<h2>The checklist</h2>
<pre>
-3.8.1.0 unreleased
+3.8.3.0 Aug 2009
+
+ * Add DEB_*_ARCH_CPU and DEB_*_ARCH_OS variables and recommend them
+ over GNU-style variables for that information. [4.9]
+ * Source package Architecture fields may contain "all" in combination
+ with other architectures. Clarify when "all" and "any" may be used
+ in different versions of the field. [5.6.8]
+ * The Debian archive software does not support uploading to multiple
+ distributions with one *.changes file. [5.6.14]
+ * The Binary field may span multiple lines. [5.6.19]
+ * Remove the permission for shared library packages to install
+ libraries in a non-standard location and modify ld.so.conf.
+ Packages should either be installed in a standard library directory
+ or packages using them should be built with RPATH. [10.2]
+ * Clarify installation directories for X programs and remove the
+ requirement to pre-depend on x11-common before installing into
+ /usr/include/X11 and /usr/lib/X11. [11.8.7]
+ * Remove the requirement that all characters in a manual page be
+ representable in the legacy encoding for that language. [12.1]
+ * Localized man pages should either be kept up-to-date with the
+ original version or warn that they're not up-to-date, either with
+ warning text or by showing missing or changed portions in the
+ original language. [12.1]
+ * install-info is now handled via triggers so packages no longer need
+ to invoke it in maintainer scripts. Info documents should now have
+ directory sections and entries in the document. Packages
+ containing info documents should add a dependency to support
+ partial upgrades. [12.2]
+ * The requirement for Perl modules to have a versioned Depend and
+ Build-Depend on perl >= 5.6.0-16 has been removed. [perl]
+
+3.8.2.0 Jun 2009
+
+ * The list of archive sections has been significantly expanded. See
+ http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2009/03/msg00010.html
+ for the list of new sections and rules for how to categorize
+ packages. [2.4]
+ * All packages must use debconf or equivalent for user prompting,
+ though essential packages or their dependencies may also fall
+ back on other methods. [3.9.1]
+ * The requirements for source package names are now explicitly
+ spelled out. [5.6.1]
+ * Legacy XFree86 servers no longer get a special exception from the
+ FHS permitting /etc/X11/XF86Config-4. [9.1]
+ * Removed obsolete dependency requirements for packages that use
+ /var/mail. [9.1.3]
+ * Speedo fonts are now deprecated. The X backend was disabled
+ starting in lenny. [11.8.5]
+ * The GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 is included in
+ common-licenses and should be referenced from there. [12.5]
+
+3.8.1.0 Mar 2009
* Care should be taken when adding functionality to essential and
such additions create an obligation to support that functionality
* New nocheck option for DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS indicating any build-time
test suite provided by the package should not be run. [4.9.1]
* All control files must be encoded in UTF-8. [5.1]
+ * debian/control allows comment lines starting with # with no
+ preceding whitespace. [5.2]
+ * Init scripts ending in .sh are not handled specially. They are not
+ sourced and are not guaranteed to be run by /bin/sh regardless of
+ the #! line. This brings Policy in line with the long-standing
+ behavior of the init system in Debian. [9.3]
* The start action of an init script must exit successfully and not
start the daemon again if it's already running. [9.3.2]
+ * /var/run and /var/lock may be mounted as temporary filesystems, and
+ init scripts must therefore create any necessary subdirectories
+ dynamically. [9.3.2]
* /bin/sh scripts may assume that local can take multiple variable
arguments and supports assignment. [10.4]
+ * User mailboxes may be mode 600 and owned by the user rather than
+ mode 660, owned by user, and group mail. [11.6]
3.8.0.0 Jun 2008