[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Bug#1020635: trustedqsl: Documentation should be installed in /usr/share/doc/trustedqsl/



On Sun, 2022-09-25 at 08:13 -0700, tony mancill wrote:
> Hello Mathias,
> 
> On Sat, Sep 24, 2022 at 02:51:57PM +0000, Mathias Gibbens wrote:
> >   I happened to build trustedqsl this morning, and linitian flagged
> > that lots of documentation is being installed in an incorrect
> > location (/usr/share/TrustedQSL/help/). Policy Section 12.3 states
> > that "[a]dditional documentation included in the package should be
> > installed under /usr/share/doc/package."
> 
> This will require patching the upstream source.  The help files are
> used by the software at runtime and in this regard, I don't
> necessarily consider them "additional documentation."  The files are
> part of the program.

  I'd disagree. Even if the program has a built-in help renderer, the
underlying files do document how to use the program, its options and
configuration, etc. You can open them up in a normal browser and they
function properly, so there's nothing that specifically ties them to
TrustedQSL as the only way to view them.

  I would hope any required patching would be a single line change of a
path prefix. (Creating a symlink as mentioned below might avoid the
need for any patch.)

> 
> >   Please update the packaging so documentation is installed in the
> > proper location.
> 
> Is there a usability concern or use case you are trying to address?
> When you start TQSL, you should be able to access the documentation
> via Help -> Display Documentation.

  Mostly it's just trying to ensure this package follows Debian's
conventions and policies. If I as an end user am looking for
documentation that's included in with the package, the first place I'll
look is in /usr/share/doc/<package>; I wouldn't know to look in a non-
standard directory.

> 
> >   Also, it's a bit weird to have the trustedqsl package installing
> > files to /usr/share/TrustedQSL/ (note the difference in
> > capitalization).
> 
> I agree that the capitalization is not typical and perhaps a bit
> unfortunate, but there are other precedents.  I can't find anything
> in policy that indicates that this is a problem.  Looking at my
> system, TrustedQSL is not the only example:

  I concur and like you didn't see anything specifically about
capitalization requirements for that directory name -- just noting it's
atypical.

> 
> We can certainly update the package, but I am not sure what bug we
> are trying to address.  For the lintian warning, we can add an entry
> to lintian-overrides. 

  I'd not like that approach. Usually lintian flags legitimate issues
and sweeping them under the rug via overrides seems less than ideal.

> 
> In addition to that, perhaps adding a symlink from
> /usr/share/doc/trustedqsl/help -> /usr/share/TrustedQSL/help/tqslapp
> would help users find the documentation who would prefer to use
> another mechanism to access it?  It appears to render correctly via a
> web browser pointed at:
> file:///usr/share/TrustedQSL/help/tqslapp/index.htm

  I'd suggest doing the inverse -- install the help files to
/usr/share/doc/TrustedQSL/help/, and then symlink that directory to
/usr/share/TrustedQSL/help/tqslapp/. That would install the
documentation in a Policy-compliant location and also remove the need
to patch the upstream source to point it to a different documentation
directory.

Mathias

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: This is a digitally signed message part


Reply to: