Fedora 34 Change: Deprecate xemacs, xemacs-packages-base, xemacs-packages-extra, and neXtaw (Self-Contained Change proposal)

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

 



https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Deprecate_xemacs


== Summary ==
Deprecate the xemacs, xemacs-packages-base, xemacs-packages-extra, and
neXtaw packages, all of which have dead upstreams.

== Owner ==
* Name: [[User:jjames|Jerry James]]
* Email: loganjerry@xxxxxxxxx


== Detailed Description ==

I have been part of XEmacs upstream for over 20 years, and have
maintained the Fedora package for over 11 years.  Upstream development
had already slowed significantly when I became Fedora maintainer.  The
last release was over 7 years ago.  Since that time, development has
essentially come to a halt.  Somebody will push a commit every now and
then, but significant bugs are not being fixed.  I see no future for
the project.  We should start moving towards dropping it from the
distribution.  The upstream sources have been spread across 3 packages
in Fedora: xemacs, xemacs-packages-base, and xemacs-packages-extra.
In addition, the xemacs package uses an ancient, unmaintained 3D X
library: neXtaw.  It's last release was in 2003.  Since xemacs is the
only package in Fedora that uses neXtaw, I propose that it also be
deprecated so we can eventually drop it.

Deprecation is warranted because there are about a dozen XEmacs add-on
packages in Fedora.  This will prevent us from adding any more as we
work to retire the existing add-ons.

== Feedback ==

On December 7, 2020, I
[https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/thread/VDETPULZDBMXBXJKEFZX7DQ5R6W6FBXT/
communicated my intent to file this Change] on fedora-devel-list.
There has been no community feedback.

== Benefit to Fedora ==

This Change will open a path for us to eventually remove unmaintained
software from the distribution.

== Scope ==
* Proposal owners:
The only required work is the addition of `Provides: deprecated()` to
the 4 affected packages.

* Other developers:
No immediate work is required.  Eventually, maintainers of XEmacs
add-on packages will need to retire those packages so that XEmacs
itself can be retired.

* Release engineering:
This change does not require coordination with or impact release
engineering and does not require a mass rebuild.

* Policies and guidelines: N/A (not a System Wide Change)

* Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)

* Alignment with Objectives:
While this proposal does not match any of the
[https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/objectives current
objectives], it is not opposed to any.

== Upgrade/compatibility impact ==

Since the Change only deprecates packages, it has no immediate effect
on upgrades or compatibility.  Eventually, when the affected packages
are retired, fedora-obsolete-packages will be updated to properly
manage upgrades.

== How To Test ==

N/A (not a System Wide Change)

== User Experience ==

This change will not lead to any immediate changes in user experience.
Eventually, we will retire the affected packages, which will impact
users of those packages.  We will seek to communicate the upcoming
retirement as we work towards it.

== Dependencies ==

N/A (not a System Wide Change)

== Contingency Plan ==

* Contingency mechanism: (What to do?  Who will do it?) N/A (not a
System Wide Change)
* Contingency deadline: N/A (not a System Wide Change)
* Blocks release? N/A (not a System Wide Change)
* Blocks product? None

== Documentation ==

N/A (not a System Wide Change)

== Release Notes ==

The xemacs, xemacs-packages-base, xemacs-packages-extra, and neXtaw
packages have been deprecated.  XEmacs users should prepare for the
eventual removal of these packages from the Fedora distribution.


-- 
Ben Cotton
He / Him / His
Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
Red Hat
TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis
_______________________________________________
devel mailing list -- devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe send an email to devel-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Fedora Code of Conduct: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
List Guidelines: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
List Archives: https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx




[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[Index of Archives]     [Fedora Announce]     [Fedora Users]     [Fedora Kernel]     [Fedora Testing]     [Fedora Formulas]     [Fedora PHP Devel]     [Kernel Development]     [Fedora Legacy]     [Fedora Maintainers]     [Fedora Desktop]     [PAM]     [Red Hat Development]     [Gimp]     [Yosemite News]

  Powered by Linux