> > it acceptable to use the upstream binary tarball as the .orig for a Debian > > source package, as it is architecture-independent? Or must it compile from > > the > > Java source? > > If the package is in 'non-free', you don't even need the sources. IMHO (but > IANAL), for a package to get in 'main', you HAVE TO be able to compile it > from > the sources. > > For programs written in C, it goes without saying, but it seems some Debian > packagers forget this, because upstream Java packages usually come with the > binary, a binary which is often very difficult to regenerate (which reminds > me > the time of Ultrix, where Digital accepted to ship the sources, but they were > almost impossible to compile, if you wanted to reboot your Vax with a patched > version).
It's interesting that you if can run a Java "binary" you'll also be able to build the sources very easily. This is because Java is always linked at run time, so the build-time and run-time dependencies are the same. John Leuner
