Re: ITP: gnocatan
>>>>> "Jeff" == Jeff Breidenbach <jeff@jab.org> writes:
Jeff> Ok, folks, here's the deal with Gnocatan.
Jeff> The current release is 0.5.0, which is sitting at
Jeff> http://gnocatan.sourceforge.net. The Gnocatan source tree even
Jeff> has a target for producing a rather reasonable set of .debs.
Jeff> This work was done by Andrew J. Heroff <aheroff@mediaone.net>.
Jeff> However, Gnocatan has never been uploaded to Debian.
The most annoying bug, a protocol race, has actually been there for
quite some time. Way back in the 0.3.3 days, there was a race
condition in the player to player trading. I re-implemented the
client state machine in an attempt to make it easier to locate the
problem. I very much suspect that the problem is still there.
Both the client and server log protocol activity to files in /tmp, and
my hope is that one day, the bug will be captured in a set of log
files which get sent to me. I have also written a small Python
program which threads the server and client log files into a single
stream to assist in analysis.
In a sense, some unstable Debian packages would increase the number of
players looking for games over the 'net, so we are likely to find the
bug faster. Once the bug has been found, my opinion is that Gnocatan
would require very little extra work to be included in stable Debian.
Jeff> I spoke with several Gnocatan folks before my Intent To Package,
Jeff> and since then I've spoken with several more. This includes the
Jeff> original developer (David Cole), some of the current upstream
Jeff> maintainers, and Andrew Heroff. They do not wish Gnocatan to be
Jeff> included with Debian yet, until a few bugs have been fixed. (The
Jeff> game client crashes under certain conditions, which can arise
Jeff> during normal play.)
Jeff> Personally, I think Gnocatan would do just fine Debian's
Jeff> unstable tree, perhaps with a Release Critical bug filed to
Jeff> prevent it from entering stable until appropriate maturity is
Jeff> reached. Because the license is GPL, I could go ahead and
Jeff> "facilitate its uploading" through my sponsor anyway. However, I
Jeff> feel it is far more appropriate to respect upstream's wishes.
The protocol in the 0.5.0 release downloadable from SourceForge is not
compatible with the current CVS version. I would prefer it if a new
set of files were cut and packaged for Debian unstable.
Jeff> I have high hopes that a future release will be deemed
Jeff> acceptable by the developers, and uploaded either via Andew
Jeff> Heroff or me. Andrew is interested in keeping his hands on the
Jeff> .debs. I don't know yet if he is interested in becoming a Debian
Jeff> Maintainer, so there may or may not be a roll for me. I'm sorry
Jeff> I got your hopes up with a somewhat premature ITP.
I am all for an unstable Debian package in an attempt to find the
protocol bug which kills the game. The game will never reach a wide
audience without being included in a distribution. Unfortunately,
going on current trends, it us unlikely that we will find the protocol
race without the game being used by a wider audience.
Jeff> In summary: Gnocatan will be uploaded to Debian in a future
Jeff> release, when the developers think it is ready. If you can't
Jeff> wait, get the 0.5.0 .debs from http://gnocatan.sourceforge.net.
Don't get the 0.5.0 files. They are more buggy than the current CVS
code. We should really get Andrew to build a 0.5.5 set of packages
and files so that all of us can run the same game.
Jeff> Who knows, maybe I'll be an official maintainer by the time
Jeff> Gnocatan is good-to-go.
Woo hoo!
- Dave
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