Packaging gnome-user-docs in bzr

[Matthew East]

Dear Ubuntu developers,
Cc: some interested parties

Over the last release cycle the documentation team has found a relatively
neat way of including some upstream Gnome documentation into the scheme of
the Ubuntu system documentation. For example, much of the "New to Ubuntu"
section which you see when opening the Help Centre is made up of Gnome
upstream docs.

This success has prompted a string of bug reports which point out that the
documentation doesn't match Ubuntu's implementation of Gnome in
circumstances where Ubuntu have modified "vanilla" Gnome, and we've been
looking for a way to easily make some updates to the gnome-user-docs
package which supplies the upstream documentation.

This was discussed here:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-doc/2007-July/008693.html and the
solution which was hit upon was to use bzr to try and see if we can easily
maintain some customisations to the Gnome docs and easily merge new
upstream changes. So we're going to give that a go.

My question at this stage is about how to maintain the arrangement for the
purposes of the Ubuntu package. My proposal (which is made with a very
limited understanding of bzr as it is used in Ubuntu packaging) is as
follows. Please correct my understanding where it is wrong, and suggest
improvements where possible!

1. We have an import of the upstream trunk:

  https://code.launchpad.net/~vcs-imports/gnome-user-docs/trunk

2. We can import upstream releases using the command 'bzr import' and
pushed to Launchpad.

3. I've created a branch for Ubuntu changes to be made:

  https://code.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-doc/gnome-user-docs/ubuntu-changes

4. I'd like to make changes directly to the source of that branch (rather
than maintain changes in a debian/patches directory), and include the
current Ubuntu debian directory in that branch (query how to merge any
changes from Debian upstream, if any, into this).

5. Upstream changes can then be merged into the Ubuntu branch either from
trunk or the imported upstream releases (query which is best).

Would be very grateful for your thoughts / general advice.

Thanks

-- 
Matthew East
http://www.mdke.org/