[fdo-internals] Ubuntu and Debian Packaging for MapGuide and FDO

[Trevor Wekel]

Hi everyone,

I've been having discussions on another list regarding MapGuide and FDO inclusion in the Ubuntu and Debian repositories.  As it turns out, we have a lot of cleanup work to do before we can be included in the repositories.  Here's a few highlights:

Native compilation on Ubuntu/Debian
- This is a hard requirement.  Native compilation allows security patches to be addressed in a timely fashion.  We do not compile cleanly on GCC 4.4 right now.

Use "distro" packages where possible for all third party libraries
- Including standard Linux packages in our source trees make them invariably out of date and is generally considered a no-no.

Compile with a standard "user" account
- root should only be used for /usr/*** installs.  Source compilation and installation to any user writable directory tree should be possible using a standard user account.  This also means we cannot hardcore directories anywhere.
 
No /usr/local
- Installed packages are not allowed here.

Linking to OpenSSL
- There a bunch of licensing issues with OpenSSL and GPL/LGPL.  We do this in a number of places.
http://people.gnome.org/~markmc/openssl-and-the-gpl.html


And there is quite a long list of potential violations for Debian that could trip us up.  We would have to go through this list ensure that we are in compliance.  http://ftp-master.debian.org/REJECT-FAQ.html


Our user base would love to see MapGuide and FDO included in the Debian and Ubuntu repositories.  And I am also certain it will be a relatively lengthy project to accomplish the feat.  Should we put it on the roadmaps?

Regards,
Trevor