r1713: releasing version 4.2.19

[debhelper.git] / debhelper.pod

diff --git a/debhelper.pod b/debhelper.pod
index 5a80de2fcca1e601659300e18dfed484b7e9b9ed..a6ec5daa5511a6f10280385b6f7da8c351795fb2 100644 (file)
--- a/debhelper.pod
+++ b/debhelper.pod
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ pages for additional documentation.
 
 =back
 
+If a program's name starts with "dh_", and the program is not on the above
+list, then it is not part of the debhelper package, but it should still
+work like the other programs described on this page.
+
 =head1 DEBHELPER CONFIG FILES
 
 Many debhelper commands make use of files in F<debian/> to control what they
@@ -47,10 +51,12 @@ be used to configure the behavior of specific debhelper commands. These
 files are typically named debian/package.foo (where "package" of course,
 is replaced with the package that is being acted on).
 
-For example,
-dh_installdocs uses files named debian/package.docs to list the documentation
-files it will install. See the man pages of individual commands for details
-about the names and formats of the files they use.
+For example, dh_installdocs uses files named debian/package.docs to list
+the documentation files it will install. See the man pages of individual
+commands for details about the names and formats of the files they use.
+Generally, these files will list files to act on, one file per line. Some
+programs in debhelper use pairs of files and destinations or slightly more
+complicated formats.
 
 Note that if a package is the first (or only) binary package listed in
 debian/control, debhelper will use debian/foo if no debian/package.foo
@@ -102,7 +108,7 @@ for the package, the package should not be acted on on other architectures. So
 this flag makes the command act on all "Architecture: any" packages, as well
 as on any packages that have the current architecture explicitly specified.
 Contrast to the -a flag, which makes the command work on all packages that
-are not architecture independant.
+are not architecture independent.
 
 =item B<-N>I<package>, B<--no-package=>I<package>
 
@@ -293,8 +299,7 @@ the generated dependancy line in the shlibs file.
 =item -
 
 You are encouraged to put the new ${misc:Depends} into debian/control to
-suppliment the ${shlibs:Depends} field. In particular, the new
-dh_installinit feature needs a versioned dependency on sysvinit.
+suppliment the ${shlibs:Depends} field.
 
 =item -
 
@@ -320,6 +325,15 @@ files into the package, and use dh_link to set up the symlink (or do it by
 hand), and debhelper should do the right thing: notice it is a dangling
 symlink and not try to install a copyright file or changelog.
 
+=head2 udebs
+
+Debhelper includes support for udebs. To create a udeb with debhelper,
+add "XC-Package-Type: udeb" to the package's stanza in debian/control, and
+build-depend on debhelper (>= 4.2). Debhelper will try to create udebs that
+comply with debian-installer policy, by making the generated package files
+end in ".udeb", not installing any documentation into a udeb, skipping over
+preinst, postrm, prerm, and config scripts, etc.
+
 =head2 Other notes
 
 In general, if any debhelper program needs a directory to exist under
@@ -356,13 +370,11 @@ Set to 1 to enable no-act mode.
 
 =item DH_OPTIONS
 
-Anything in this variable will be prepended to the command line
-arguments of all debhelper commands. This is useful in some situations,
-for example, if you need to pass -p to all debhelper commands that will be
-run. If you use DH_OPTIONS, be sure to build depend on "debhelper >= 1.1.17" --
-older debhelpers will ignore it and do things you don't want them to. One very
-good way to set DH_OPTIONS is by using "Target-specific Variable Values" in
-your debian/rules file. See the make documentation for details on doing this.
+Anything in this variable will be prepended to the command line arguments
+of all debhelper commands. This is useful in some situations, for example,
+if you need to pass -p to all debhelper commands that will be run. One good
+way to set DH_OPTIONS is by using "Target-specific Variable Values" in your
+debian/rules file. See the make documentation for details on doing this.
 
 =item DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE
 
@@ -377,6 +389,9 @@ tarball that (unwisely) includes CVS directories, you might want to export
 DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE=CVS in debian/rules, to make it take effect wherever
 your package is built.
 
+Multiple things to exclude can be separated with colons, as in
+DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE=CVS:.svn
+
 =back
 
 =head1 SEE ALSO