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Can anyone experienced with debian package development, point me to some valid, recent and Best Practice™ guides or blog posts explaining how to package stuff f

Can anyone experienced with debian package development, point me to some valid, recent and Best Practice™ guides or blog posts explaining how to package stuff for Debian?

tlamponi 1y ago
If you want to package something from upstream git then you might want to check out https://optimizedbyotto.com/post/debian-packaging-from-git/ https://optimizedbyotto.com/post/debian-packaging-from-git/ it is relatively new and uses a modernish tooling. The policy manual serves as both ruleset but also explains lots of things w.r.t. packaging, as that's part of the ruleset: https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/index.html# https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/index.html# For actually uploading new packages to the archive you need to be "DD" (Debian Developer), which is a bit more involved process to go through. "DM"s (Debian Maintainer) is easier and can do already lots of things. It's also possible to start out by finding an existing DD that sponsors your upload, i.e. checks your final packaging work and if it looks alright will upload it in your name to the repositories. You might also check out the wiki of Debian, it's sometimes a bit dated and got lots of info packed in, but can still be valuable if you're willing to work through the outdated bits. E.g.: https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMentorsFaq https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMentorsFaq
pss314 1y ago
Introduction to Debian packaging https://www.debian.org/doc/devel-manuals#packaging-tutorial https://www.debian.org/doc/devel-manuals#packaging-tutorial Best Packaging Practices https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/best-pkging-practices.en.html https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/best...
o11c 1y ago
The native Debian package tooling is very far from sane, even compared to other distros - and they actively refuse to make it saner (instead just adding layers of cruft without addressing the core problems). You're probably best off using `checkinstall` or similar, and adding dependencies by hand.
- em-bee 1y ago
  is RPM that much saner? which RPM based distribution comes with long term support suitable for servers that also includes btrfs? (i used to use centos, but since red hat removed btrfs from the kernel, refusing to support it, i had to switch to debian, because i depend on btrfs support)
  - yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
    > which RPM based distribution comes with long term support suitable for servers that also includes btrfs? Sounds like OpenSUSE to me. I tend to favor the fast-updating versions, but I'm pretty sure openSUSE Leap is exactly what you're asking for.
    - spookie 1y ago
      You can also use opensuse slowroll. Like Tumbleweed but only monthly updates.
  - homebrewer 1y ago
    Oracle Linux (gasp). They employ some of the main developers of btrfs, "their" distribution is just a RHEL rebuild with some patches (including btrfs), and it is very quick at delivering updates (they're usually several hours behind RHEL, while the next best — AlmaLinux — takes a day or two. Other rebuilds, very much including the somehow heavily hyped Rocky, are much slower). I don't think there are many alternatives. OpenSUSE isn't supported for very long, and there really isn't anything else if you want btrfs, no Debian or its derivatives, and fire & forget kind of distribution. Edit: Also look at Alpine Linux, if supports btrfs and has one of the best package formats that is an absolute joy to write (way easier than rpm or deb). It's pretty different in some areas (no systemd and musl being two examples), check if that's fine for you.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - em-bee 1y ago
kassner 1y ago
If you just want to put a binary in a .deb, for internal usage, check out https://vincent.bernat.ch/en/blog/2019-pragmatic-debian-packaging https://vincent.bernat.ch/en/blog/2019-pragmatic-debian-pack.... I went through it in the last year, worked fine to build for bookworm.
Iwan-Zotow 1y ago
Debreate
tremon 1y ago
Not linked yet is the Debian Packaging Portal: https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging There's two tutorials/walkthroughs linked from there: - how to build an existing Debian package: https://wiki.debian.org/BuildingTutorial https://wiki.debian.org/BuildingTutorial - how to package new software for Debian: https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debmake-doc/ch05.en.html https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debmake-doc/ch05.en.html

Can anyone experienced with debian package development, point me to some valid, recent and Best Practice™ guides or blog posts explaining how to package stuff for Debian?

tlamponi 1y ago

If you want to package something from upstream git then you might want to check out https://optimizedbyotto.com/post/debian-packaging-from-git/ https://optimizedbyotto.com/post/debian-packaging-from-git/ it is relatively new and uses a modernish tooling. The policy manual serves as both ruleset but also explains lots of things w.r.t. packaging, as that's part of the ruleset: https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/index.html# https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/index.html# For actually uploading new packages to the archive you need to be "DD" (Debian Developer), which is a bit more involved process to go through. "DM"s (Debian Maintainer) is easier and can do already lots of things. It's also possible to start out by finding an existing DD that sponsors your upload, i.e. checks your final packaging work and if it looks alright will upload it in your name to the repositories. You might also check out the wiki of Debian, it's sometimes a bit dated and got lots of info packed in, but can still be valuable if you're willing to work through the outdated bits. E.g.: https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMentorsFaq https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMentorsFaq

pss314 1y ago

Introduction to Debian packaging https://www.debian.org/doc/devel-manuals#packaging-tutorial https://www.debian.org/doc/devel-manuals#packaging-tutorial Best Packaging Practices https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/best-pkging-practices.en.html https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/best...

o11c 1y ago

The native Debian package tooling is very far from sane, even compared to other distros - and they actively refuse to make it saner (instead just adding layers of cruft without addressing the core problems). You're probably best off using `checkinstall` or similar, and adding dependencies by hand.

em-bee 1y ago
is RPM that much saner? which RPM based distribution comes with long term support suitable for servers that also includes btrfs? (i used to use centos, but since red hat removed btrfs from the kernel, refusing to support it, i had to switch to debian, because i depend on btrfs support)
- yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
  > which RPM based distribution comes with long term support suitable for servers that also includes btrfs? Sounds like OpenSUSE to me. I tend to favor the fast-updating versions, but I'm pretty sure openSUSE Leap is exactly what you're asking for.
  - spookie 1y ago
    You can also use opensuse slowroll. Like Tumbleweed but only monthly updates.
- homebrewer 1y ago
  Oracle Linux (gasp). They employ some of the main developers of btrfs, "their" distribution is just a RHEL rebuild with some patches (including btrfs), and it is very quick at delivering updates (they're usually several hours behind RHEL, while the next best — AlmaLinux — takes a day or two. Other rebuilds, very much including the somehow heavily hyped Rocky, are much slower). I don't think there are many alternatives. OpenSUSE isn't supported for very long, and there really isn't anything else if you want btrfs, no Debian or its derivatives, and fire & forget kind of distribution. Edit: Also look at Alpine Linux, if supports btrfs and has one of the best package formats that is an absolute joy to write (way easier than rpm or deb). It's pretty different in some areas (no systemd and musl being two examples), check if that's fine for you.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - em-bee 1y ago

kassner 1y ago

If you just want to put a binary in a .deb, for internal usage, check out https://vincent.bernat.ch/en/blog/2019-pragmatic-debian-packaging https://vincent.bernat.ch/en/blog/2019-pragmatic-debian-pack.... I went through it in the last year, worked fine to build for bookworm.

Iwan-Zotow 1y ago

Debreate

tremon 1y ago

Not linked yet is the Debian Packaging Portal: https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging There's two tutorials/walkthroughs linked from there: - how to build an existing Debian package: https://wiki.debian.org/BuildingTutorial https://wiki.debian.org/BuildingTutorial - how to package new software for Debian: https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debmake-doc/ch05.en.html https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debmake-doc/ch05.en.html