[debhelper-devel] Bug#748993: Bug#748993: Bug#748993: dh_installdirs: Only needed to create empty directory

[Steve Langasek]

On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 07:45:29PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote:
> Frank Lin PIAT wrote:
> > Please document that "dh_installdirs is only meant to be used when you need to
> > ship an empty directory" [1].
> > 
> > [1] https://wiki.debian.org/Multiarch/Implementation#Dynamic_debian.2F.2A_files

> This wiki page is wrong; dh_installdirs is meant to be used in any
> situaion where it's useful.

/me tells Joey a joke about a lost man in a hot air balloon

My experience with NMUs over the years has shown me that there is a long
cargo cult tradition of listing all the target directories for a package in
debian/*.dirs when this is not needed.  However you want to word it, a
simple clarification to maintainers that dh_installdirs doesn't need to know
about any directories that are already handled by dh_install would go a long
way to letting maintainers further simplify their packaging.

This is relevant not only for multiarch, but also because from time to time
package contents change and maintainers forget to update debian/*.dirs to
prune directories, leaving orphaned directories around in their packages.

-- 
Steve Langasek                   Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer                   to set it on, and I can move the world.
Ubuntu Developer                                    http://www.debian.org/
slangasek at ubuntu.com                                     vorlon at debian.org
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