[Pkg-alsa-devel] Alsa-plugins, the a52 plugins, and a separate package.

[Jordi Mallach]

Hi Luke,

On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 01:23:38PM +1100, Luke Yelavich wrote:
> I propose that we put a52 related plugins into a new package, say
> libasound2-plugins-a52. This allows Debian users to continue to use the
> a52 plugins as they have for a while, and also allows Ubuntu users to
> install the a52 plugins, should they wish to do so. I've long thought of
> packaging these plugins in a separate package for Ubuntu users, but if
> we do it in Debian, its less work for me. :)
> 
> I am aware of the ramifications for Debian, particularly since users
> won't want to have to hunt down a new package to get the plugins they
> were using, but this may also help Debian in terms of its freeness,
> depending of course whether there are other packages that pull in
> alsa-plugins.

I'm not convinced at all.

My quest to bring deltas to the minimum stops there, when the delta is at
the minimum, that is, when everything both Ubuntu and Debian wants to be
the same is synced in the Debian package. There's a lot of stuff in this
category in alsa-lib or alsa-utils, for example.

In this case, it seems something that doesn't bring Debian any good: we
split a package for apparently no good reason (we have no problem with
libav, and a very long list of packages is using it in main), just because
Ubuntu, in its comercial nature, might be more prominent target for patent
trolls or whatever.

I don't think this delta, which will be really small, will be hard to
maintain in the future, and even more now with the cleaner source package
resulting of the removal of biarch.

What I am in favour of doing is supporting Debian/Ubuntu differences when
they are possible using clean tricks in debian/rules, using $(dpkg-vendor
--is ubuntu) or similar to, for example, pass different configure options
to a build, etc. If doing this makes debian/rules a new mess, then I guess
a debian→ubuntu diff is better for both still.

Jordi
-- 
Jordi Mallach Pérez  --  Debian developer     http://www.debian.org/
jordi at sindominio.net     jordi at debian.org     http://www.sindominio.net/
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