> A Debian native source package is one which has no .diff.gz, because the > Debian source code and the upstream source code are the same thing. This > means that the source tarball contains a debian/ directory with the > necessary packaging infrastructure. This configuration is used for > packages > such as dpkg and apt which are developed specifically for Debian.
Thanks for the explanation. Well, ICU is definitely not developed specifically for Debian, but since I am one of the upstream developers, I found it convenient to have the debian/ directory in it, not just for me but for anybody who would want to grab ICU from the CVS and build a .deb for it. So I guess that as long as the explanation in maint-guide says that a native Debian package is a package that builds with no modifications, not just a package developed specifically for Debian, it will be clear for everybody. YA
