build-from-branch into the primary archive

[vila]

>>>>> Martin Pitt <martin.pitt at ubuntu.com> writes:

    > Colin Watson [2011-02-24  0:11 +0000]:
    >> 'debcommit -r' is already a superset of 'bzr mark-uploaded'.  The latter
    >> just sets a tag corresponding to the head version in debian/changelog.

    > I know; I meant that if bzr mark-uploaded gets changed to do more
    > magic than just tagging, e. g. poke Launchpad to "please build this",
    > then debcommit -r should call mark-uploaded so that this happens.

Whatever we chose to tell launchpad to build *this* I think *this*
should be identified by a revision ID.

Tags provide a way to refer to revision IDs, but with a drawback: you
can delete a tag or associates it with a different revid later.

Using the revid also means we can unambiguously tell, after the fact,
this build comes from this revid (a UUID by definition) which also
allows things like:

- this build has already been done,
- this build has failed,
- this build can be copied from this ppa to the archive,
- etc.

I also think that whoever decides that a build is needed knows this at
*commit* time.

I don't understand the packaging process well enough to say: this should
be done this way at this point but I thought I should mention the
problem about using a tag to carry this information anyway.

Now, when I say revid, I'm talking about an implementation detail, there
are various ways to associate the revid with anything that is more user
friendly. As long as it's a property of the source packaging branch, it
can be used to find the revid. So a specific revision property can work
(a boolean saying: build this), a field in any file in debian dir will
work too. Whatever works, as long as it can't be changed for a given
revision.

      Vincent