==Context== As per the GPL, and common sense, source code is defined as
> The “source code” for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it. “Object code” means any non-source form of a work. The smarty3 project distribution consists of PHP code where some is compiled from .y to .php using a parser generator. So the .y file contains the source code, and the generated .php file contains object code. The smarty3 project is under the GPLv3, and so also makes the .y source code available from their download page (in the subversion repository). The Debian smarty3 source package takes the precompiled .php distributed by the smarty project, has an empty debian/rules build target, and just copies them over in the debian/rules install target. ==Question== Now in the context of the smarty3 Debian source package, I would like to know where in the policy manual it says that the debian/rules build target should actually compile from source in favor of shipping precompiled object code. However, the Debian policy manual doesn't actually seem to say that anywhere. https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-source.html would seem like the obvious place to say so. Am I blind, or is it perfectly OK for a Debian source package to ship and install object code, even when the source is available? Regards, Thue PS: Please CC me, I am not on this list
