debian/README.ubuntu-dev

Emmet Hikory persia at ubuntu.com
Wed Nov 7 21:26:18 GMT 2007


On Nov 7, 2007, Scott James Remnant wrote:
> While you're doing merges and upstream updates, you're probably trying
> to work out what you did six months ago; maybe someone else did it!
<...>
> I'd encourage you all, as you do this, to document what steps you take,
> where you get the patches, why certain decisions were made, etc.
>
> I suggest we use a common debian/README.ubuntu-dev file to do this.

Am Nov 7 schrieb Stephan Potyra:
> Isn't debian/changelog the place where this should get documented?

Am Nov 8 schrieb Rheinhard Tartler:
> Since we are working in a team, and we rely on each others work
> espc. while merging stuff, I'd suggest that we give some clear
> guidelines how to write "good" changelog entries in debian/changelog.

    In addition to providing references to patches, etc.  it would be
nice if the changelog entry further differentiated local Ubuntu
patches, distribution patches suitable for Debian (and others), and
patches suitable for upstream.  This further eases the merging
workflow by both clearly identifying where to search for a patch, and
providing a roadmap for progress checks on upstream integration.

An example entry might be something like:

===
mypackage (2;6.3.2-7ubuntu1) hardy; urgency=low

  * Merge with Debian unstable
    + Remaining Ubuntu changes
      - include upstrart event hander instead of sysvinit script
      - Set Ubuntu Maintainer
    + Remaining Distribution changes
      - Build-depend on libfoo7-dev
    + Remaining Upstream changes
      - Port backend from libfoo6 to libfoo7 (03_libfoo7.patch)
      - Handle exceptions when unable to access input file
  * Extracted 04_libbar.patch from SVN for libbar4

 -- Ubuntu Developer <lpid at ubuntu.com> Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:53:27 +1000
===

On Nov 8, Scott James Remnant wrote:
> Not for everything -- e.g. the steps to regenerate the readahead lists
> isn't suitable for putting in a changelog entry; it's general
> documentation that should be attached to the package.

    For scriptable activities that ought be done on package refresh,
would it be appropriate to include a manually called rule in
debian/rules to handle the update, with a reference in the changelog
that the refresh was completed?

--
Emmet HIKORY



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