Re-establishing FFmpeg package naming consistency and transition woes

[Steve Langasek]

On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 09:36:47AM +0200, Reinhard Tartler wrote:
> as some of you might now, I'm taking care of the ffmpeg packages in
> Debian and ubuntu. With the outcome of the Ubuntu Patent Policy and
> consultations with the Technical Board, I'd like to change package name
> for better clarity.

>  - the source package 'ffmpeg-debian' will be renamed back to 'ffmpeg'

> The reason for introducing the 'ffmpeg-debian' name was that in debian
> we were required to disable ("strip off") some encoders from the source.
> Since this results in a non-pristine version of ffmpeg the package name
> indicated this fact in order to avoid confusing or annoying FFmpeg
> upstream.

> Now that the TB clarified that the stripping of the source is not
> necessary, there is no need to do so, and we revert that change as
> well. This means that we have 2 source package in ubuntu with
> differently named but otherwise identical sources (and therefore patches).


>  - the source package 'ffmpeg' will be renamed to 'ffmpeg-extra'

> This is the source package in multiverse. This is only done so that it
> can build-depend on other, potentially non-free or otherwise restricted
> packages like lame. According to the TB ruling, I think that most of
> these package can and should be promoted to universe, but this requires
> further investigation I currently don't have time to do.
> 
> The '-extra' suffix of the source package name indicates that it is an
> 'add-on' package with additional functionality

I don't agree that these are good reasons for renaming the source packages.
This will disrupt continuity for Launchpad bug tracking, as well as in other
cases (SRUs, security updates?).  I think the proposed binary package
renames are reasonable, but I think the source package names should remain
unchanged.

-- 
Steve Langasek                   Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer                   to set it on, and I can move the world.
Ubuntu Developer                                    http://www.debian.org/
slangasek at ubuntu.com                                     vorlon at debian.org