[DRE-maint] Bug#632553: Bug#632553: gem2deb: dh_ruby ignores install directory

[Stig Sandbeck Mathisen]

Vincent Fourmond <fourmond at gmail.com> writes:

> Could this just be an option, triggered using a
> GEM2DEB_INSTALL_DIR=debian/tmp variable in debian/rules?

> That would not cause FTBFSes while allowing more control over file
> installation when that is needed.

This looks like it could be solved with the "compatibility level" used
by dpkg and debhelper.

Add a file called (for instance) debian/source/gem2deb.compat. Make it
behave like debian/compat (which is used by debhelper to define how it
should behave). Default to "1", which is the current behaviour.

Proposed compatibility levels:

,----[ 1 ]
| Install to debian/<first package name>
`----

,----[ 2 ]
| If an argument is given on the command line, and it is a directory,
| install to that location
| 
| Else, if we have multiple binary packages, install to debian/tmp/
| 
| Else, install to debian/<package name>/
`----

The differences in compatibility levels can be easily documented, see
"Debhelper compatibility levels" in debhelper(7). It will also make
disruptive changes in gem2deb much easier to handle in the future, since
it will not break current packages.

-- 
Stig Sandbeck Mathisen