[pkg-wml] Bug#705597: wml: gfont missing (by wml::des::gfont)

[Axel Beckert]

Control: severity -1 minor
Control: tag -1 + confirmed

Hi Roland,

Roland Stigge wrote:
> wml::des::gfont is utilizing the executable gfont which is not
> available in squeeze, wheezy and sid.

Yep. It has been removed from Debian in 2005 (see
http://bugs.debian.org/328594) and I removed the "Suggests" in 2010.
(c.f. http://packages.debian.org/changelogs/pool/main/w/wml/current/changelog#version2.0.11ds2-1)

Despite upstream still claims fame for gfont[1], he no more provides
the sources for it[2] and the last release was in 1999.

[1] http://engelschall.com/open-source-community.php
[2] http://engelschall.com/sw/gfont/

The upstream webpage seems to have been deleted in 2004. Compare [3]
vs [4].

[3] http://web.archive.org/web/20040831085446/http://www.engelschall.com/sw/gfont/
[4] http://web.archive.org/web/20041205213834/http://engelschall.com/sw/gfont

In case someone wants to continue maintaining gfont as upstream and in
Debian, I'll happily re-add a Suggests or Recommends on it again.

The old Debian package is still available at
http://snapshot.debian.org/package/gfont/1.0.3-1/

Interestingly it was considered non-free, despite debian/copyright
said "GPL" (and licensecheck said GPL + LGPL + UNKNOWN). The changelog
for 1.0.2-2 reads:

  * Moved gfont from "Section: graphics" to "Section: non-free/graphics".
    Thanks to James Troup <J.J.Troup at scm.brad.ac.uk> for pointing this
    out!  :)

Unfortunately the reason is not mentioned. Maybe due to GIF patent
issues back then? That would be no more an issue today.

So the only thing I would do about it is to add a entry to
README.Debian about wml::des::gfont not being usable. Is that what you
expected but wasn't there?

		Regards, Axel
-- 
 ,''`.  |  Axel Beckert <abe at debian.org>, http://people.debian.org/~abe/
: :' :  |  Debian Developer, ftp.ch.debian.org Admin
`. `'   |  1024D: F067 EA27 26B9 C3FC 1486  202E C09E 1D89 9593 0EDE
  `-    |  4096R: 2517 B724 C5F6 CA99 5329  6E61 2FF9 CD59 6126 16B5