how to package a .deb.

debian.packaging.md

debian packaging

references

• http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/packaging-tutorial/packaging-tutorial.en.pdf
• http://tldp.org/HOWTO/html_single/Debian-Binary-Package-Building-HOWTO/ from top to bottom :D

install necessary tools

aptitude install build-essential devscripts dpkg-dev

if the package is using dh as packaging helper, then additional packages will be needed, such as

aptitude install dh-autoreconf # ...

.deb file

• is a ar archive file. ar tv grep-2.14-4_amd64.deb
• consists of
  • debina-binary: versionof the deb file format
  • control.tar.gz: metadata about the package
    • control, md5sums (pre|post)(rm|inst), triggers, shlibs
  • data.tar.gz: data files of the package

source packages

• two kinds of packages, native and non-native, if unsure, us non-native
• main file *.dsc (meta-data)
• other files
  • pkg_ver.orig.tar.gz: upstream source
  • pkg_debver.debian.tar.gz: tarball with the debian changes

creating a basic source package

• download the upstream source
• rename to <source_package>_<upstream_version>.orig.tar.gz
• untar it
• rename the directory <source_package>-<upstream_version>
• cd <source_package>-<upstream_version> && dh_make
• debian/ created

files in debian/

• main files
  • control: meta-data about the package
  • rules: specifies how to build the package (a plain Makefile!)
  • copyright: copyright info
  • changelog: history of the debian package
• other files
  • compat
  • watch
  • dh_install* targets
    • *.dirs, *.docs, *.manpages ...
  • maintainer scripts
    • *.postinst, *.prerm ...
  • source/format
  • patches/ - if you need to modify the upstream source

debian/changelog

• gives the current version of the package
• 1.2.1.1-5
  • 1.2.1.1 => upstream version
  • 5 after hyphen => debian revision
• create a changelog entry for a new release dch -i
  • or by hand!

debian/control

• meta-data
• package name, build-dependencies ...

Architecture: all or any (in debian/control)

• packages with different contents on each Debian architechture
  • ex: C program
  • Architecture: any or Architecture: amd64 i386
  • named package_version_architecture.deb
• packages with same contents on all architechtures
  • ex: Perl lib
  • Architecture: all
  • named package_version_all.deb

debian/rules

• Makefile !!!
• deciding how to build the packages
• required targets
  • build, build-arch, build-indep: should perform all the configuration and compilation
  • binary, binary-arch, binary-indep: build the binary packages
    • dpkg-buildpackage will call binary to build all the packages
    • binary-arch to build only the Architecture: any packages
  • clean

Packagin helpers

• debhelper
• CDBS
• dh for new package, use this !!

steps building packages

1. aptitude build-dep foo: install the build-dependencies

• or mk-build-deps -ir for package not uploaded yet (which depends on equivs)

2. debuild: build, test with lintain, sign with GPG

• or dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc directly

3. more clean && minimal environment ? pbuilder, schroot + sbuild

** for some reason, you don't want to make test or make check, you can specify export DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=nocheck in rules file, reference 1 2**

this will generates .deb files and a .changes file.

installing , testing , uploading packages

• upload with dput
• manage a private debian archive with reprepro

take grep as example