[Blends-commit] [SCM] blends-gsoc branch, master, updated. 74c00a312ed5e11a2b1f34fcc51f5022154ac2fb
Emmanouil Kiagias
e.kiagias at gmail.com
Sun Sep 15 19:38:58 UTC 2013
The following commit has been merged in the master branch:
commit 74c00a312ed5e11a2b1f34fcc51f5022154ac2fb
Author: Emmanouil Kiagias <e.kiagias at gmail.com>
Date: Sun Sep 15 21:22:47 2013 +0200
First try of converting blends-doc from debian-sgml to xml format.First files are under the doc/ directory. docbook5 xml was used to rewrite the blends-doc. Need to customize the output(section enumeration, no page break etc)
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 3197ed9..52d7ea9 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
blends-dev (0.7.0) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
- * Initial release
+ * devtools/blend-gen-control: new implementation,
+ uses completely UDD to create metapackages,
+ implemented as a GSoC project
+ * devtools/Makefile: new "changelogentry" rule in ,
+ generates an automatic changelog entry with the differences
+ in package dependencies for a Blend between a new and a
+ previous release.
- -- Emmanouil Kiagias <e.kiagias at gmail.com> Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:49:54 +0200
+ -- Emmanouil Kiagias <e.kiagias at gmail.com> Mon, 09 Sep 2013 16:15:44 +0200
+
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/debian-blends.en.xml b/doc/debian-blends.en.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..02307b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/debian-blends.en.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+<?xml version='1.0'?>
+<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V5.0a1//EN"
+ "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.0/docbookx.dtd" [
+
+ <!-- textual data entities -->
+ <!ENTITY titletoc SYSTEM "en/00_titletoc.xml">
+ <!ENTITY ch-introduction SYSTEM "en/01_introduction.xml">
+ <!ENTITY ch-about SYSTEM "en/02_about.xml">
+
+]>
+
+<book id="debiandoc-xml">
+ &titletoc;
+
+ &ch-introduction;
+ &ch-about;
+
+</book>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/en/00_titletoc.xml b/doc/en/00_titletoc.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..116c174
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/en/00_titletoc.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+<bookinfo>
+ <title>Debian Pure Blends</title>
+
+ <author>
+ <firstname>Andreas</firstname>
+ <surname>Tille</surname>
+ <affiliation>
+ <address>
+ <email>tille at debian.org</email>
+ </address>
+ </affiliation>
+ </author>
+
+ <revhistory>
+ <revision>
+ <revnumber>v1</revnumber>
+ <date>19 Jun 2013</date>
+ <!--<authorinitials></authorinitials>
+ <revremark></revremark> -->
+ </revision>
+ </revhistory>
+
+ <copyright>
+ <year>2004 - 2011</year> <holder>Andreas Tille, Ben Armstrong</holder>
+ </copyright>
+
+ <legalnotice>
+ <title>Copyright</title>
+ <para>
+ This manual is Free Software; you may redistribute it and/or
+ modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.0, or
+ (at your option) any later version.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ This is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ <emphasis>without any warranty</emphasis>; without even the implied warranty
+ of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. See the
+ GNU General Public License for more details.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ A copy of the GNU General Public License is available
+ on the World Wide Web at <ulink url="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html"/>. You
+ can also obtain it by writing to the Free Software Foundation,
+ Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110, USA.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ You can find the source of this article
+ <ulink url="http://git.debian.org/?p=blends/blends.git;a=tree;f=doc/en">in the Git repository at git.debian.org</ulink>.
+ It is also available as Debian package blends-doc<!-- <package>blends-doc</package>. -->
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ A <ulink url="debian-blends.en.pdf">printable version in PDF format</ulink> will be built
+ from time to time.
+ </para>
+ </legalnotice>
+
+ <abstract>
+ <para>
+ This paper is intended for people who are interested in the philosophy
+ of Debian Pure Blends (in short "Blends" if it is used clearly in
+ internal Debian context), and the technique that is used to manage
+ those projects. For those who are familiar with the concept of Custom
+ Debian Distributions: We just found a new name for this concept
+ because the old name just not expressed what actually is done. It is
+ explained in detail why Blends are not forks from Debian, but reside
+ completely inside the Debian GNU/Linux distribution, and which
+ advantages can be enjoyed by taking this approach. The concept of
+ metapackages and user role based menus is explained. In short: This
+ document describes why Debian Pure Blends are important to the
+ vitality and quality of Debian.
+ </para>
+ </abstract>
+</bookinfo>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/en/01_introduction.xml b/doc/en/01_introduction.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea903de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/en/01_introduction.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+<chapter id="introduction">
+
+ <title>Introduction</title>
+
+<para>
+ A general purpose operating system like Debian can be the
+ perfect solution for many different problems. Whether
+ you want Debian to work for you in the classroom, as a
+ games machine, or in the office, each problem area has its
+ own unique needs and requires a different subset of
+ packages tailored in a different way.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Debian Pure Blends
+ provide support for special user interests. They implement a new
+ approach to cover interests of specialised users, who might be
+ children, lawyers, medical staff, visually impaired people, etc. Of
+ late, several Debian Pure Blends have evolved. The common goal of
+ those is to make installation and administration of computers for
+ their target users as easy as possible, and to serve in the role as
+ the missing link between software developers and users well.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ To clarify the relation between a Blend and a derivative which is
+ frequently mixed up Ben Armstrong said in a
+ <ulink url="http://lists.debian.org/debian-blends/2011/07/msg00010.html">
+ discussion on the Blends mailing list</ulink>:
+ "While a Blend strives to mainstream with Debian, a derivative
+ strives to differentiate from Debian."
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Using the object oriented approach as an analogy, if Debian as a whole
+ is an object, a Debian Pure Blend is an instance of this object that
+ inherits all features while providing certain properties.
+ </para>
+
+<para>
+ So the Debian project releases the Debian Distribution which
+ includes several Blends. In contrast to this, there might be some
+ other Debian related Projects, either external or non-official, which
+ may create "derivative distributions". But these are not the
+ responsibility of the Debian project.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ A word of warning: The fact that a Blend covering a certain field of
+ work does exist does not mean that it might be a complete drop in
+ replacement of Free Software solutions for all tasks in this specific
+ field. Some Blends just started to work on this and adopted the
+ technical framework to formalise the work on the project but it might
+ perfectly happen that there is just a lack of available Free Software
+ solutions for certain tasks. Debian can do less about this because we
+ just assemble a set of software which was developed outside the Debian
+ GNU/Linux distribution. So it has to be checked whether a specific
+ Blend is fit for the intended purpose, whether it might cover just
+ some parts of a fields of work or whether it is just a concept to develop
+ some solutions for the future.
+</para>
+
+</chapter>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/en/02_about.xml b/doc/en/02_about.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c407f5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/en/02_about.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,365 @@
+<chapter id="about">
+
+ <title>What are Debian Pure Blends?</title>
+
+<sect1 id="debian">
+ <title>What is Debian?</title>
+
+<para>
+ The core of an operating system is a piece of software that interacts
+ with the hardware of the computer, and provides basic functionality
+ for several applications. On Linux based systems, the so-called
+ kernel provides this functionality, and the term Linux just means
+ this core without those applications that provide the functionality
+ for users. Other examples are the Hurd, or the flavours of the BSD
+ kernel.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Many applications around UNIX-like kernels are provided by the
+ <ulink url="http://www.gnu.org/">GNU</ulink> system. That is why Linux based
+ operating systems are described as GNU/Linux systems. The GNU tools
+ around the Linux kernel build a complete operating system.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Users do not need only an operating system. They also need certain
+ applications like web servers, or office suites. A
+ <emphasis>distribution</emphasis> is a collection of software packages around the
+ GNU/Linux operating system that satisfies the needs of the target
+ user group. There are general distributions, which try to support
+ all users, and there are several specialised distributions, which
+ each target a special group of users.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <emphasis>Distributors</emphasis> are those companies that are building these
+ collections of software around the GNU/Linux operating system.
+ Because it is Free Software, the user who buys a distribution pays
+ for the service that the distributor is providing. These services
+ might be:
+
+<itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Preparing a useful collection of software around GNU/Linux.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem><para>Caring for smooth installation that the target user is able to
+ manage.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Providing software updates and security fixes.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Writing documentation and translations to enable the user to use
+ the distribution with maximum effect.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem><para>Selling Boxes with ready to install CDs and printed
+ documentation.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Offering training and qualification.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Most distributors ship their distribution in binary packages. Two
+ package formats are widely used:
+
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>RPM (RedHat Package Manager)</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>which is supported by RedHat, SuSE, Mandriva and others.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>DEB (Debian Package)</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>used by Debian and derived distributions.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ </variablelist>
+
+ All GNU/Linux distributions have a certain amount of common ground,
+ and the <ulink url="http://www.linuxbase.org/">Linux Standard Base</ulink>
+ (LSB) is attempting to develop and promote a set of standards
+ that will increase compatibility among Linux distributions, and enable
+ software applications to run on any compliant system.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ The very essence of any distribution, (whether delivered as RPMs, DEBs,
+ Source tarballs or ports) is the choice of <emphasis>policy statements</emphasis>
+ made (or not made, as the case may be) by the creators of the distribution.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <emphasis>Policy statements</emphasis> in this sense are things like
+ "configuration files live in
+ <filename>/etc/$package/$package.conf</filename>, logfiles go to
+ <filename>/var/log/$package/$package.log</filename> and the documentation
+ files can be found in <filename>/usr/share/doc/$package</filename>."
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ The policy statements are followed by the tool-chains and
+ libraries used to build the software, and the lists of dependencies, which
+ dictate the prerequisites and order in which the software has to be
+ built and installed. (It's easier to ride a bicycle if you put the wheels
+ on first. ;-) )
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ It is this <emphasis>adherence to policy</emphasis> that causes a distribution
+ to remain consistent within its own bounds. At the same time, this is
+ the reason why packages can not always be safely installed across
+ distribution boundaries. A SuSE <filename>package.rpm</filename> might not
+ play well with a RedHat <filename>package.rpm</filename>, although the
+ packages work perfectly well within their own distributions. A
+ similar compatability problem could also apply to packages from the
+ same distributor, but from a different version or generation of the
+ distribution.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+<!-- <comment>AT: The context is somehow missing here.</comment> -->
+ As you will see later in more detail, Debian Pure Blends are
+ just a modified ruleset for producing a modified (specialised)
+ version of Debian GNU/Linux.
+</para>
+<para>
+ A package management system is a very strong tool to manage software
+ packages on your computer. A large amount of the work of a
+ distributor is building these software packages.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Distributors you might know are
+ <ulink url="http://www.mandriva.com/">Mandriva</ulink>,
+ <ulink url="http://www.redhat.com/">RedHat</ulink>,
+ <ulink url="http://www.suse.com/">SuSE</ulink>
+ (now owned by <ulink url="http://www.novell.com/linux/">Novell</ulink>)
+ and others.
+</para>
+<para>
+ <ulink url="http://www.debian.org">Debian</ulink> is just one of them.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+Well, at least this is what people who do not know Debian well might
+think about it. But, in fact, Debian is a different kind of
+distribution ...
+</para>
+
+</sect1>
+
+<sect1 id="whatdebian">
+ <title>What is Debian? (next try)</title>
+
+<para>
+The Debian Project is an association of individuals who have made
+common cause to create a free operating system. This operating system
+that we have created is called <emphasis>Debian GNU/Linux</emphasis>,
+or simply Debian for short.
+</para>
+<para>
+Moreover, work is in progress to provide Debian of kernels other than
+Linux, primarily for the Hurd. Other possible kernels are the
+flavours of BSD, and there are even people who think about ports to MS
+Windows.
+</para>
+<para>
+All members of the Debian project are connected in a
+<ulink url="http://people.debian.org/~tille/talks/img/earthkeyring.png">web of trust</ulink>,
+which is woven by signing GPG keys. One requirement to become a
+member of the Debian project is to have a GPG key signed by a Debian
+developer. Every time one Debian developer meets another developer
+for the first time, they sign each other's keys. In this way, the web
+of trust is woven.
+</para>
+
+</sect1>
+
+<sect1 id="difference">
+ <title>Differences from other distributions</title>
+
+<para>
+
+<itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Debian is not a company, but an organisation.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>It does not sell anything.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Debian members are volunteers.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Maintainers are working on the common goal:
+ to build the best operating system they can achieve.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Debian maintains the largest collection of ready-to-install Free
+ Software on the Internet.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>There are two ways to obtain Debian GNU/Linux:</para>
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Buy it from some <emphasis>other</emphasis> distributor on
+ CD. Perhaps the correct term would be
+ <emphasis>re</emphasis>distributor. Because Debian is free, anybody can
+ build his own distribution based on it, sell CDs, and even
+ add new features, such as printed documentation, more software,
+ support for different installers and more.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Download Debian from the web for free.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+ <para>The latter is the common way, and there are really great tools
+ to do it this way. Certainly it is always possible to copy Debian
+ from a friend.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+</itemizedlist>
+
+</para>
+ </sect1>
+
+<sect1 id="Blends">
+ <title>Debian Pure Blends</title>
+
+<para>
+Debian contains nearly 22.000 binary packages, and this number is
+constantly increasing. There is no single user who needs all these
+packages (even if conflicting packages are not considered).
+</para>
+<para>The normal user is interested in a subset of these packages. But
+how does the user find out which packages are really interesting?
+</para>
+<para>
+One solution is provided by the tasksel<!-- <package>tasksel</package> --> package.
+It provides a reasonable selection of quite general tasks that can be
+accomplished using a set of packages installed on a Debian GNU/Linux
+system. But this is not really fine grained, and does not address all
+of the needs of user groups with special interests.
+</para>
+<para>
+<emphasis>Debian Pure Blends</emphasis> - in short Blends if used clearly in the
+Debian internal context which makes "Pure" and "Debian" obvious -
+which were formerly known as Custom Debian Distributions (this name
+was confusing because it left to much room for speculation that this
+might be something else than Debian) try to provide a solution for
+<emphasis>special groups of target users with different skills and
+interests</emphasis>. Not only do they provide handy collections of specific
+program packages, but they also ease installation and configuration
+for the intended purpose.
+</para>
+<para>
+Debian Pure Blends are <emphasis>not forks</emphasis> from Debian. As the
+new name says clearly they are pure Debian and just provide a specific
+flavour. So if you obtain the complete Debian GNU/Linux distribution,
+you have all available Debian Pure Blends included.
+</para>
+<para>
+The concept of what is called <emphasis>Blend</emphasis> in Debian is also known
+in other distributions. For instance nn Fedora there are
+<ulink url="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/SIGs">Special Interest Groups (SIGs)</ulink>
+even if some SIGs in Fedora are what in Debian is known as interntal
+project because it is focussed on technical implementetions and not
+on user oriented applications.
+</para>
+</sect1>
+
+<sect1>
+ <title>Difference between a Blend and a remastered system</title>
+
+<para>
+Not necessarily all currently existing Blends are actually providing
+installation media (live media or installer). The reason for this is
+that such installation media are not always necessary / wanted. You
+can just install plain Debian and install some metapackages on top of it.
+However, the metapackage approach makes the creation of installation
+media quite simple by using
+<ulink url="http://live.debian.net/">Debian Live</ulink>.
+Here are some reasons for this approach compared to a remastering
+strategy.
+</para>
+
+<sect2>
+ <title>Technical</title>
+ <para>
+ The process for creation of a blend involves starting with a Debian or
+ derivative repository and creating an image directly from that (live,
+ install or otherwise) that contains a selection of material from that
+ repository delivered in such a way that it is usable by a particular
+ target user for a particular purpose with a minimum of effort.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ By contrast, the process of remastering generally involves first
+ downloading an image produced by the parent distro (live, install or
+ otherwise,) then tearing it apart and reassembling it with your
+ customizations applied.
+ </para>
+</sect2>
+
+<sect2>
+ <title>Philosophical</title>
+ <para>
+ The blends philosophy is to work as closely with the parent distro as
+ possible. If possible, the project should be done entirely within the
+ distro as a subproject, containing only material supplied by the parent
+ distro. We call this a "Pure Blend".
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The remastering philosophy (if it can be called that) seems to be
+ "whatever works" and involves little or no interaction with the parent
+ distro. It's a lazy approach used by people who have newly discovered
+ that they can hack images to make them into custom images to make
+ something uniquely theirs. Probably fine for quick-and-dirty results,
+ but hard to support in the long run.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The users of a blend are served better than the users of a
+ remaster because of the following advantages:
+ </para>
+
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Technical advantage</title>
+ <para>
+ A new version of a well-crafted blend ought to be able to be produced at
+ any time directly from the repository simply by building it; the user
+ has some assurance that the resulting system remains 'untainted' by
+ hacking it up with scripts that 'damage' the original system by removing
+ files from packages, changing files in packages, etc. something that
+ hurts maintainability / support for such a system.
+ </para>
+ </sect3>
+
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Community advantage</title>
+ <para>
+ A blend project aims to leverage support resources from the existing
+ community to serve some sub-community within it. They accomplish this by
+ not violating Debian packaging policy, producing something that is
+ either pure Debian (a "pure blend") or Debian + additional packages,
+ rather than some frankendistro artlessly stitched together from someone
+ else's distro with scripts that change things everywhere with no regard
+ to policy. Thus, normal support channels can be used with a pure blend
+ since what you end up with is not a derivative at all, but just Debian,
+ set up and ready to go for whatever you wanted to use it for.
+ </para>
+ </sect3>
+
+</sect2>
+
+</sect1>
+
+</chapter>
\ No newline at end of file
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