Package: hostname
Version: 2.95
Severity: normal
Tags: patch
I've been looking through Essential for the package descriptions
most in need of a review (see #482098, #482666, #458029, #483023).
This one's just about the last on my list of serious cases.
# Description: utility to set/show the host name or domain name
# The hostname command can be used to either set or display the current host or
# domain name of the system. This name is used by many of the networking
programs
# to identify the machine. The domain name is also used by NIS/YP.
This text, apparently taken from the manpage, is oddly phrased
("used by many of the networking programs" is particularly
non-native-speakerish), but more importantly its content is
misleading. When it says "domain" it means "NIS-domain", even
though the NIS-centric /bin/domainname utility mentioned in
hostname(1) isn't provided in this package.
I would suggest the following:
Description: utility to set/show the host name or domain name
This package provides commands which can be used to display the system's
DNS name, and to display or set its hostname or NIS domain name.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: lenny/sid
APT prefers testing
APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Kernel: Linux 2.6.25.custom
Locale: LANG=en_GB.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_GB.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Versions of packages hostname depends on:
ii libc6 2.7-10 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
hostname recommends no packages.
-- no debconf information
--
JBR
Ankh kak! (Ancient Egyptian blessing)
diff -ru hostname-2.95.pristine/debian/control hostname-2.95/debian/control
--- hostname-2.95.pristine/debian/control 2007-12-27 11:47:29.000000000 +0000
+++ hostname-2.95/debian/control 2008-05-26 21:29:41.000000000 +0100
@@ -10,6 +10,5 @@
Essential: yes
Pre-Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}, ${misc:Depends}
Description: utility to set/show the host name or domain name
- The hostname command can be used to either set or display the current host or
- domain name of the system. This name is used by many of the networking programs
- to identify the machine. The domain name is also used by NIS/YP.
+ This package provides commands which can be used to display the system's
+ DNS name, and to display or set its hostname or NIS domain name.
