[Freedombox-discuss] How do we handle package upgrades on the Freedombox?

[Jonas Smedegaard]

Quoting Petter Reinholdtsen (2014-04-15 08:24:20)
> [Jonas Smedegaard 2010-09-01 13:07:45]
>> I strongly recommend FreedomBox to be a Debian thing, rather than an 
>> on-top-of-Debian thing. I.e. *not* act on configfiles from a sysadmin 
>> point of view but as part of Debian, obeying Debian Policy which 
>> mandates no automated interaction directly with the content of other 
>> packages.  We should not make same mistake as Debian Edu in relying 
>> on Debian only for a) initial install and b) maintainance of _binary_ 
>> packaging parts, but also for c) maintainance of configfiles.
>>
>> It is a *much* slower process to convince a Debian package maintainer 
>> to implement reliable packaging configurability for our needs than to 
>> hack ourselves on top of an installed package, but all hacks we 
>> invent we must *maintain* too, which is too likely to bit-rot down 
>> the road.
>
> It is not only a slow process, it is a non-working process in some 
> cases, when the package maintainer refuse to adjust their packages to 
> cope with such use case.

Sure you mean "when", not "if"?

I am unaware of any such cases of refusals for FreedomBox needs.

I mean, cases of filing a bugreport including a patch to use debconf, 
that was then refused by the package maintainer.


> If we choose to only go this path, I believe we will end up without a 
> working solution for the Freedombox.

"Only"?  Did we even try?


> I just know from personal experience in Debian Edu, that after 12 
> years there are still packages lacking the support for configuration 
> we need to do at installation or run time.  And it is not because we 
> have not tried to convince the package maintainers that Debian Edu 
> need the features needed.

Offering patches?  Patches not specifically for Debian Edu but 
generic yet flexible enough to cover Debian Edu needs?

Please point me to examples of such failed bugreports - perhaps I am to 
optimistic about fellow package maintainers and can learn from those.


> So to me, the choice is between no freedombox and finding a way that 
> work after a few months of work.  But I would be happy if you have a 
> better way I have not yet considered that will lead relevant package 
> maintainers to maintain the add the support we need in a reasonable 
> time frame.

Ahh, lovely: "reasonable time frame" is counted in months.  Nope, can't 
help you there.


 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

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