Bug#763204: pkg-perl-tools: [Lintian checks] New version of lintian will deprecate "debfiles"

[Niels Thykier]

Source: pkg-perl-tools
Version: 0.17
Severity: normal


Hi,

The upcoming version of Lintian will deprecate "debfiles" (both the
collection and the "$info->debfiles" method provided by
Lintian::Collect::Source).  You can find a list of possibly affected
files in [1].  You can reading more about the rationale behind the
deprecation in [2].

*When* 2.5.28 is released, please apply the following changes to your
lintian checks:

 * All method that previously (in)directly required the "debfiles"
   collection will now require "unpacked" instead.  Please update
   the "Needs-Info" accordingly.

 * Usage of the "debfiles" method is generally replaced by either
   "index" or "index_resolved_path" and the extended API of
   Lintian::Path.
   - Most of the API is currently only available in the Lintian git
     repository and will first be made available in version 2.5.28.

Future deprecations:

 * The "unpacked" and "control" methods from Lintian::Collect-classes
   is also scheduled for deprecation.  Though, it may be deferred to
   after Lintian/2.5.28.

Example (old code):

  use strict; use warnings; use autodie;
  use Lintian::Util qw(is_ancestor_of);
  
  my $file = ...;
  my $droot = $info->debfiles
  my $dfile = $info->debfiles($file);
  if ( -f $dfile and is_ancestor_of($droot, $dfile)) {
    open(my $fd, '<', $dfile);
    ...;
    close($fd);
  }

Example replacement:

  use strict; use warnings; use autodie;
  
  my $file = ...;
  my $dfile = $info->index_resolved_path("debian/$file");
  if ($dfile and $dfile->is_open_ok) {
    my $fd = $dfile->open;
    ...;
    close($fd);
  } 

Other notable new API methods in Lintian::Path for accessing
the file contents:

 * file_contents (slurp the file, check with is_open_ok)
 * fs_path (path to the underlying file, check with is_open_ok
   before opening it or passing to a method or an external tool)


~Niels

[1]:
$ git describe && grep debfiles -r lintian/
0.17
lintian/checks/pkg-perl/module-name.desc:Needs-Info: debfiles
lintian/checks/pkg-perl/usr-lib-perl5.desc:Needs-Info: debfiles
lintian/checks/pkg-perl/usr-lib-perl5.pm:    my $d = $info->debfiles;
lintian/checks/pkg-perl/usr-lib-perl5.pm:                     is_ancestor_of($info->debfiles, $f));

[2] http://nthykier.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/lintian-upcoming-api-making-it-easier-to-write-correct-and-safe-code/