[Reproducible-builds] Bug#782380: mailman-api: please make the build reproducible

[Antonio Terceiro]

Control: tag -1 + moreinfo

On Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 01:29:38PM +0200, Reiner Herrmann wrote:
> Source: mailman-api
> Version: 0.2.9-1
> Severity: wishlist
> Tags: patch
> User: reproducible-builds at lists.alioth.debian.org
> Usertags: timestamps
> X-Debbugs-CC: reproducible-builds at lists.alioth.debian.org
> 
> Hi!
> 
> While working on Debian's “reproducible builds” effort [1], we have
> noticed that mailman-api doesn't build reproducibly.
> It embeds the current date into the manpage.
> 
> The attached patch fixes this by using the last changelog date
> as a timestamp that will be embedded.
> 
> Regards,
>  Reiner
> 
> [1]: https://wiki.debian.org/ReproducibleBuilds
> 

> diff --git a/debian/rules b/debian/rules
> index 0443b6f..2f9931f 100755
> --- a/debian/rules
> +++ b/debian/rules
> @@ -3,13 +3,16 @@
>  # This file was automatically generated by stdeb 0.8.2 at
>  # Thu, 23 Oct 2014 15:53:01 -0200
>  export PYBUILD_NAME=mailman-api
> +export LAST_CHANGE=$(shell dpkg-parsechangelog -S Date)
> +export BUILD_DATE=$(shell LC_ALL=C date -u "+%B %d, %Y" -d "$(LAST_CHANGE)")
> +
>  %:
>  	dh $@ --with python2 --buildsystem=pybuild
>  
>  
>  override_dh_auto_build:
>  	dh_auto_build
> -	make man -C docs/
> +	make man -C docs/ SPHINXOPTS="-D today=\"$(BUILD_DATE)\""
>  	cp init/sysv/mailman-api debian/mailman-api.init
>  
>  override_dh_auto_clean:

Nothing against the patch, but wouldn't it be better to handle this
issue in one of the above layers such as debhelper, dpkg-dev, or
something else? After all you are just setting an environment variable,
and having to patch every single package out there is certainly not
going to be sustainable.

$ grep-dctrl -F Build-Depends python-sphinx -n -s Package /var/lib/apt/lists/http.debian.net_debian_dists_unstable_main_source_Sources | wc -l
404

-- 
Antonio Terceiro <terceiro at debian.org>
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