apt-get source changes for packages maintained in VCS

[Scott Kitterman]

I just notice I didn't say who I discussed this with.  It was mvo.

On Saturday 04 August 2007 17:46, Scott Kitterman wrote:
> I recently filed https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt/+bug/129575
> and after some IRC discussion we agreed that his recent apt-get source
> changes needed some broader discussion.
>
> As an example, I used apt-get source to download the source for pyspf (a
> package I help maintain in Debian) and get the following warning:
>
> WARNING: 'pyspf' is maintained in the 'Svn' version control system at:
> svn://svn.debian.org/python-modules/packages/pyspf/trunk/
> Are you sure you want to continue [yN]?
>
> In my opinion there are two things wrong here:
>
> First, pyspf is not maintained in the Debian Python Modules Team svn.  The
> Debian packaging for it is maintained there.  The actual Python module is
> maintained on Sourceforge, so as written, it is incorrect.  Similarly, if I
> am considering an Ubuntu revision for a package, the Debian SVN is not the
> source for code that I'm patching, the Ubuntu source repository is.
>
> I can understand the desire to inform developers that there is a VCS (I
> think that's sensible), but it is at most tangential to many use cases.
>
> Which brings me to my second issue:
>
> Stopping and asking the user for confirmation is really overkill in this
> case. The purpose of apt-get source is to get source from a repository. 
> The fact that there may be other versions accessible elsewhere may or may
> not be of interest to the user.
>
> What we agreed (as I understand it) in our IRC discussion was that I would
> suggest an alternate wording for the notice and that he would change apt to
> only stop and ask the question for packages maintained on Launchpad as an
> interim.
>
> I'd sugggest this just be printed as a notice of some kind, like:
>
> NOTICE: The packaging information for PACKAGE is maintained in VCS version
> control system at:
>
> without stopping the download.  I think the asking the user are they sure
> they want to download the source when that's exactly what they've said they
> want to do would be a mistake period, but it's better limited to packages
> maintained on Launchpad than as a general rule.
>
> Comments?
>
> Scott K