[Pkg-giraffe-discuss] z-push packaging question - licenses / lintian

[Roel van Meer]

Hi everyone,

so, based on Carstens work I've started the z-push packaging. I've updated  
the repo to 2.3.4, renamed the source package to z-push, and we're also in  
Travis CI now: https://travis-ci.org/roelvanmeer/z-push-packaging

The build shows some lintian errors and warnings, most of which I'll be able  
to fix, but for one of them I have a question.

Lintian complains about an error in the source package:

  E: z-push source: license-problem-bad-php-license debian/copyright

The problem is that a number of PHP files (derived from Pear files) are  
listed in the copyright file as having the PHP-2.02 license, and according  
to Lintian this license is only valid for the PHP interpreter itself, not  
for code written in PHP, nor for Pear modules. The specification of this  
license is correct, however, as this license is indeed named in the PHP  
files themselves.

Now, when I look at official Debian packages that provide the original  
version of these files, then the files themselves also mention the PHP-2.02  
license, but the d/copyright file lists them under a different license  
(BSD-3-clause, or PHP 3.01).

So, what is the better way to do this? Use the license according to the file  
and add a lintian override (if this error is overridable, that is) or use a  
different license, thereby satisfying lintian, but having a copyright file  
that's not entirely correct?

Thanks,

Roel