Bug#442029: Opencity & policy: violates 9.1 & 10.7 MUSTs

[Thanasis Kinias]

scripsit Cyril Brulebois:
 
> Cyril Brulebois <cyril.brulebois at enst-bretagne.fr> (12/09/2007):
> > My questions about the exact content of the bug remains, because “FHS
> > violations” isn't self-explanatory.
> 
> For the sake of completeness, posting the following here, so as to
> demonstrate how many points of the Policy the opencity package violates.
> 
> There are explanations actually. Let's see:
> 
> | AUTHORS -- doesn't ship, must be in $(DOCDIR)
> Must? What about the copyright file?

(1) sorry, that wasn't as clear as it should have been.  It doesn't ship,
and it's not clear why -- that's a minor bug, yes -- but if it _does_
ship it _must_ be in $(DOCDIR):

# 9.1.1 File system Structure
# 
# The location of all installed files and directories must comply with the
# File system Hierarchy Standard (FHS), version 2.3, with the exceptions
# noted below, and except where doing so would violate other terms of
# Debian Policy.

There are no relevant exceptions regarding the location of documentation
files.

[omitting OK stuff]

> | OpenCity.desktop -- double-installed in /usr/share/applications
> |     (correct) and $(DATADIR) (redundant)
> Bug, OK. What violation is that?
> 
> | OpenCity.png -- double-installed in /usr/share/pixmaps (correct) and
> |     $(DATADIR) (redundant)
> Maybe a bug, OK. What violation is that?

(2) Not a policy violation, a minor bug.

> | README, TODO -- don't ship, must be in $(DOCDIR)
> See Policy 12.3 again. What violation is that?

(3) The README file is the primary documentation for the package.  Not
shipping it is at least Important `a bug which has a major effect on the
usability of a package, without rendering it completely unusable to
everyone' -- the package is not unusable to anyone who reads Italian (a
small minority of users) or who goes and downloads the upstream package
to get this file (not a reasonable expectation for an end user) if not
Grave `makes the package unusable or mostly so').  If installed (see [1]
above) it _must_ be in $(DOCDIR).  

> | autopackage/ -- ships in $(DATADIR), no reason to ship at all
> Maybe a bug, OK. What violation is that?

See (2).

> | config/* -- ship in $(DATADIR)/config; must be in $(CONFDIR)
> Not if it is not meant to be modified by the local admin. That
> configuration files, although in a directory called “config” can be
> static data. What violation is that, then?

These files _are_ meant to be modified by the local admin; they are the
program's configuration files.  Putting them under /usr violates 9.1
(not following FHS, a `must') and 10.7 (not putting config files under
/etc, also a `must').  A Serious bug means violating a `must' policy.

> | docs/* -- ship in $(DATADIR)/docs; must be in $(DOCDIR)
> Policy 12.3 againt, must != should.

No, Policy 9.1, a `must'.  FHS is very clear about where documentation
files go.  It is _also_ a violation of 12.3 `should', but the `must'
obligation to follow FHS would make that largely irrelevant.

> How many policy violations remain?

9.1, 10.7, 12.3 

To sum this up, ignoring the minor things that I mentioned only as a `by
the way, this can be fixed too':  

A) The English-language documentation is not shipped.  This is not a
policy violation per se, as 12.3 says additional documentation MAY be
installed.  It is, however, an (at least) Important bug as it renders
the program more-or-less unusable without going upstream to get the
documentation.  M. Brulebois's comment that if I can read FHS I should
be able to go look upstream for docs is just insulting; while I'm
(obviously) quite capable of fixing the bugs myself, that is irrelevant
to whether the bugs exist.

B) The Italian-language documentation and the (English) FAQ are shipped,
but in an incorrect location.  This violates 9.1 (MUST follow FHS, which
says that documentation, if installed, MUST go at /usr/share/doc) and
12.3 (SHOULD put docs at /usr/share/doc).

C) The configuration files are not installed under /etc.  This violates
9.1 (MUST follow FHS, which says config in /etc) and 10.7 (MUST put
configuration files in /etc).

-- 
Thanasis Kinias
Doctoral Candidate, Department of History, and
  Instructor, Professional Enhancement Programs
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.
.
Je ne viens d'aucun pays, d'aucune cité, d'aucune tribu.  Je suis fils de la
route, ma patrie est caravane, et ma vie la plus inattendue des traversées.
  -- Amin Maalouf, _Léon l'Africain_
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