Package from CPAN for the Debian Perl team

Become a contributor

Create an Alioth account

Go to on the register page of Alioth, and create a new account. After have confirmed by e-mail, you will have a username ended by -guest.

Introduce yourself on the mailing list

First, register you to the debian-perl mailing list.

Then, simply send an e-mail to debian-perl@lists.debian.org:

Hi all,

I'm a perl user and Debian fan since a long time.

I'm a French - my English is not perfect - engineering student in IT.

I never have the opportunity to contribute directly to Debian, but I'm a local
active militant of the free software, and free - and neutral and decentralized -
Internet. I'm the president of Lorraine Data Network[0], a french ISP.

[0] http://ldn-fai.net

Since a few years, I'm looking for contribute to Debian. Some of my friends are
Debian developer or maintainer - use is cool, contribute is better. The author
of the young - but very active - Curses::Toolkit library [1] wishes I package
his work.

[1] http://search.cpan.org/dist/Curses-Toolkit

I'm not currently a Debian maintainer, but it's an opportunity for me to start,
with you.

The author announced a near important release, and with your agreement, I would
offer a first package on the subversion.

My username in Alioth is ju-guest.

Cheers,
ju.

After some "Welcome aboard" from nice contributors:

Welcome! I've added you to the pkg-perl project on alioth now. Please
take a look on the docs about our packaging guidelines and policies,
if not done already [1].

[1] http://wiki.debian.org/Teams/DebianPerlGroup/Welcome                              

And don't hesitate to ask any questions here on the list or on IRC (#debian-
perl @ irc.debian.org/OFTC)

On your Alioth profile, below Project Info:

This developer is a member of the following projects:
Debian Perl Group (Junior Developer)

Congratulations ;).

How to package

We'll try to package the fake module Eatmytux::Demo (this one is not available from CPAN, but should be). So, the corresponding Debian name is libeatmytux-demo-perl (according the rule ^lib + s/::/-/g + -perl$).

Create an ITP

A new package must close an ITP (Intent To Package) bug, so you need to create one.

Install reportbug and devscripts:

# apt-get install reportbug devscripts

First checks if your lib is really not in Debian:

$ rmadison libeatmytux-demo-perl

Then, checks if there isn't already an ITP for it with the unofficial WNPP web frontend.

If it's okay, retrieve the short description from the CPAN page:

NAME ^

Eatmytux::Demo - a demonstration lib

Then use reportbug, with a personnal SMTP:

reportbug\
    --email=julien@vaubourg.com\
    --realname="Julien Vaubourg"\
    --smtphost=mail.eatmytux.com\
    --smtpuser=ju\
    --tls\
    --list-cc debian-perl@lists.debian.org\
    wnpp

Choose ITP, enter the package name, then a short description:

[...]
1 ITP  This is an `Intent To Package'. [...]
2 O    The package has been `Orphaned'. [...]
3 RFA  This is a `Request for Adoption'. [...]
4 RFH  This is a `Request For Help'. [...]
5 RFP  This is a `Request For Package'. [...]

Choose the request type: 1
Please enter the proposed package name: libeatmytux-demo-perl
Checking status database...
Please briefly describe this package; [...]: Eatmytux::Demo - A demonstration lib
Your report will be carbon-copied to debian-devel, per Debian policy.
Querying Debian BTS for reports on wnpp (source)...
^CUnable to connect to Debian BTS; continue [y|N|?]? y

When reportbug displays Querying Debian BTS, use Ctrl+c to stop it. Otherwise, it's a very long step since it download a huge index file in order to check if there are any similar ITP existing (the BTS would be better to use bunny).

So, answer y to the continue? question, and complete some fields with using the CPAN module page:

Subject: ITP: libeatmytux-demo-perl -- A demonstration lib
Package: wnpp
Owner: Julien Vaubourg <julien@vaubourg.com>
Severity: wishlist

*** Please type your report below this line ***

* Package name    : libeatmytux-demo-perl
  Version         : 0.1
  Upstream Author : Julien Vaubourg <julien@vaubourg.com>
* URL             : http://search.cpan.org/~ju/Eatmytux-Demo-0.1/
* License         : Artistic 1, GPL 1
  Programming Lang: Perl
  Description     : Eatmytux::Demo - A demonstration lib

Eatmytux::Demo module tries to be a good demonstration, based on the real life.
It's a meta package, used by eatmytux.com as part of a tutorial.

When you find "you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.", the license is Artistic 1, GPL 1.

Save your document and close it:

Spawning sensible-editor...
Report will be sent to "Debian Bug Tracking System" <submit@bugs.debian.org>
Submit this report on wnpp (e to edit) [Y|n|a|c|e|i|l|m|p|q|d|t|s|?]? Y

Answer Y.

Enter your SMTP password, and it's ok:

Connecting to mail.eatmytux.com via SMTP...
Enter SMTP password for ju@mail.eatmytux.com: 

Bug report submitted to: "Debian Bug Tracking System" <submit@bugs.debian.org>
Copies sent to:
  Debian Bug Tracking System <submit@bugs.debian.org>
  Julien Vaubourg <julien@vaubourg.com>
Copies will be sent after processing to:
  debian-devel@lists.debian.org
  debian-perl@lists.debian.org
[...]

You will receive an e-mail directly:

ITP: libeatmytux-demo-perl -- Eatmytux::Demo - A demonstration lib

And the same, but with a bug number, on the list:

Bug#637200: ITP: libeatmytux-demo-perl -- Eatmytux::Demo - A demonstration lib

Package it from CPAN

You will need some tools;

# apt-get install git git-buildpackage pristine-tar build-essential dh-make-perl pbuilder quilt apt-file

Be careful to have a recent version of dh-make-perl (>= 0.74).

The first time, think to configure correctly Git:

$ git config --global user.name "Julien Vaubourg"
$ git config --global user.email julien@vaubourg.com

Then import the sources and configure automatically the debian files (change the DEBFULLNAME and the three last values):

DEBFULLNAME='Julien Vaubourg' dh-make-perl\
    --requiredeps\
    -dh 8 --pkg-perl\
    --source-format '3.0 (quilt)'\
    --dist sid\
    --vcs git\
    -e julien@vaubourg.com\
    --cpan Eatmytux::Demo\
    --closes 637200

The value of closes is the bug number that was retrieved in the last ITP e-mail.

If your cpan command is not already configured, choose the default for all questions, and choose a cpan miror.

And in order to avoid to respond these questions the next time, you can save it:

$ cpan
[ same questions ]
cpan[1]> o conf commit
cpan[2]> exit

Then:

$ cd Eatmytux-Demo-0.1/

Checking

Your friend dh-make-perl you really helped. But, there are a lot of checks to be done: this is the tricky part.

Please, read the official Perl team policy.

Here are all the comments that I've ever had (as a standard, d/ represents debian/).

d/copyright:

Replace the Format field content with a URL like http://svn.debian.org/wsvn/dep/web/deps/dep5.mdwn?op=file&rev=248 (find the last version of rev)
Remove the DISCLAIMER paragraph at the top
Missing year(s) of upstream copyright
If the license is unknown from the CPAN, you can use the default copyright statement (as in e.g. libweb-scraper-perl/debian/copyright)
Missing inc/* (if there are special files in the upstream, add the corresponding copyright section)

d/control:

Remove perl-modules from D-B-I (Build-Depends-Indep), perl is enough
Move perl a the top of the D-B-I list (purely esthetic)
Don't indicate version for libtemplate-perl
Use the last debhelper version (currently 8, defined directly with the call of dh-make-perl), and in d/compat
Checks if the standards-version is the last (currently 3.9.2, it's already done if you have a recent dh-make-perl, and lintian will tell you if it's wrong)
The short description (the part on the same line than Description:) should be used with: "$package is a $sortdescription". So, no capitalize the first letter, and use an noun syntaxe ("module for *-ing...")
Replace all this module by the module name
Remove POD styles from short and long description (e.g. "C" => "foobar", Eatmytux::Demo|Eatmytux::Demo => Eatmytux::Demo)
The module name must be mentioned at least once in the long description
Shorten the size of the short and long descriptions if it too long or these lines are too long (lintian will tell you if it's wrong)
Remove the dh-make-perl boilerplate from the bottom

Checks if there are not dependencies missing, if so add it in Build-Depends-Indep and/or Depends:

$ grep -r 'use ' .

Some nice tools for that:

apt-file search -l Eatmytux/Demo.pm : find out the corresponding package
corelist -a Eatmytux::Demo to find out when a dual-lifed module was integrated into perl core
rmadison libeatmytux-demo-perl to find out in which sources is the package

others:

Remove all .docs
Remove debian.bak/ if exists
Sometimes, there are some errors in the upstream (like manual spelling), if so create a patch

(these lists will be regularly updated)

Build your package

The first time:

# pbuilder --create --distribution sid
# apt-file update

Build, and monitor possible errors (from the source directory, above d/):

$ pdebuild

When it's finished, checks your package with lintian:

$ cd /var/cache/pbuilder/result
$ lintian -i -I --show-overrides --pedantic --color auto libeatmytux-demo-perl_0.1-1.dsc

If there are some messages, fix your debian files, use pdebuild again, and rechecks it (e.g. an outdated version of a file, a renamed field, etc.).

Try your package:

# dpkg -i libeatmytux-demo-perl_0.1-1_all.deb

Nice work :).

You can change UNRELEASED by unstable in d/changelog.

Commit your work

SSH key

In your Alitoh account (on the top-right), choose Edit Keys at the bottom, and add a public key.

Warning: DSA doesn't work, use a RSA key.

Then, add to your ~/.ssh/config:

Host git.debian.org
    User ju-guest
    IdentityFile /home/ju/.ssh/id_rsa

Create the repo

Log you directly to the git server (doc), and create a new repo:

$ ssh git.debian.org
$ cd /git/pkg-perl/packages/
$ ../setup-repository libdevel-hide-perl 'Packaging of Eatmytux::Demo in Debian'

Commit it

From your local folder:

$ git commit -am 'Initial Release'
$ git push --all --set-upstream

It's not a problem if there are three "remote: fatal: Invalid revision range".

Verification and validation

Regularly, update your local repo:

$ git pull

It's likely that d/changelog will update with a TODO.

Applied it, rechange UNRELEASED by unstable, and commit:

$ git commit -am "Applied TODO (thx gregor)"
$ git push

When it's okay

You will receive some e-mails as:

Processed: tagging as pending bugs that are closed by packages in NEW
libeatmytux-demo-perl_0.1-1_i386.changes ACCEPTED into unstable
Bug#637200 closed by Julien Vaubourg < julien@vaubourg.com > (Bug#637200: fixed in libeatmytux-demo-perl 0.1-1)
Bug#637200: marked as done (ITP: libeatmytux-demo-perl -- Eatmytux::Demo - A demonstration lib)

Misc

Last update in January 2012

eatmytux!

h;x;s/[^t]\{2\}/r/g;b;:/;s/^/F/;b];:;/tr*t/{b:};:.;x;:[;s/\<...\B/&:/;t[;s/:/o/;s/.\+t\(..\)..:\w\+/\1/;x;G;s/\n/d/;b/;::;s/tr/e/g;b.;:]

How-to

Microblogging

Package from CPAN for the Debian Perl team

Become a contributor

Create an Alioth account

Introduce yourself on the mailing list

How to package

Create an ITP

Package it from CPAN

Checking

Build your package

Commit your work

SSH key

Create the repo

Commit it

Verification and validation

When it's okay

Misc

eatmytux!

h;x;s/[^t]\{2\}/r/g;b*;:/;s/^/F/;b];:*;/tr*t/{b:};:.;x;:[;s/\<...\B/&:/;t[;s/:/o/;s/.\+t\(..\)..:\w\+/\1/;x;G;s/\n/d/;b/;::;s/tr/e/g;b.;:]

How-to

Microblogging

Package from CPAN for the Debian Perl team

Become a contributor

Create an Alioth account

Introduce yourself on the mailing list

How to package

Create an ITP

Package it from CPAN

Checking

Build your package

Commit your work

SSH key

Create the repo

Commit it

Verification and validation

When it's okay

Misc

h;x;s/[^t]\{2\}/r/g;b;:/;s/^/F/;b];:;/tr*t/{b:};:.;x;:[;s/\<...\B/&:/;t[;s/:/o/;s/.\+t\(..\)..:\w\+/\1/;x;G;s/\n/d/;b/;::;s/tr/e/g;b.;:]