Jonas Smedegaard writes ("Re: [RFC] General Resolution to deploy tag2upload
[and 1 more messages]"):
> Quoting Ian Jackson (2024-06-17 14:13:00)
> > git is central to most software maintenance in the world at large.
> > Not all, by any means. But, overwhelmingly, most.
> >
> > In Debian it's unstandardised *unless* you use dgit push or tag2upload.
> > Then the git representation *is* standardised, albeit complex.
>
> Has Debian standardized dgit for git source package representation?
> Or do you simply mean that dgit is standardized by the dgit developers,
> same as various other tools like git-buildpackage arguably has
> standardized their various structures as well?
This gets into philosophy quite quickly. What does it mean for
"Debian" to have standardised something? If we write a DEP that
describes dgit's canonical git representation, and its quilt mode
names, would that that help?
I mean, we could do that but it seems like makework. We have
in-archive documentation (mostly, manpages). We have a wiki page
which lists the git workflows we're aware of. etc.
One of the nice things about the tag2upload design (like dbit's before
it) is that if you don't care about it you can largely ignore it.
Whereas, if you are a user of dgit, you can get the canonical git form
of *any* package.
So, simultaneously: it is standard; but you can ignore it.
This property makes it much easier to get anything done, and has been
true of most of the most successful new ideas in Debian.
> > > The topic of this GR is not streamlining Debian use of git, but allowing
> > > a simpler path from existing messy git to acceptance into Debian.
> >
> > I don't think this is true. tag2upload (like dgit) imposes a taxonomy
> > of git approaches, and defines precisely what each of these named
> > approaches means.
>
> Oh, if one of the proposers of the GR insists that the GR is indeed about
> streamlining Debian use of git, then I'll back off.
Again I think we're into philosophy here. But certainly, a big part
of the point of tag2upload is to streamline use of git in Debian.
I won't say "the whole point". I have thought quite hard about how
git is used in Debian, and how source code is managed; we have held
formal and informal requirements gathering sessions, including one
facilitated by Sam Hartman at the Curitiba Debconf. We've released
code and responded to a wide variety of user feedback.
tag2upload is part of a programme that is supposed to meet *almost
all* of these requirements, *without* imposing things on people who
prefer to do things differently. It's supposed to be so good and
convenient people will want to use it, and I think it will be.
So there are *many* purposes. But many of them do relate to
streamlining git packaging. One way tag2upload helps streamline git
packaging is by allowing maintainers to less often deal with .dscs.
Ian.
--
Ian Jackson <ijack...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> These opinions are my own.
Pronouns: they/he. If I emailed you from @fyvzl.net or @evade.org.uk,
that is a private address which bypasses my fierce spamfilter.
