<heading>Copyright considerations</heading>
<p>
- Every package must be accompanied by a verbatim copy of
- its copyright and distribution license in the file
+ Every package must be accompanied by a verbatim copy of its
+ copyright information and distribution license in the file
<file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/copyright</file>
(see <ref id="copyrightfile"> for further details).
</p>
<em>ruby</em>, <em>science</em>, <em>shells</em>, <em>sound</em>,
<em>tex</em>, <em>text</em>, <em>utils</em>, <em>vcs</em>,
<em>video</em>, <em>web</em>, <em>x11</em>, <em>xfce</em>,
- <em>zope</em>.
+ <em>zope</em>. The additional section <em>debian-installer</em>
+ contains special packages used by the installer and is not used
+ for normal Debian packages.
+ </p>
+
+ <p>
+ For more information about the sections and their definitions,
+ see the <url id="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/"
+ name="list of sections in unstable">.
</p>
</sect>
<sect id="dpkgcopyright">
<heading>Copyright: <file>debian/copyright</file></heading>
<p>
- Every package must be accompanied by a verbatim copy of
- its copyright and distribution license in the file
+ Every package must be accompanied by a verbatim copy of its
+ copyright information and distribution license in the file
<file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/copyright</file>
(see <ref id="copyrightfile"> for further details). Also see
<ref id="pkgcopyright"> for further considerations related
no new original source archive is being distributed the
<tt>.dsc</tt> must still contain the <tt>Files</tt> field
entry for the original source archive
- <file><var>package</var>-<var>upstream-version</var>.orig.tar.gz</file>,
+ <file><var>package</var>_<var>upstream-version</var>.orig.tar.gz</file>,
but the <file>.changes</file> file should leave it out. In
this case the original source archive on the distribution
site must match exactly, byte-for-byte, the original
<heading>Controlling terminal for maintainer scripts</heading>
<p>
- The maintainer scripts are guaranteed to run with a
- controlling terminal and can interact with the user.
- Because these scripts may be executed with standard output
- redirected into a pipe for logging purposes, Perl scripts
- should set unbuffered output by setting <tt>$|=1</tt> so
- that the output is printed immediately rather than being
- buffered.
+ Maintainer scripts are not guaranteed to run with a controlling
+ terminal and may not be able to interact with the user. They
+ must be able to fall back to noninteractive behavior if no
+ controlling terminal is available. Maintainer scripts that
+ prompt via a program conforming to the Debian Configuration
+ Management Specification (see <ref id="maintscriptprompt">) may
+ assume that program will handle falling back to noninteractive
+ behavior.
</p>
</sect>
+
<sect id="exitstatus">
<heading>Exit status</heading>
</example>
If this works, then the old-version is
"Installed", if not, the old version is in a
- "Failed-Config" state.
+ "Half-Configured" state.
</item>
</enumlist>
</item>
If this fails, the package is left in a
"Half-Installed" state, which requires a
reinstall. If it works, the packages is left in
- a "Config Files" state.
+ a "Config-Files" state.
</item>
<item>
Otherwise (i.e., the package was completely purged):
<var>new-postrm</var> abort-install
</example>
If the error-unwind fails, the package is in a
- "Half Installed" phase, and requires a
+ "Half-Installed" phase, and requires a
reinstall. If the error unwind works, the
package is in a not installed state.
</item>
<var>old-preinst</var> abort-upgrade <var>new-version</var>
</example>
If this fails, the old version is left in a
- "Half Installed" state. If it works, dpkg now
+ "Half-Installed" state. If it works, dpkg now
calls:
<example compact="compact">
<var>new-postrm</var> abort-upgrade <var>old-version</var>
</example>
If this fails, the old version is left in a
- "Half Installed" state. If it works, dpkg now
+ "Half-Installed" state. If it works, dpkg now
calls:
<example compact="compact">
<var>old-postinst</var> abort-upgrade <var>new-version</var>
</example>
</p>
<p>
- If this fails, the package is in a "Failed-Config"
+ If this fails, the package is in a "Half-Configured"
state, or else it remains "Installed".
</p>
</item>
be <em>unpacked</em> the pre-dependency can be
satisfied if the depended-on package is either fully
configured, <em>or even if</em> the depended-on
- package(s) are only unpacked or in the "Failed-Config"
+ package(s) are only unpacked or in the "Half-Configured"
state, provided that they have been configured
correctly at some point in the past (and not removed
or partially removed since). In this case, both the
previously-configured and currently unpacked or
- "Failed-Config" versions must satisfy any version
+ "Half-Configured" versions must satisfy any version
clause in the <tt>Pre-Depends</tt> field.
</p>
<p>
A package will not be regarded as causing breakage merely
because its configuration files are still installed; it must
- be at least half-installed.
+ be at least "Half-Installed".
</p>
<p>
<p>
A package will not cause a conflict merely because its
configuration files are still installed; it must be at least
- half-installed.
+ "Half-Installed".
</p>
<p>
</p>
</item>
- <tag>1000-29999:</tag>
+ <tag>1000-59999:</tag>
<item>
<p>
Dynamically allocated user accounts. By default
</p>
</item>
- <tag>30000-59999:</tag>
- <item>
- <p>Reserved.</p>
- </item>
-
<tag>60000-64999:</tag>
<item>
<p>
</p>
</sect1>
- <sect1>
+ <sect1 id="writing-init">
<heading>Writing the scripts</heading>
<p>
option.
</p>
+ <p>
+ Be careful of using <tt>set -e</tt> in <file>init.d</file>
+ scripts. Writing correct <file>init.d</file> scripts requires
+ accepting various error exit statuses when daemons are already
+ running or already stopped without aborting
+ the <file>init.d</file> script, and common <file>init.d</file>
+ function libraries are not safe to call with <tt>set -e</tt>
+ in effect<footnote>
+ <tt>/lib/lsb/init-functions</tt>, which assists in writing
+ LSB-compliant init scripts, may fail if <tt>set -e</tt> is
+ in effect and echoing status messages to the console fails,
+ for example.
+ </footnote>. For <tt>init.d</tt> scripts, it's often easier
+ to not use <tt>set -e</tt> and instead check the result of
+ each command separately.
+ </p>
+
<p>
If a service reloads its configuration automatically (as
in the case of <prgn>cron</prgn>, for example), the
<prgn>anacron</prgn>. Thus, you should only use this
directory for jobs which may be skipped if the system is not
running.)</p>
+ <p>
+ Unlike <file>crontab</file> files described in the IEEE Std
+ 1003.1-2008 (POSIX.1) available from
+ <url id="http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/"
+ name="The Open Group">, the files in
+ <file>/etc/cron.d</file> and the file
+ <file>/etc/crontab</file> have seven fields; namely:
+ <enumlist>
+ <item>Minute [0,59]</item>
+ <item>Hour [0,23]</item>
+ <item>Day of the month [1,31]</item>
+ <item>Month of the year [1,12]</item>
+ <item>Day of the week ([0,6] with 0=Sunday)</item>
+ <item>Username</item>
+ <item>Command to be run</item>
+ </enumlist>
+ Ranges of numbers are allowed. Ranges are two numbers
+ separated with a hyphen. The specified range is inclusive.
+ Lists are allowed. A list is a set of numbers (or ranges)
+ separated by commas. Step values can be used in conjunction
+ with ranges.
+ </p>
<p>
- The scripts or crontab entries in these directories should
+ The scripts or <tt>crontab</tt> entries in these directories should
check if all necessary programs are installed before they
try to execute them. Otherwise, problems will arise when a
package was removed but not purged since configuration files
- are kept on the system in this situation.</p>
+ are kept on the system in this situation.
+ </p>
+
+ <p>
+ Any <tt>cron</tt> daemon must provide
+ <file>/usr/bin/crontab</file> and support normal
+ <tt>crontab</tt> entries as specified in POSIX. The daemon
+ must also support names for days and months, ranges, and
+ step values. It has to support <file>/etc/crontab</file>,
+ and correctly execute the scripts in
+ <file>/etc/cron.d</file>. The daemon must also correctly
+ execute scripts in
+ <file>/etc/cron.{hourly,daily,weekly,monthly}</file>.
+ </p>
</sect>
<sect id="menus">
language currently used to implement it.
</p>
<p>
- Shell scripts (<prgn>sh</prgn> and <prgn>bash</prgn>)
- should almost certainly start with <tt>set -e</tt> so that
- errors are detected. Every script should use
- <tt>set -e</tt> or check the exit status of <em>every</em>
- command.
+ Shell scripts (<prgn>sh</prgn> and <prgn>bash</prgn>) other than
+ <file>init.d</file> scripts should almost certainly start
+ with <tt>set -e</tt> so that errors are detected.
+ <file>init.d</file> scripts are something of a special case, due
+ to how frequently they need to call commands that are allowed to
+ fail, and it may instead be easier to check the exit status of
+ commands directly. See <ref id="writing-init"> for more
+ information about writing <file>init.d</file> scripts.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ Every script should use <tt>set -e</tt> or check the exit status
+ of <em>every</em> command.
</p>
-
<p>
Scripts may assume that <file>/bin/sh</file> implements the
SUSv3 Shell Command Language<footnote>
security policy by changing the permissions on a binary:
they can do this by using <prgn>dpkg-statoverride</prgn>, as
described below.<footnote>
- Ordinary files installed by <prgn>dpkg</prgn> (as
- opposed to <tt>conffile</tt>s and other similar objects)
- normally have their permissions reset to the distributed
- permissions when the package is reinstalled. However,
- the use of <prgn>dpkg-statoverride</prgn> overrides this
- default behavior. If you use this method, you should
- remember to describe <prgn>dpkg-statoverride</prgn> in
- the package documentation; being a relatively new
- addition to Debian, it is probably not yet well-known.
+ Ordinary files installed by <prgn>dpkg</prgn> (as
+ opposed to <tt>conffile</tt>s and other similar objects)
+ normally have their permissions reset to the distributed
+ permissions when the package is reinstalled. However,
+ the use of <prgn>dpkg-statoverride</prgn> overrides this
+ default behavior.
</footnote>
Another method you should consider is to create a group for
people allowed to use the program(s) and make any setuid
<p>
Please note that this does not override the section on
changelog files below, so the file
- <file>/usr/share/<var>package</var>/changelog.Debian.gz</file>
+ <file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/changelog.Debian.gz</file>
must refer to the changelog for the current version of
<var>package</var> in question. In practice, this means
that the sources of the target and the destination of the
<p>
Every package must be accompanied by a verbatim copy of its
- copyright and distribution license in the file
+ copyright information and distribution license in the file
<file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/copyright</file>. This
file must neither be compressed nor be a symbolic link.
</p>
</p>
<p>
- The maintainer scripts are guaranteed to run with a
- controlling terminal and can interact with the user.
- See <ref id="controllingterminal">.
+ The maintainer scripts are not guaranteed to run with a
+ controlling terminal and may not be able to interact with
+ the user. See <ref id="controllingterminal">.
</p>
</item>
</p>
</sect1>
-
- <sect1 id="pkg-dpkgchangelog">
- <heading><file>debian/changelog</file></heading>
-
- <p>
- See <ref id="dpkgchangelog">.
- </p>
-
- <sect2><heading>Defining alternative changelog formats
- </heading>
-
- <p>
- It is possible to use a different format to the standard
- one, by providing a parser for the format you wish to
- use.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- In order to have <tt>dpkg-parsechangelog</tt> run your
- parser, you must include a line within the last 40 lines
- of your file matching the Perl regular expression:
- <tt>\schangelog-format:\s+([0-9a-z]+)\W</tt> The part in
- parentheses should be the name of the format. For
- example, you might say:
- <example>
- @@@ changelog-format: joebloggs @@@
- </example>
- Changelog format names are non-empty strings of alphanumerics.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- If such a line exists then <tt>dpkg-parsechangelog</tt>
- will look for the parser as
- <file>/usr/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog/<var>format-name</var></file>
- or
- <file>/usr/local/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog/<var>format-name</var></file>;
- it is an error for it not to find it, or for it not to
- be an executable program. The default changelog format
- is <tt>dpkg</tt>, and a parser for it is provided with
- the <tt>dpkg</tt> package.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- The parser will be invoked with the changelog open on
- standard input at the start of the file. It should read
- the file (it may seek if it wishes) to determine the
- information required and return the parsed information
- to standard output in the form of a series of control
- fields in the standard format. By default it should
- return information about only the most recent version in
- the changelog; it should accept a
- <tt>-v<var>version</var></tt> option to return changes
- information from all versions present <em>strictly
- after</em> <var>version</var>, and it should then be an
- error for <var>version</var> not to be present in the
- changelog.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- The fields are:
- <list compact="compact">
- <item><qref id="f-Source"><tt>Source</tt></qref></item>
- <item><qref id="f-Version"><tt>Version</tt></qref> (mandatory)</item>
- <item><qref id="f-Distribution"><tt>Distribution</tt></qref> (mandatory)</item>
- <item><qref id="f-Urgency"><tt>Urgency</tt></qref> (mandatory)</item>
- <item><qref id="f-Maintainer"><tt>Maintainer</tt></qref> (mandatory)</item>
- <item><qref id="f-Date"><tt>Date</tt></qref></item>
- <item><qref id="f-Changes"><tt>Changes</tt></qref> (mandatory)</item>
- </list>
- </p>
-
- <p>
- If several versions are being returned (due to the use
- of <tt>-v</tt>), the urgency value should be of the
- highest urgency code listed at the start of any of the
- versions requested followed by the concatenated
- (space-separated) comments from all the versions
- requested; the maintainer, version, distribution and
- date should always be from the most recent version.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- For the format of the <tt>Changes</tt> field see
- <ref id="f-Changes">.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- If the changelog format which is being parsed always or
- almost always leaves a blank line between individual
- change notes these blank lines should be stripped out,
- so as to make the resulting output compact.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- If the changelog format does not contain date or package
- name information this information should be omitted from
- the output. The parser should not attempt to synthesize
- it or find it from other sources.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- If the changelog does not have the expected format the
- parser should exit with a nonzero exit status, rather
- than trying to muddle through and possibly generating
- incorrect output.
- </p>
-
- <p>
- A changelog parser may not interact with the user at
- all.
- </p>
- </sect2>
- </sect1>
-
<sect1 id="pkg-srcsubstvars">
<heading><file>debian/substvars</file> and variable substitutions</heading>
projects / debian / debian-policy.git / blobdiff