Distributed development toolset (Re: ArchiveReorganisation and sponsoring)

[Michael Casadevall]

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Having used VCS for packages, I find its generally much more difficult
to get a patch in. Launchpad's branch merger makes it easier, but in
general the process, for someone who just wants to generate a simple
branch, and posting a debdiff is impossible (i.e., what we are
proposing), the workflow becomes MUCH more complex. For a new user to
contribute, they in general would need to do the following.

1. File bug(s)
2. Branch the path, which requires finding out where in the bazaar
repo the version you wish to change is.
3. Make modifications and make sure it works in bzr-buildpackage which
also requires you to manually download the tarball last time I tried
it.
4. Finish with modifications, and generate a source package to run
through pbuilder. Push the branch, and request for it to be merged
5. Pray that it gets merged before someone commits a change that
conflicts (in my general experience, Launchpad merger and bazaar's
merge algorithm leaves something to be desired)
6. Get someone to STILL sponsor the upload unless we make it that a
committal equal upload (there are cases where someone can merge but
not upload).
7. If your modification is a new upstream, and you need to get it
merged by someone else, I find its a general PITA, since then you have
to hunt down the orig tarball and drop it in the right place.

Now I realize that normal uploads will still be allowed, but I feel
that getting rid of source packages is a problem looking for a
solution. Since there are no maintainers in Ubuntu, it doesn't make
sense that we have to maintain VCS branches for what is likely a one
off upload. Teams that want or need it have already changed, the rest
of us seem to be doing fine without, and anyone could create a bzr
branch to manage their own pages.
Michael

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On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 6:56 PM, Colin Watson <cjwatson at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 10:40:36PM +0100, Philip Wyett wrote:
>> Maybe a trial set of maybe half a dozen packages that are in Ubuntu
>> version control presently could be used as a test bed to see how much of
>> an effect it does make over the development and package processes.
>
> A number of us are already maintaining various packages in Bazaar:
>
>  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BzrMaintainedPackages
>
> Some people have had problems and have gone back to their old toolsets;
> some people have been happy with it and find it speeds up both
> collaboration and individual development.
>
> Personally I absolutely swear by revision control for packages, and
> indeed was trying to use it everywhere I could long before we started
> considering the current plan for a global import of all packages. I've
> been actively working to produce accurate imports of the various private
> history archives I keep of my Debian packages into public Bazaar
> branches simply because it's obviously superior to my current hodgepodge
> of tools. (Note that I still use many of the "old" tools, e.g. debuild
> and dupload, and plan to continue doing so as there's no reason they
> should need to be superseded just yet; it's just that I also use
> debcommit each time I make an intermediate change.)
>
> Cheers,
>
> --
> Colin Watson                                       [cjwatson at ubuntu.com]
>
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