[Python-modules-team] Bug#979355: src:sphinx-rtd-theme: embeds several Sass libraries that should be packaged separately

[Dmitry Shachnev]

On Tue, Jan 05, 2021 at 07:37:06PM +0100, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:
> > For Neat, sphinx-rtd-theme currently uses an ancient version, 1.9.1
> > (released in 2018) while the latest upstream is 4.0.0.
>
> Assuming you are pointing this out because your package cannot possibly
> use the newer release, then effectively we are talking about a fork of
> Neat.

Yes, it cannot use the newer release because Wyrm is incompatible with it:

https://github.com/snide/wyrm/issues/12

> Who is caring for bugs in that fork - you? Upstream of sphinx-rtd-theme?

According to this comment, upstream of sphinx-rtd-theme are going to
work-around bugs in their code:

https://github.com/readthedocs/sphinx_rtd_theme/issues/544#issuecomment-409521422

> Are you certain noone else may need this old fork as well, since you chose
> to embed it instead of packaging it as a proper package in Debian?

I don’t see any reason for other packages to use this old stuff instead of
something modern and supported.

The Wyrm website mentions two users of that library: sphinx-rtd-theme
and https://github.com/webhook/webhook, which is also a dead project and
not packaged in Debian (Debian’s webhook package is a different thing).

> > I don’t think it makes sense to package old versions of software if
> > they will be used only by sphinx-rtd-theme. And with new versions it
> > just won’t build.
>
> Please file an RFP for wyrm cc the Sass team, and mention the need for
> older Sass code.  Might make sense to either look into either patching
> sphinx-rtd-theme to work with newer Sass code or if unfeasable then ship
> both newest and some older snapshot in a sass-stylesheets.wyrm package.

RFP filed: https://bugs.debian.org/979358.

I don’t think there is need for a separate RFP for neat, because if someone
looks at packaging wyrm, they will have to take care of neat too and figure
out the exact version to use.

> Nice - that is helpful to mention in an RFP, as an entry into assessing
> feasability of changing sphinx-rtd-theme to work with newer Sass code.

This is definitely something that should be done by upstream, not by us in
Debian. (Upstream does not even always accept pull requests, e.g. #432 does
not have any reply for a long time.)

Anyway, I left a reference to our discussion here in my RFP.

--
Dmitry Shachnev
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