[Pkg-electronics-devel] Reviving the fped package in Debian

[Paul Boddie]

On Sunday 30. June 2019 22.17.57 Paul Boddie wrote:
> On Sunday 30. June 2019 21.56.32 Carsten Schoenert wrote:
> > 
> > It's absolutely o.k. to rebuild packages like fped at least once in the
> > release preparation to adopt and update the packaging. So feel free to
> > work on this.

I haven't done much more on this in the last month, but I did submit a pull 
request on Xiangfu's GitHub repository:

https://github.com/xiangfu/deb-pkg/pull/1

I can make this available myself if necessary. Using GitHub was the most 
obvious route, albeit one I didn't really want to take.

[...]

> > uscan is very flexible as long there is some url to look at something,
> > given the old fped git repo isn't alive anymore adding a watch is
> > depending on some new source url.
> 
> The old repository does work, though:
> 
> git://projects.qi-hardware.com/fped.git
> 
> I have cloned it and have been working out of that clone with the newer
> packaging files. But the problem may well be how to obtain release archives
> when they are made available on subpages of the links found on the downloads
> page:
> 
> http://projects.qi-hardware.com/index.php/p/fped/downloads/

[...]

To get around this, I used the git support in recent uscan versions. This uses 
the repository directly and effectively treats new commits as new versions. My 
understanding is that Werner doesn't tag releases but doesn't tend to commit 
non-release material, anyway.

One person I asked indicated that he had considered forking the upstream 
repository and tagging releases. I guess this could be some kind of solution 
if it is not perceived as being hostile, noting that the person whose opinion 
I received has been on good terms with Werner historically.

> > Why you wont take over some maintenance? My guess is that nobody from
> > the electronics team will jump in here directly nor will also take over
> > the maintainer ship for this package. But I'd at least would sponsor the
> > upload of an updated package if needed and appropriate.
> > 
> > A package like this one are easy packages to get some or more packaging
> > practice, I bet this package won't ever get a new upstream version a
> > year. ;)
> 
> I guess I could be mentored, or whatever the current term is for that kind
> of thing.

Well, I feel I have done what I can at the moment. I noticed that the last 
package release was uploaded by Mattia Rizzolo, who has been copied on this 
message (sorry if it was presumptuous to do so). At the very least, an update 
of the packaging would fix QA issues in Debian and make the software usable 
for people again.

Paul

P.S. ...

> I did participate in the Debian Mentors programme a few years
> ago, and I guess I should also dedicate some time to the package involved
> in that exercise:
> 
> https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/shedskin
> 
> My main concern is the route to getting packages uploaded together with the
> usual "tooling up" required to do things right. I find myself spread very
> thin these days.

And, of course, the pervasive attitude in the technology industry of sweeping 
old things off the table - meaning that the above package is threatened with 
elimination (py2removal) because it relies on mature software and not the 
latest, shiniest stuff that in many ways doesn't improve things - doesn't help 
with my motivation, either.