Two jed entries in /etc (was Re: patching upstream -- why not?)

[G. Milde]

On  4.09.05, Jörg Sommer wrote:

> > > > On 23.08.05, Jari Aalto wrote:
> > 
> > > > > Please move 
> > > > > 
> > > > >     /etc/jed.conf
> > > > >     /etc/jed-init.d/
> > > > > 
> > > > > Under common directory => /etc/<package> like

> > > Why do you think we should not patch upstream files? It's common
> > > practice. 

> > Patches always mean additional work for the packagers and can introduce
> > consistency problems, so IMHO they should only be a last resort.
> 
> This is not a good reason for me. We only need a patch if the upstream
> version do not meet our requirements (aka Debian policy). 

> And having a systemwide configuration file that takes care about other
> packages is truely not of interest of upstream.

Agreed.

> The reson for the bug report is that jed has two entries in /etc.

I know. However, is this violating Debian policy or just a minor
annoyance for some users?

In any case, I would not like to introduce /etc/jed/, but

* if the status quo does not violate Debian policy, I would leave
  things as-is.
  
* Otherwise, I would 
  
  + use JED_ROOT/lib/defaults.sl for setting up /etc/jed-init.d/
   
  + move the Debian specific configuration to a NNdebian.sl file under
    /etc/jed-init.d/ (NN > 0, to give users a chance to have something
    evaluated before.)
    
  + remove /etc/jed.conf
  
  + update README.Debian and changelog.Debian to warn users that
    /etc/jed.conf is no longer read in and configuration should be done
    in /etc/jed-init.d
    
    (Alternatively, defaults.sl could contain code to check for a
    user-provided /etc/jed.conf so the upstream documentation is
    kept valid.)


> > Still, I think contacting the upstream author should always have
> > priority.
> 
> I do not agree. If there are problems with the arrangement of the files
> in the /Debian package/, I see no reason why we should waste the time
> of upstream. It's not a bug nor a feature.

You are right, in this special case we should not bother John.


Günter

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