Konstantin Ryabitsev <icon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: > On 12/24/06, Michael Tiemann <tiemann@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >Konstantin--how many packages do you maintain? I think that rather than > >sniping at a would-be contributor, I'd like to see somebody who is > >maintaining at least 30, and perhaps 50 packages explain how *they* do > >it. Maybe they have a better way. Maybe it drives them almost as crazy > >Eric. How *does* a maintainer of 36 packages would with the Fedora > >process? How *should* one do it? This is the question and the problem > >to be solved. > > I maintain a very small number -- only 15. From my own experience, I > can tell you that work spent actually doing something with spec files > is negligeable compared to how much effort is spent tracking what is > going on with a project, doing test builds and verifying that they > work, running rpmlint, responding to bugzilla requests, opening > upstream bugzilla requests for bugs filed with a package, monitoring > cvs commits to see if someone was "messing" with your projects, etc. I already do all of these things except running rpmlint. They're part of being a project lead. I'd be happy to add running rpmlint to my process. > You can't script that. If project "a" releases a "point update" to > "1.1.2" from "1.1.1," it's not enough to run "make new-sources". You > have to read the Changelog to see why they have issued this update > (security? rush it through. fixes for solaris builds? whatever, ignore > it). You then have to spend a few days just monitoring the list to see > if there is an "oh shit, that release breaks something" moment -- > those tend to happen frequently. Yes, this sounds very familiar. > Only then, after a few days, you get > to actually run "make new-sources", run a test mock build, run rpmlint > against the packages, then copy sources, .cvsignore, foo.spec into > FC-5 and devel. CVS commit, make tag, make build. > > Can it be scripted? I have no doubt. Will that actually be solving any > problems? I don't think so. With respect, sir, I decline to substitute your speculation for my experience. At 36 projects I find that the mechanical overhead of manual point releases drives me batshit. I've written a tool called 'shipper' to avoid it; you can download it from my site. What I want to be able to do is add a channel to shipper that lets me script-ship to Fedora the way it presently can to Freshmeat and my own website. > The integral part of caring for fedora > packages is the human element -- making sure that you don't commit > something broken. I don't disagree. But I also don't understand why you think this is relevant to my complaint. When I've done all my QA, passed all ny regression tests, test-built my RPM and done everything I know how to do to ensure I don't ship a broken release, I want to be able to push a button and *go*. There's no virtue in my having to remember details or perform rituals by hand at that point. > Sure, I don't have "36 projects" -- I don't even have catchy 3 letters > to go by, but I assure you that I keep just as busy. Ouch. Please don't blame me for "ESR" -- people hung that on me by analogy with "RMS" and I've never been entirely comfortable with it. As I note on my Slashdot profile, I didn't ask to be triletterized, I merely found that my role left me unable to escape it. -- <a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/";>Eric S. Raymond</a> -- fedora-devel-list mailing list fedora-devel-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list
