgency=low
1201 * developers-reference.sgml: separated out language-independant elements
1202 into common.ent (not content changes); misc minor grammar changes
1204 * doc-base: change section for *constitution* to Debian (not 'debian')
1206 * Sec. "Stable, unstable, and sometimes frozen": mention how old stable
1207 releases are available at archive.debian.org
1208 * Sec. "Uploading to pandora (non-us)" added, remove stale
1209 information about the old anonymous ftp area (closes Bug#39541);
1210 Sec. "Other Upload Queues" added about that upload queues, added
1211 samosa and master.debian.org.jp (closes Bug#37804)
1212 * Sec. "Yada": mention that yada might not be as robust as other package
1213 producing systems, at request of the author; Sec. "equivs" added
1214 * Sec. "Moving packages": at the request of Guy Maor, clarify that this
1215 procedure is for moving packages in sections (i.e., free, contrib)
1217 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": talk about RSA keys rather
1218 than PGP keys, since I think GPG can create/handle them now; mention
1219 that the official pkg maintainer address much match an ID on your key;
1220 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": beef up the warnings a bit; point
1222 * Sec. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": clean up and
1223 clarify section; mention that all developers are expected to be
1224 subscribed to debian-private and debian-devel-announce
1225 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": remove list of machines; point to
1226 http://www.debian.org/devel/machines instead
1227 * Sec. "Release code names": potato is 2.2
1228 * Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads": talk about recompile only
1229 uploads and version numbers for this (i.e., foo_2.4-1.0.1), from a
1230 suggestion from James Troup
1231 * Sec. "buildd": mention andrea, and buildd.debian.org
1232 * Sec. "Removing packages": correct apt-cache usage
1233 * debain/rules: update standards to 3.0.1 -- since I'm not moving
1234 /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc yet, no changes were required except in the
1237 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Aug 1999 23:29:45 -0400
1239 developers-reference (2.6.8) unstable; urgency=low
1241 * when applying as a new user, the login name can be *eight* characters,
1242 not seven (thanks to Rafael Caetano dos Santos)
1244 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 21:50:04 -0400
1246 developers-reference (2.6.7) unstable; urgency=low
1248 * SGML'ish: normalize SGML elements, refill paragraphs (closes Bug#37987)
1249 * doc-base: change section to Debian -- hmm, this looks like a doc-base
1250 bug, really, but hey, who am I to refile bugs to another one of my own
1251 packages? (closes Bug#37392)
1252 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": new section for yada (um,
1253 someone who uses this should check my description), correct build ->
1254 debuild in the devscripts section (closes Bug#38053)
1256 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 01:41:45 -0400
1258 developers-reference (2.6.6) unstable; urgency=low
1260 * Sec. "The master server": note that problems on Debian ftp can be sent
1261 to ftpmaster@debian.org also
1262 * Secs. "Uploads via chiark" and "Uploads via erlangen": remove
1263 'cron-driven' (thanks Roman Hodek)
1264 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": typos corrected, note that binary-arch
1265 and binary-indep targets should work independantly (thanks Roman
1267 * Sec. "buildd": remove erroneous reference to debbuild, reorganize the
1268 section and correct typos (thank again Roman -- boy, this is the all
1270 * debian/rules: re-enable letter-sized PDFs
1272 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 9 May 1999 01:17:29 -0400
1274 developers-reference (2.6.5) unstable; urgency=low
1276 * Sec. "Architectures": correction on supported architecture in Linux
1278 * Sec. "Experimental": other reasons to use or not use the experiment
1279 archive "section", from comments by Guy Maor
1280 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": replace x86 with i386 (closes Bug#36485)
1281 * debian/rules: date printing protected from local l10n (closes Bug#36891)
1282 * Ch. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": renamed chapter; add
1284 * Sec. "Debian Servers": new, for talking about the standard servers,
1285 with intro; demoted server sections under that
1286 * Sec. "The FTP servers": was empty, removed
1287 * Sec. "The master server": fill in more info and cross-refs on how to
1289 * Sec. "The CVS server": add some more detail which should be included
1290 when requesting cvs areas; mention the cvsweb URL
1291 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": new section, list the machines for which
1292 a normal developer may have access.
1294 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 4 May 1999 03:32:21 -0400
1296 developers-reference (2.6.4) unstable; urgency=low
1298 * debian/rules: hack 'byhand' file entries to include debian version
1299 number in it, so subsequent uploads of the package into Incoming don't
1300 step all over each other
1302 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 9 Apr 1999 20:04:04 -0400
1304 developers-reference (2.6.3) unstable; urgency=low
1306 * correction from James Troup -- <keyring-maint> is indeed the correct
1307 address for PGP key updates
1309 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 13:28:58 -0400
1311 developers-reference (2.6.2) unstable; urgency=low
1313 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is not replacing anything after all
1314 * developers-reference.sgml: use public declaration
1315 * BTW, if any maintainers of translated versions of this document would
1316 like to talk to me about folding your version into the
1317 developers-reference CVS area, please get in touch with me
1319 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 04:42:29 -0400
1321 developers-reference (2.6.1) unstable; urgency=low
1323 * include Debian constitution (closes Bug#30694)
1324 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is replacing fakeroot, not libtool
1325 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key" -- give email addresses as
1326 {pgp,gpg}-update@debian.org, at James Troup's request (note to Jameas,
1327 if you see this: /usr/doc/debian-keyring/README.gz talks about
1328 <keyring-maint> instead)
1329 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools" -- add Sec. "debget"
1330 * developers-reference.sgml: minor typo correction from Tril
1332 * doc-base stuff: add abstract to developers-reference, new file for
1334 * debian/rules: minor cleanup and consistency; build PDF, not PS file;
1335 ship PDF file;.text file now has .txt extension
1336 * debian/control: set priority to optional, matching archive
1338 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 3 Apr 1999 17:17:06 -0500
1340 developers-reference (2.6.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1342 * would be nice to sneak this into slink; it's just documentation!
1343 * Ch. "Porting and Being Ported": porter information broken out into it's
1344 own chapter, Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads" and "When to do a
1345 source NMU if you are a porter" moved to this chapter; porter tool
1346 descriptions such as 'quinn-diff' moved to this section. Sec. "Being
1347 Kind to Porters" added, with tips for how to avoid making problems for
1349 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)": update for the new chapter, and
1350 tighten up the language a bit
1351 * Sec. "Monitoring bugs": add a little cron job to get an 'index maint'
1352 of outstanding bugs (closes Bug#31259), loosen language a tiny bit
1353 w.r.t. non-maintainers or submitters closing bugs (closes Bug#30394)
1354 * Sec. "Scope of This Document": point out that this file is not
1356 * Ch. "Handling Bugs": renamed from "Handling Bug Reports", incorporate
1357 some suggestions from James Troup, namely, don't mail from your root
1358 account, don't close bugs via control@bugs.debian.org; break out new
1359 sections, "Submitting Bugs" and "Responding to Bugs"
1360 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove attribution for
1361 package maintainers, since I can't keep up; add entries for fakeroot
1363 * Ch. "Maintaining Your Debian Information": new chapter, quite small
1364 right now; it mentions keyring-maint@debian.org for key modification,
1365 warns against putting private keys on multi-user machines, and talks
1366 about how to depart Debian gracefully
1367 * typo correction from Christian Hudon (closes Bug#32052)
1368 * menu file removed, obsoleted by doc-base file
1369 * parameterize some often-changing values with SGML entities, update
1370 number of available packages
1371 * use new way of notating multiple copyrights
1372 * change <tt> elements to <file> where appropriate
1374 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 11 Feb 1999 02:53:55 -0500
1376 developers-reference (2.5.0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1378 * add version.ent to docdir, needed to reconstruct from SGML
1381 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 29 Dec 1998 02:42:50 -0500
1383 developers-reference (2.5.0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1385 * not officially released
1386 * more spelling corrections
1387 * s/ppc/powerpc/ (thanks, James Troup)
1389 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Dec 1998 00:07:40 -0500
1391 developers-reference (2.5.0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1393 * not officially released
1394 * Sec. "Removing a package from Incoming": tiny section added
1395 * some PGP-centricity removed
1396 * Sec. "Adopting a package": point out that hijacking packages is not ok
1397 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": change 'NMU' to
1398 'source NMU', 'port' to 'binary NMU', shorten the window for porters a
1399 tad; fix spelling; stress that non-maintainer patches must be
1400 non-disruptive and that aesthetic issues are not suitable for fixing
1401 by non-maintainers; other fixes as suggested by interested parties
1403 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 25 Nov 1998 00:01:27 -0500
1405 developers-reference (2.5.0.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1407 * not officially released
1408 * maintainer name change (but it's still me)
1409 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": new chapter
1410 discussing NMUs and porters; Section "Interim Releases" integrated out
1411 of existance. New TOC for this section is:
1412 * 6 Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters
1413 + 6.1 Who can do a port or an NMU
1414 + 6.2 When to do a port or an NMU
1415 o 6.2.1 When to do an NMU if you are a porter
1416 + 6.3 How to do an NMU
1417 o 6.3.1 NMU version numbering
1418 o 6.3.2 NMUs must create a changelog entry
1419 o 6.3.3 NMUs must send patches, if any, to the BTS
1420 o 6.3.4 Building the NMU
1421 + 6.4 Guidelines for Porters
1423 * Sec. "Maintainer changes": renamed to "Adopting a package" and moved
1424 to Chapter "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning
1426 * Sec. "Reporting lots of bugs at once": more forcefully deprecate this
1428 * Sec. "Adopting a package": mention that the BTS maintainer update can
1429 take a couple of weeks
1430 * Sec. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": give credit where credit
1431 is due and attribute current maintainers; add `apt'; add `quinn-diff';
1432 add mention of as yet unreleased 'buildd' package, since I'm so
1433 excited about it and can't wait
1434 * Sec. "Removing packages": talk about how apt-cache can be used to look
1435 at reverse depends, a good step to take prior to removing a package
1437 * show *full* TOC, including sect2
1438 * of course the obligatory typo, grammar, and spelling corrections
1440 * Makefile: small changes to accomodate DDP autobuild
1441 * debian/dirs: obsolete, removed
1442 * debian/rules: use changelog date for SGML timestamping, not current date
1444 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Nov 1998 12:27:53 -0500
1446 developers-reference (2.5.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1448 * move to 3-level version number:
1449 top-level version number probably won't change for a while, it is the
1450 "major", the second-level number means significant content changes,
1451 and the third-level change means corrections and minor improvements.
1452 Since this version has significant content changes, we are now 2.5.0.
1453 Since I'm going to put porter instructions in the next major rev, that
1456 * use new <package> tag where appropriate (Ardo, you rock)
1457 * replace 'm86k' with 'm68k'
1458 * rename 'Whirlwind Tour of ...' section to 'Overview of ...' (suggested
1460 * typos and "red-pen" corrections, fix cosmetic problems in PostScript
1462 * remove the one case I use an URL fragment identifier, since
1463 debiandoc-sgml doesn't like it (bug filed against debiandoc-sgml)
1464 * debian/rules: cosmetic cleanups, loosen check for root
1465 * debian/rules: build PostScript version during build, since it's nice
1466 to have all my debiandoc2* scripts together
1467 * debian/control: policy compliant to 2.5.0
1469 * advise against uploading when a package has lintian problems of
1471 * "Mailing Lists and Servers":
1472 - "The master server": mention how master is the home of the BTS;
1473 mention how users need to take care with their accounts on master
1474 - "The WWW servers": fill in www.debian.org, first pass, and discuss
1475 how to put up your own web pages on va or master
1476 - "The CVS server": new section added
1477 - "Mirrors of Debian servers": new section added; point to info about
1479 * "Applying to Become a Maintainer": do not advise resending initial
1480 application; instead, simply mail a followup asking new maintainers
1481 whether they go the initial application (closes Bug #28739); mention
1482 that calls usually come in the evening; mention that if you use PGP
1483 v5, you need to generate an RSA key (right?); clarify our intentions
1484 with respect to GPG.
1485 * "Release code names": Debian 2.2 is 'potato'
1486 * "Distribution directories": give concrete examples, hopefully making
1487 it clearer where to look in Debian archives for specific stuff;
1488 mention that old distributions are moved to archive servers (is there
1489 a canonical location?)
1490 * "The override file": new section, added under "Notification that a new
1491 package has been installed"; fill it out quite a bit
1492 * "Uploading to *": reiterate thrice not to upload export
1493 controlled-software to master, or the European queues on erlangen and
1495 * "Picking a distribution": section broken out from "Generating the
1497 * "Uploading to frozen": new section, almost straight from Brian White
1498 (hope you don't mind!) -- isn't that topical?
1499 * "Interim releases": if you NMU a new upstream version (0.1), run
1500 'dpkg-buildpackage -sa'
1502 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:03:43 -0500
1504 developers-reference (2.4.1.5) unstable; urgency=low
1506 * Fix instructions for new maintainers, incorporating the actual text
1507 sent to prospective new maintainers. Improve this text a bit for
1508 readability, coverage, and organization. Significant changes were
1509 patched back to the new-maintainers group, if they care to use
1510 them. (closes Bug#26948)
1511 * Add an introductory "Scope" chapter which helps delineate what should
1512 and should not be included in this Reference.
1513 * Add a new chapter, "Whirlwind Tour of Debian Maintainer Tools". Let
1514 me know what useful tools I forgot -- remember, Debian-specific
1515 maintainer tools only!
1516 * Add discussion of the "experimental" distribution, culled from an email
1517 from Guy Maor on debian-devel.
1518 * Incorporated suggestions from Branden Robinson (closes Bug#27211).
1519 * Point to doc-debian's mailing list instructions where relevant.
1520 * Made references to online documentation into URLs where possible.
1521 * Little corrections here and there.
1522 * add a Makefile for use in the DDP manual hierarchy
1523 * debian/rules: comment out my 'source-depends' hack; it's just slowing
1526 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 1 Oct 1998 03:42:43 -0400
1528 developers-reference (2.4.1.4) unstable; urgency=low
1530 * fill in Section "The master server" a bit; other servers to follow
1531 * in Section "Distribution directories", mention that distributions
1532 are always in 'dists' subdir of the Debian archive; talk about
1534 * in Section "Release code names", talk about 'sid' a bit
1535 * in Section "Interim releases", talk about how non-maintainers should
1536 use the BTS, and bug severity "fixed" (closes Bug#17524)
1537 * in Section "Generating the changes file", talk about how to set the
1538 distribution in the debian/changelog file (i.e., "frozen unstable")
1539 * add a new Section "Checking the package prior to upload" to Section
1540 "Uploading a package", mentioning lintian and other tests one should
1541 do prior to uploading
1542 * add new Section "Notification that a new package has been installed"
1543 in Section "Uploading a package", talking about dinstall and the
1545 * add new Sections "Moving packages", "Removing packages", "Replacing or
1546 renaming packages", and "Orphaning a package" (closes Bug#26650)
1547 * add new Section "Bugs in your packages", talking about maintainer
1548 duties with respect to bugs
1549 * add new Section "Lintian reports" under "Handling bugs reports",
1550 talking about how maintainers should check their packages with lintian
1551 every now and then, alternatively pointing them to the lintian web
1553 * clarify, a bit, the use of "section" and "subsection", bringing it
1554 into line with the usage in the Policy Manual and Packaging Manual
1555 * grammar and markup changes throughout
1556 * debian/rules: added a crude source-depends rule, which renders more
1557 explicit what is used to build this package
1559 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Mon, 21 Sep 1998 00:51:46 -0400
1561 developers-reference (2.4.1.3) unstable; urgency=low
1564 * version number and date are automatically populated now
1565 * changed doc-base section to "debian"
1566 * debian/rules: better abstraction and organization
1567 * reformat SGML like I happen to like it
1568 * utilize the new URL tag
1569 * build PostScript on letter size, I hear thats better for A4 and US
1572 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 16 Jul 1998 00:52:35 -0400
1574 developers-reference (2.4.1.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1576 * non-maintainer release
1577 * rebuilt since HTML versions of Chapters 1 and 2 were truncated
1578 (important bug, no number yet, bugs.debian.org isn't working;
1579 regardless, this should go in hamm because a broken developers
1580 reference won't win us many friends in hamm, and after all, it's just
1581 text, it can't hurt you.)
1582 * no content changes, except that the version number in the SGML file
1583 reflect this packages version number
1584 * debian/rule: clean is cleaner now
1586 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Tue, 16 Jun 1998 01:35:39 -0400
1588 developers-reference (2.4.1.1) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1592 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Thu, 14 May 1998 21:56:36 +0200
1594 developers-reference (2.4.1.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
1596 * New version numbering scheme:
1598 - The version numbers are independent of dpkg now, but all policy
1599 manuals (the Debian Policy Manual, the Debian Packaging Manual, and
1600 the Debian Developer's Reference) share the same version numbering
1603 - The first three digits of the version number specify the
1604 `Standards-Version.' This number is incremented with each policy
1605 change. The fourth digit represents the `patch-level,' which may
1606 differ between the manuals.
1608 If only the patch-level digit is incremented, no changes in policy
1609 have been made, except bug fixes and clarifications. Packages only
1610 have to specify the first three digits of the version number in the
1611 `Standards-Version' field of their source packages.
1613 * Uploaded to frozen and unstable. This is a documentation-only
1614 package and the changes to the manual are relevant for hamm.
1616 * No changes to the Developer's Reference
1618 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Mon, 13 Apr 1998 17:54:43 +0200
1620 developers-reference (0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1622 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1624 - Changed section 1.2 Registering as a Debian developer:
1625 + signatures from formal certification service are _NOT_ accepted
1627 + images of ID documents have to be PGP or RSA signed
1628 (as requested by James Troup)
1630 - Use current date instead of <date> in manual
1632 * Updated FSF's address (reported by Lintian)
1634 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sat, 7 Mar 1998 13:52:15 +0100
1636 developers-reference (0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1638 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1640 - Renamed chapter 4 into `Package uploads'
1642 - New section 4.2.5 Uploading to the non-us server
1644 - Changed section 4.4 Interim releases:
1645 + non-maintainer releases should not close bugs
1646 + normal maintainer must at least read the patch provided with
1647 the non-maintainer release
1649 - New chapter 5 Handling bug reports:
1650 + when reporting more then 10 bugs on the same topic, a message
1651 has to be sent to debian-devel and the `maintonly' address
1654 - Lots of typos fixed
1656 * Compressed SGML source code
1658 * Added support for doc-base to register the Developer's Reference
1659 to the online documentation systems dwww and dhelp
1661 * Upgraded to standards version 2.4.0.0 (no changes)
1663 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Fri, 30 Jan 1998 21:58:34 +0100
1665 developers-reference (0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1667 * Put lost sections from Policy Manual 2.1.3.3 back in:
1668 - Generating the changes file (for uploads)
1669 - Announcing package uploads
1670 * New section about Debian Mentors
1671 * debian/rules: Don't use debstd anymore
1672 * debian/rules: Compress changelog file (fixes:#15441)
1673 * Fixed link to WNPP list (fixes:#16201)
1674 * Added menu entry (fixes:#15708)
1676 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Wed, 24 Dec 1997 13:54:33 +0100
1678 developers-reference (0.2) unstable; urgency=low
1680 * New chapter about `The Debian Archive' describing the structure
1681 of our FTP server and the development process
1682 * Added note that new maintainers have to read the Social Contract
1683 and have to know where to find the Policy and Packaging Manuals
1684 * PGP key ring is not distributed via dpkg but in doc/ of the FTP
1686 * Added note that cross posting between Debian lists is depreciated
1687 * New list of advantages why new packages should be discussed on
1688 debian-devel before they are uploaded
1689 * Added section about how packages are uploaded
1690 * Added note that the Security Managers may do interim releases without
1691 contacting the maintainer
1692 * Removed chapter about bug tracking system (will be included in
1693 a new manual released soon)
1694 * Some minor changes
1695 * Include SGML source in package
1696 * Don't use `2-up' style for PostScript version
1697 * Upgraded to Standards 2.3.0.1
1699 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:53:26 +0100
1701 developers-reference (0.1) unstable; urgency=low
1705 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Tue, 8 Jul 1997 00:19:49 +0200