From e838d3860e3268d1a6fc87c63283c96bf4d56e7f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Manoj Srivastava
Reduce the coupling between policy and
- implementation. If this separtion is not made, every
+ implementation. If this separation is not made, every
time we want to change menu policy, we have to arrange
to get the maintainer to release a new version of the
package, even if the package has not otherwise
@@ -123,9 +123,9 @@
If you have a package which doesn't fit within the existing
- menu heirarchy, please bring it up on the debian-devel mailing
+ menu hierarchy, please bring it up on the debian-devel mailing
list. If you have other proposals for changing the menu
- heirarchy, or making other changes to menu policy, please
+ hierarchy, or making other changes to menu policy, please
bring it up on debian-policy.
xterm and its brethern xterm and its brethren
- The main section forms the Debian GNU/Linux - distribution.
+ The main and the non-US/main sections form + the Debian GNU/Linux distribution. + +
Packages in the other sections are not considered as part of
the Debian distribution, though we support their use, and we
@@ -417,8 +421,7 @@
`Non-free' contains packages which are not compliant with - the DFSG or which are encumbered by patents or other legal - issues that make their distribution problematic.
+ the DFSG.All packages in `non-free' must be electronically distributable across international borders. @@ -505,11 +508,11 @@ worthwhile contacting such authors diplomatically to ask them to modify their license terms. However, this is a politically difficult thing to do and you should ask for - advice on debian-devel first.
+ advice on debian-legal first.
When in doubt, send mail to
-
+ Since dpkg will not prevent upgrading of other packages + while an essential package is in an unconfigured + state, all essential packages must supply all + their core functionality even when unconfigured. If the + package cannot satisfy this requirement it must not be + tagged as essential, and any packages depending on this + package must instead have explicit dependency fields as + appropriate. +
+You must not tag any packages essential before this has been discussed on the debian-devel @@ -2094,7 +2107,7 @@
Furthermore, as /etc/profile is a configuration
- file of the
Rationale: Building by default with -g causes more @@ -2165,7 +2178,7 @@ it also provides a mechanism to easily be rebuilt with debugging information. This can be done by providing a "build-debug" make target, or allowing the user to - specify "BUILD_DEBUG=yes" in the environment while + specify "DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=debug" in the environment while compiling that package.
Now this has several added benefits: @@ -2183,7 +2196,7 @@ autobuilders since not having debugging information (and hence also not having to strip it) will increase the speed of compiles. This - skips an entire pass of the compiler, + skips an entire pass of the compiler.
@@ -2196,9 +2209,9 @@ ifneq (,$(findstring debug,$(DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS))) CFLAGS += -g - ifneq (,$(findstring nostrip,$(DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS))) - INSTALL += -s endif + ifeq (,$(findstring nostrip,$(DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS))) + INSTALL += -s endif @@ -2334,87 +2347,101 @@ of the library installed while moving from the old library to the new. -- If your package has some run-time support programs which - use the shared library you must not put them in - the shared library package. If you do that then you won't +
+ If your package has some run-time support programs which + use the shared library you must not put them in + the shared library package. If you do that then you won't be able to install several versions of the shared library without getting filename clashes. Instead, either create a third package for the runtime binaries (this package might typically be named libraryname-runtime--note the absence - of the soname in the package name) or if the - development package is small include them in there.
- -- If you have several shared libraries built from the same - source tree you may lump them all together into a single - shared library package, provided that you change all their - sonames at once (so that you don't get filename - clashes if you try to install different versions of the - combined shared libraries package).
- + of the soname in the package name) or if the + development package is small include them in there. + ++ If you have several shared libraries built from the same + source tree you may lump them all together into a single + shared library package, provided that you change all their + sonames at once (so that you don't get filename + clashes if you try to install different versions of the + combined shared libraries package).
+- You should follow the directions in the Debian Packaging + You should follow the directions in the Debian Packaging Manual for putting the shared library in its package, - and you must include a shlibs control area - file with details of the dependencies for packages which - use the library.
- -
- Shared libraries should not be installed
- executable, since
- All command scripts, including the package maintainer
- scripts inside the package and used by
- In the case of Perl scripts this should be - #!/usr/bin/perl.
- -
- Shell scripts (
- The standard shell interpreter `/bin/sh' can be a
- symbolic link to any POSIX compatible shell. Thus, shell
- scripts specifying `/bin/sh' as interpreter should
- only use POSIX features. If a script requires non-POSIX
- features from the shell interpreter, the appropriate shell
- must be specified in the first line of the script (e.g.,
- `#!/bin/bash') and the package must depend on
- the package providing the shell (unless the shell package
- is marked `Essential', e.g., in the case of
-
- You may wish to restrict your script to POSIX features when possible so
- that it may use /bin/sh as its interpreter. If
- your script works with
+ All command scripts, including the package maintainer
+ scripts inside the package and used by
- Perl scripts should check for errors when making any - system calls, including open, print, - close, rename and system.
+ In the case of Perl scripts this should be + #!/usr/bin/perl. + +
+ Shell scripts (
-
+ The standard shell interpreter `/bin/sh' can be a
+ symbolic link to any POSIX compatible shell, if echo
+ -n does not generate a newline.
+
+ Debian policy specifies POSIX behavior for /bin/sh, but
+ echo -n has widespread use in the Linux community
+ (including especially debian policy, the linux kernel
+ source, many debian scripts, etc.). This echo -n
+ mechanism is valid but not required under POSIX, hence
+ this explicit addition. Also, rumour has it that this
+ shall be mandated under the LSB anyway.
+
+ You may wish to restrict your script to POSIX features when possible so
+ that it may use /bin/sh as its interpreter. If
+ your script works with
+ Perl scripts should check for errors when making any
+ system calls, including open, print,
+ close, rename and system.
+
- Any scripts which create files in world-writeable
- directories (e.g., in /tmp) must use a
- mechanism which will fail if a file with the same name
- already exists.
+ Any scripts which create files in world-writeable
+ directories (e.g., in /tmp) must use a
+ mechanism which will fail if a file with the same name
+ already exists.
- The Debian base distribution provides the
-
Debian uses the serial devices - /dev/tty*. Programs using the old + /dev/ttyS*. Programs using the old /dev/cu* devices should be changed to use - /dev/tty*.
+ /dev/ttyS*.The easy way to achieve this behavior is to make the configuration file a conffile. This is - appropriate if it is possible to distribute a default + appropriate only if it is possible to distribute a default version that will work for most installations, although some system administrators may choose to modify it. This implies that the default version will be part of the package distribution, and must not be modified by the maintainer scripts during installation (or at any other - time).
+ time). +In order to ensure that local changes are preserved @@ -2608,7 +2636,7 @@
- The other way to do it is to via the maintainer scripts.
+ The other way to do it is via the maintainer scripts.
In this case, the configuration file must not be listed as
a conffile and must not be part of the package
distribution. If the existence of a file is required for
@@ -2616,7 +2644,7 @@
responsibility of the package maintainer to write scripts
which correctly create, update, maintain and
remove-on-purge the file. These scripts must be idempotent
- (i.e. must work correctly if
Therefore, if a program needs a dotfile to exist in - advance in $HOME to work sensibly that dotfile + advance in $HOME to work sensibly, that dotfile should be installed in /etc/skel (and listed in conffiles, if it is not generated and modified dynamically by the package's installation scripts).
@@ -3017,7 +3045,7 @@If it is very hard to adapt a program to make us of the - EDITOR and PAGER variable, that program may be configured + EDITOR and PAGER variables, that program may be configured to use /usr/bin/sensible-editor and /usr/bin/sensible-pager as editor or pager program, respectively. These are two scripts provided in the Debian @@ -3140,7 +3168,7 @@ Mailboxes must be writable by group mail.
- The mail spool is 2775 mail.mail, and MUAs should + The mail spool is 2775 root.mail, and MUAs should be setgid mail to do the locking mentioned above (and must obviously avoid accessing other users' mailboxes using this privilege).
@@ -3230,34 +3258,38 @@
- Some programs can be configured with or without support for the X
- Window System. Typically, binaries produced with support for X
- will need the X shared libraries to run.
NOTE The forthcoming major X Window
System release shall probably change this
drastically.
+ This seems to be more what people want. It will enable
+ packages like vim-tty to become legal if they are
+ promoted to standard priority. Also, that X client in
+ mtools can be split into its own package and made
+ optional.
+
+ This paves the way for xlib6g and xfree86-common to be
+ moved from standard to optional, if all
+ Xlib dependent packages are moved from standard to
+ optional priority (or if non-Xlib-linked versions are
+ retained in standard). That, however is up to the
+ affected package maintainers and the archive
+ maintainers, and is not mandated by this policy.
+
- Such programs should be configured with X support,
- and should declare a dependency on xlib6g (which
- contains X shared libraries). Users who wish to use the
- program can install just the relatively small
- xfree86-common and xlib6g packages, and do
- not need to install the whole of X.
- Note: With the release of the new X window System
- version (4.X), there probably shall be a sweeping change
- in the X Window System Policy in the future.
- You should not create two versions (one with X support and one - without) of your package.
Packages which provide an X server that, directly or
@@ -3870,20 +3902,20 @@
- Packages that are not Debian-native must contain a copy - of debian/changelog file from the Debian source - tree in /usr/share/doc/package - as changelog.Debian.gz. If an upstream - changelog is available, it should be accessible as - /usr/share/doc/package/changelog.gz - in plain text. If the upstream changelog is distributed - in HTML, it should be made available in that form as + Packages that are not Debian-native must contain a copy of + debian/changelog file from the Debian source tree + in /usr/share/doc/package as + changelog.Debian.gz. If an upstream changelog is + available, it should be accessible as + /usr/share/doc/package/changelog.gz in + plain text. If the upstream changelog is distributed in + HTML, it should be made available in that form as /usr/share/doc/package/changelog.html.gz and the changelog.gz should be generated using, eg, - lynx -dump -nolist. If the upstream changelog files do - not already conform to this naming convention, then this may - be achieved either by renaming the files, or adding a symbolic - link, at the maintainer's discretion.
+ lynx -dump -nolist. If the upstream changelog files + do not already conform to this naming convention, then this + may be achieved either by renaming the files, or adding a + symbolic link, at the maintainer's discretion.Rationale: People should not have to look into two @@ -3893,11 +3925,11 @@
- All these files should be installed compressed using gzip -9, - as they will become large with time even if they start out - small. + +
+ All these files should be installed compressed using gzip -9, + as they will become large with time even if they start out + small.
diff --git a/upgrading-checklist.html b/upgrading-checklist.html index 2647c09..84c9881 100644 --- a/upgrading-checklist.html +++ b/upgrading-checklist.html @@ -44,6 +44,14 @@ Manual.
+3.2.1.0 Aug 00 + + Policy Manual: + - A package of priority standard or hihger may provide two + binaries, one compiled with support for the X Window System, + and the other without. + - + 3.2.0.0 Aug 00 Policy Manual: diff --git a/virtual-package-names-list.txt b/virtual-package-names-list.txt index 1441c00..88612d9 100644 --- a/virtual-package-names-list.txt +++ b/virtual-package-names-list.txt @@ -88,9 +88,12 @@ pdf-preview Any preprocessor that creates PDF output pdf-viewer Anything that can display PDF files postscript-preview Any preprocessor that creates Postscript output postscript-viewer Anything that can display Postscript files +rsh-client Any package that provides an rsh client system-log-daemon A daemon that provides a logging facility for other applications tclsh Anything that provides /usr/bin/tclsh (*) +telent-client Any package that provides a telnet client +time-daemon Anything that servers as a time daemon ups-monitor Anything that is capable of controlling an UPS wish Anything that provides /usr/bin/wish (*) wordlist Anything that provides /usr/share/dict/words (*) @@ -108,6 +111,11 @@ news-transport-system Local news system (INN, C News or B News) pgp A version of PGP (International or US) pop3-server Any POP3 Server +Graphics and MultiMedia +----------------------- +mp3-encoder Any MP3 encoder package +mp3-decoder Any MP3 decoder package + Old and obsolete virtual package names -------------------------------------- Note, that no other package then the ones listed here should use @@ -172,3 +180,17 @@ Manoj Srivastava Added xserver Added linux-kernel-log-daemon Added system-log-faemon + +Manoj Srivastava + 24 August 2000 Added mp3-encoder + Added mp3-decoder + Added time-daemon + Added rsh-client + Added telnet-client + + + + + + + -- 2.39.5