[Pkg-mozext-maintainers] Mozilla-devscripts (or successor)

[Carsten Schoenert]

Helo Helge,

Am 01.09.24 um 18:01 schrieb Helge Kreutzmann:
> So the fix is simple, simply remove the "--with-webext" in
> debian/rules and list the directories of the xpi (zip) files in
> debian/install.
> 
> This works, but the previous package had one more file, (actually a
> soft link):
> lrwxrwxrwx root/root         0 2023-12-22 14:22 ./usr/share/mozilla/extensions/{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}/{73a6fe31-595d-460b-a920-fcc0f8843232} -> ../../../webext/noscript
> 
> What is the relevance of this file/link? Should I simply create it
> manually or does this hash have a deeper meaning?

of course there was and is a meaning of this. :-)

In the "old" XPI AddOns based times there was first the folder
/usr/share/mozilla/extensions/ but also
/usr/share/xpi which were the real home for the packages that did 
provide AddOns for FF and TB.
And also in the old days there were AddOns exist that where usable in FF
*and* TB so it did make sense to have the content of the AddOn just
installed into one place and share a symlink because Thunderbird is
expecting the AddOns have to to be around in
/usr/lib/thunderbird/extensions/.

This behavior and practice did got also included into the webext based
AddOns which were packaged in Debian. As the AddOn format did changed 
the new folder and home for the webext based AddOns where then in
/usr/share/webext.

We don't have that much AddOns any more so it's not that visible anymore
why the folders do exist and why this symlinking is and was done.

I personally would keep that linking and do not install the AddOn into
/usr/lib/thunderbird/extensions/ directly.

-- 
Regards
Carsten