[Dev] [libretools - Feature Request #2403] [libremakepkg]: eradicate mksource() from abslibre

[labs at parabola.nu]

Issue #2403 has been updated by freemor.


Interesting, and good researching of the subject. But To my minimalist mind
that still leaves us with mksource() in the PKGBUILDs and yet another tool all
to accomplish what: makepkg -o does without these things. I still feel that
having libretools roll the source tarball post prepare() would be the cleanest
way to go.

Going the other way would require us to strip steps out of prepare to move them
into mksource() for every package we build. This creates a glaring divide
between Parabola packages and Arch packages and also add a lot of un-necessary
work. 

Since we probably don't want to re-write makepkg, I'd suggest taking the
rolling of the source tarball out of libremakepkg and moving it into librestage
which could just run makepkg -o, roll up the tarball and move it to staging. Of
course the problem with this is we then have a clean source that the PKGBUILD
may fail to build from depending on the steps in prepare(). Which is what
mksource is trying to  fix I guess. 

My concern is the further we get from standard Arch tools the larger the
learning curve for new people coming to Parabola. People coming from Arch are
going to be confused if the usual pull the PKGBUILD, run makepkg approach
fails. 

I understand that if Parabola hosts the source tarballs they should be clean
ones, But the ugly truth is that the actual process is: pull unclean source,
make it libre, build it. In such a case I see hosting clean source files as
slightly disingenuous. The PKGBUILD is always going to have the location of the
original source so it's not like we are able to hide that, nor should we.
Trying to debug from pre-cleaned sources could be problematic too as if one of
our patches breaks something is a weird way it becomes very difficult to see
what was supposed to happen short of going and downloading the un-patched
source. 

So it really ends up feeling that all hosting clean sources does is:
  
   a.) complicate things. 
   b.) kick the unclean source a step or two further down the road. 




----------------------------------------
Feature Request #2403: [libremakepkg]: eradicate mksource() from abslibre
https://labs.parabola.nu/issues/2403#change-12951

* Author: bill-auger
* Status: info needed
* Priority: discussion
* Assignee: 
* Category: 
----------------------------------------
related to forum thread https://labs.parabola.nu/boards/18/topics/125

IIRC when discussing the 'ruby' package, we concluded that it was probably intended per the FSDG, to provide complete and pre-cleaned source-balls to the distro users; which entails the devs to keep some of the libre-fications tools private

the FSDG does not require support for versions of 'foo' that were not included in any distro release however; but OTOH, this PKGBUILD contains instructions for downloading known non-free software

on the third hand (the philosophical hand), the 'gist' of the four freedoms is not about possessing or sharing non-free software; but that the user is able to do with it as they see fit - if the only thing that one wishes to do with that software is to merely posses it or share it, then anything redistributable would satisfy the 'gist' of the four freedoms for that person

probably the simplest way to resolve this class of issue, is to add a note to the PKGBULID with sed above every instance of 'mksource()', asking the reader to ignore it and ask a parabola dev to publish the intermediate source-ball, if they are building ahead of the current release; then to publish the missing source-ball for any enthusiastic user who asks for one - a better solution to this class of issue, would be for the PKGBUILD to explaining how to run mksource() and have the mksource() function create the source-ball with expected libre name in the sources() array - if that does not conflict with the FSDG - an even better solution to this class of issue, is to eliminate it by eradicating mksource() from abslibre somehow, even if that is simply moving the PKGBUILD to a private git branch

this incident is not a peculiar though - it is currently systematic AFAIK; so i consulted the FSDG:

  "A free system distribution must not steer users towards obtaining any nonfree information
for practical use, or encourage them to do so. The system should have no repositories 
for nonfree software and no specific recipes for installation of particular nonfree programs."

there is another clause that might suggest that this use case is within the guidelines; although it is in the "Documentation" section

  "In general, something that helps people who already use nonfree software
to use the free software better with it is acceptable,
but something that encourages users of the free software to install nonfree software is not."

libre-fications would seem to fit into that documentation exception - id say the key point is that such scripts do not install the program "for practical use" - the use-case in which the user is interested, is to download a non-free tarball, and to liberate it, without viewing or executing any of the files within it; for the sole purpose of using the cleaned sources in freedom - it would seems better to instruct people how to liberate non-free software rather than impeding their curiosity or ambition; though it may snag upon some FSDG caveat 

some options:

* should consult the FSDG mailing list about this grey area
* put these on the wiki as documentation, instead of in PKGBUILDs
* libretools could be made to download the file into memory instead of writing a hard copy
* hide all such scripts at the cost of impeding enthusiastic users who want to help




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