Re: Using GNU's install-info in Debian instead of dpkg's install-info

[Norbert Preining]

Hi all!

On Fre, 26 Mai 2006, Karl Berry wrote:
> If you want to require it for Debian, that's fine, of course, and it can
> be an option or whatever in I-I.  I can imagine many people would like
> it.  But, at least in the form I'm envisioning, I don't think it should
> be the default for GNU.

I would say that it is up to Karl as upstream to decide what is the
way install-info works.

The already proposed solution to work in either of the two modes is for
sure the perfect solution. If Debian decides to rewrite dh_installinfo
to use always GNU I-I in the regenerate-mode, so may it be, and if
Karl/RMS or whoever decides that for the GNU System I-I continues to use
the parse-and-include approach, also good.

But if we want this, do we need a merge at all???

Couldn't Debian write something like
        update-info-dir
and dh_installinfo does in fact nothing besides putting the info files
into the right directory and adds a call to update-info-dir to the
postinst script.

THe funtion update-info-dir would kill the current dir file, and call
GNU install-info for every info file present. This way we would be sure
that nobody messes up the dir file. And if, then it was GNU I-I.

Advantage:
- nothing big to program
- there is only one install-info in Debian, not dpkg-II and GNU-II

Disadvantage
- we have to get rid of this regexp option
- rebuild of all packages using info files?


Suggestions?


> Norbert was originally proposing (are you even seeing this mail any
> more, Norbert?), even if the whole world can't be fixed at the same

Of course.

Best wishes

Norbert

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Norbert Preining <preining AT logic DOT at>             Università di Siena
gpg DSA: 0x09C5B094      fp: 14DF 2E6C 0307 BE6D AD76  A9C0 D2BF 4AA3 09C5 B094
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are of course many problems connected with life, of
which some of the most popular are `Why are people born?'
Why do they spend so much of the
intervening time wearing digital watches?'
                 --- The Book.
                 --- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy