MOTU hopefull questions

[Loïc Martin]

Daniel T. Chen a écrit :
> On Tue, 2007-03-27 at 17:15 +0200, Loïc Martin wrote:
>> 1. How do syncs with Debian occurs? Is it just at the beginning of a 
>> release cycle? Does this happens automatically, or must each package be 
>> synced manually, and who can do so?
> 
> Roughly - when the new development branch opens, the autosync with
> Debian Sid is enabled, and it runs continually until
> DebianImportFreeze[0].
> 
> After DebianImportFreeze, syncs need to be requested manually by
> following the sync request process[1].
Thank you. I wrongly assumed UVF and DebianImportFreeze were the same.


>> For example, wacom-tools hasn't been synced with Debian for a while, 
>> even though a few bugs would be solved by a new version.
> 
> wacom-tools is a main source package. We're way past upstream version
> freeze (UVF) for main, so any fixes from newer versions need to be
> backported to the current source package[2]. Subscribe the
> ubuntu-main-sponsors Launchpad (LP) team when you've prepared a debdiff
> attached to a bug report.
> 
>> How does one makes sure a package will be synced for Feisty+1 (I know 
>> bug reports doesn't do it)? I don't mind doing the job, but I don't know 
>> what to do for that. If a doc exists, I'll be happy to learn about it.
> 
> It won't be synced. See rationale above.

I wasn't thinking about Feisty - more about preparing for Feisty +1. The 
debian package was updated far before Edgy's release, so I was assuming 
it would be ok for Feisty. I was wrong, and I'm trying to see if I can 
do anything about Feisty+1. That means starting to worry now, because I 
know these thing takes time (bug reports asking for a sync can wait more 
than one year in some situations, even when a debian package is there).

For wacom-tools, I can see now what has to be done, thanks to your 2nd 
link (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SyncRequestProcess). However, I'll 
certainly have more questions later about the contents of the sync request.

Moreover, since upstream version would be more desirable than the debian 
version, how does one file a request top update a core package if debian 
doesn't have the version yet? Does one have to provide a package 
attached to the bug report (like for a MOTU app not in debian)? (I'm 
talking about Feisty+1, not Feisty)

>> If the package is in universe, can MOTU sync packages, and how?
> 
> The ubuntu-archive LP team actually cares for syncs. MOTU (ubuntu-dev LP
> members) can acknowledge ("ACK") sync requests for universe.
> 
>> 2. I was under the impression that syncs keeps occurring till UVF. 
>> However, some packages were updated in Debian before UVF (ex. package 
>> qgo 1.5.3 on 05/01/07) but weren't synced : what could I do to address 
>> this problem in the future (I didn't try packaging qgo this time because 
>> I know the Debian packager is updating its packages really fast, and I 
>> thought it would be ok)?
> 
> Syncs run automatically until DebianImportFreeze. After that, syncs must
> be requested and processed manually as described above.
> 
> Sync requests for universe source packages after UVF must by approved by
> the motu-uvf LP team.
> 
>> 3. What is the best time to submit a package in universe?
> 
> Anytime prior to Feature Freeze (FF).
> 
>> 4. How does one submit a higher version of a package that hasn't been 
>> updated in Debian (especially when it appears the Debian maintainer has 
>> disappeared.
> 
> Prepare a new source package, and post it to REVU if you're not MOTU. If
> you are, it's still a good idea to get it checked by a fellow MOTU (or
> -core-dev).
> 
>> 5. Is it possible to submit in universe a higher version (or a patched 
>> version) of a core package (thinking about wacom-tools for example) when 
>> that package hasn't been updated for a while? (bug reports only work up 
>> to a certain extent).
> 
> Please avoid duplicating source packages. The best route to resolving
> the situation that you describe is to file a bug against the source
> package using LP, then attach a debdiff against the current source
> package.
> 
> Thanks,
> Daniel Chen
> 
> [0] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebianImportFreeze
> [1] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SyncRequestProcess
> [2]
> https://beta.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/wacom-tools/1:0.7.2-0ubuntu8
> 


Thanks a lot. I'll have to learn debdiff... :)