Idea: sbuild/pbuilder "--dgit" option

[Ian Jackson]

Bernhard R. Link writes ("Re: Idea: sbuild/pbuilder "--dgit" option"):
> The effect it has (and what I understand the thing you want), is that it
> will make a build *fail* if there is a .git-ignore file that has a
> different content than the .orig.tar.* (or is not included in the form
> of a debian/patches/ file). Because when it is no longer an ignored
> derivation between unpacked source and current clean working directory,
> it is by definition an fatal error. (Unless one was to reintroduce the
> annoying, error-hiding, error-introducing 'generate new patches at build'
> time behaviour).

This is a problem in some situations, indeed.  The problem case is
when: the source format is `3.0 (quilt)'; without
`single-debian-patch'; and the build is being done by a maintainer;
and the maintainer wants to build from their master branch.

But I think the proposed --dgit option to a build tool can still be
useful in some situations.  For example, with other source formats, or
with single-debian-patch (where I think the patch is autoregenerated
as needed); or if the build is being done by a non-maintainer user
from the dgit history view; or the maintainer is willing to invoke
dgit to obtain the dgit history view and build from that.

(The problem case can also be avoided if no non-debian/ .git* files
have been edited, in which case the proposed --dgit option has no
effect; or if the maintainer is happy to invoke their build tooling
via dgit, in which case dgit will pass approprate -i -I to the build
tools.)

Ian.

-- 
Ian Jackson <ijackson at chiark.greenend.org.uk>   These opinions are my own.

If I emailed you from an address @fyvzl.net or @evade.org.uk, that is
a private address which bypasses my fierce spamfilter.