[GRASS-user] Fwd: Re: ppa for grass 7 Ubuntu Quantal

[Hamish]

Hamish wrote:
> > the first thing that should happen is that the control files
> > should be updated to pull from the latest from the DebianGIS
> > git repository. 

Tim:
> 2 points where this is not always possible:
> * your repo is at grass (6.4.2-3), we are talking about
> 6.4.3.x & 7.0.x

just copy in the debian/ dir from there and locally add a new
entry for the new version number at the top of the changelog
file (`dch -v` from the main source dir)

> * sometimes, there are changes in upstream (in the day to
> day coding) that do not correspond anymore with the package
> snapshot taken a a certain point. Thus, you need to disable
> some patches. If not, you would need to create new patches on
> nearly daily basis.

you are right, the patches may be a problem here, but the patches
are not so many that you'd have to change them very often, maybe
once every six months. And there is a semi-automatic way to
update them. (make sure the devscripts package is installed;
there's a semi-automatic way to do everything in debian
packaging.., or maybe 4 semi-automatic ways to do everying... :)
you might try #debian-mentors on the OFTC irc network for
for definitive advice on the latest trends there.

Probably between 6.4 and 7svn the patches will need refreshing
for sure, or disable some of them. For grass7 packages you need
to make sure that the /usr/bin/grass symlink gets dropped, so
grass 6 and 7 can be installed on the same system without
conflicts. (packaged file names must be unique distro-wide)


> The best would be to have 2 upstream repos in git:
> 
> * debian files for 6.3.x
> * debian files for 7.0.x

We (Frankie, me, DebianGIS,..) talked about that before, the
result of that discussion was that Debian git repo should be
for current official packaging efforts, not a sandbox for future
development. So no experimental branch there for 7 until 7 is
released and the formal packaging effort begins. But of course
it's not a big deal in git where things are, you can host that
at the ppa as you like. But if people want a grass7 binary
buildbot it'll need some gardening from time to time.

> LP would then pull these automatically and merge with
> upstream GRASS source and build the package.
> This would be really great.

Right, the 6.4 series can do that already, it's what I'm
suggesting.

I do not know if it is possible to just checkout one subdirectory
from git. So far I haven't been able to do it. (we don't need
to re-download the entire grass 6.4 source each time from
DebianGIS)


> > Instructions are in the src:debian/README.debian file
> > in the
>
> does not exist in
> git://git.debian.org/git/pkg-grass/grass/debian

..the rest of my quote read:
> > ... in the src:debian/README.debian file in the
> > GRASS source code

see
https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/browser/grass/branches/releasebranch_6_4/debian/README.debian


> > The whole (re)package building exercise should be
> > possible with a simple 2-10 line script.
>
> What for a script are you referring to?

one that is yet to be written :) just something to download the
latest rules, apply whatever changes are needed with 'sed -i'
&/or whatever, then run debuild or whatever the ppa buildbot
needs to do.


> What woudl be the purpose?

to save you lots of wasted effort and time, avoid divergence,
and avoid human error.


best,
Hamish