We've been very bad at announcing changes to the Packaging Guidelines. So very bad. Bear with us as we announce all the changes we should have been announcing in the past, but failed to do. Again, so bad. --- The Mersenne Twister implementation (mt19937ar) has been granted a general bundling exception. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:No_Bundled_Libraries#Packages_granted_exceptions --- After an unintentional delay, the Haskell Guideline revision approved four months ago has been officially written into the Guidelines. A profound apology to everyone who wanted to point people at the new guidelines and couldn't find them in the meantime. The updated guidelines can be read here: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Haskell --- The Naming Guidelines for python modules has been updated to remove the exception for packages which have a "py" prefix in the upstream name. This change comes at a time when python2 and python3 modules are commonly built from the same package and all python3 modules are required to have a "python3" in their name. This change makes it easier for users to identify that the python3-foo module is part of the python-foo package for filing bugs and searching for the python3 version of a package they use in python2. Note that packages that are already in Fedora with names allowed under the old guidelines are considered grandfathered. Renaming makes sense but the FPC is not requiring that they do. This is up to the individual package maintainers (or FESCo should someone ask them for permission to do a mass package rename). --- The syntax in the guidelines for Source macro naming of github generated tarballs has been changed from "%{name}-%{version}-%{shortcommit}.tar.gz" to "$PROJECT-%{commit}.tar.gz", because that is the default naming from github. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:SourceURL#Github --- An exception has been granted for sigrok-firmware-fx2lafw to bundle fx2lib. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:No_Bundled_Libraries#Packages_granted_exceptions --- A line has been added to the arch specific Octave template to exclude .oct files from provides. (This will no longer be necessary when Fedora 19 is EOL.) https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Octave#Arch_specific_Octave_spec_template --- A bundling exception for JAXP and JAX-WS in openJDK has been granted. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:No_Bundled_Libraries#Packages_granted_exceptions --- A new section was added to the guidelines covering build time network access: Packages in the Fedora buildsystem are built in a mock chroot with no access to the internet. Packages must not depend or or use any network resources that they don't themselves create (ie, for tests). In no cases should source code be downloaded from any external sources, only from the lookaside cache and/or the Fedora git repository. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Guidelines#Build_time_network_access --- Additional wording was added to the procedures for dealing with bundled library handling. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:No_Bundled_Libraries#When_a_Bundled_Library_is_Discovered_Post-Review https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:No_Bundled_Libraries#Exceptions --- Added a guideline: "Packages MUST NOT have SourceN or PatchN tags which are conditionalized on architecture." This makes sure an srpm has all of the files needed to rebuild itself. Note that this change *is not* intended to prevent packages from conditionally applying patches or sources during the build. That remains a valid practice. --- The trigger scripts that saved information about sysv runlevels when converting to systemd have been dropped on the basis that everything of importance has been converted and the system for saving that information was always kludgy and complex. Packages that are converting now should not include them. Lennart will submit a Changes Proposal to coordinate updating packages that presently have these trigger scripts in order to remove the actual systemd-sysv package. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:ScriptletSnippets#Packages_migrating_to_a_systemd_unit_file_from_a_SysV_initscript --- The Node.JS guidelines have been changed in the following ways: * The %nodejs_fixdep section included in the original version of the draft has been readded. * The RPM magic was recently split into it's own "nodejs-packaging" SRPM, similar to Java. Accordingly, packages can now require "nodejs-packaging" instead of "nodejs-devel" to reduce the number of deps dragged in at build-time. * The necessary ExclusiveArch? line needed for Node.js packages is now documented, including the %{nodejs_arches} macro recently added to redhat-rpm-config for this purpose. * A strategy for handling multiple/compatibility versions of packages that is transparent to dependent packagers has been implemented. * The %{nodejs_default_filter} default automatic virtual provides filtering macro (similar to Perl's) is now documented. * A --check argument was added to %nodejs_symlink_deps simplify running test suites in specs. * A brief mention that additional virtual provides are added for native modules to track ABI compatibility was added. * Some minor edits were made to the installing native modules section to reflect reality; my initial draft contained errors. * A brief note about an additional macro required to enable dependency generation on EPEL was added. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Node.js --- The prohibition against packages installing files into /bin, /sbin, /lib, and /lib4 has been removed and a section explaining how Fedora's UsrMove? feature interacts with the rpm %files section has been added. Packagers who maintain software that installs into /bin, /sbin, /lib, and /lib64 historically or in upstream are encouraged to read that section to understand what's best for their package: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Guidelines#Effect_of_the_UsrMove_Fedora_Feature --- The Conflicts guidelines have been clarified to state that the goal is for users to be able to install the latest packages from Fedora's repos regardless of what other Fedora packages are installed. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Conflicts --- Added an additional allowed use of Conflicts to the packaging guidelines on Conflicts. This usage is for a package which is split into multiple packages with files that may conflict with files in the older version of the base package. See the Conflicts Guidelines if you think you may be able to make use of this: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Conflicts#Splitting_Packages --- Due to changes in which packages are in the minimal set pulled into the buildsystem, BuildRequires?: systemd has become necessary for packages which install systemd unit files. The Guidelines have been updated to show this: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:ScriptletSnippets#Macroized_scriptlets_.28Fedora_18.2B.29 --- Fedora packages which use pkg-config to build against a library (e.g. 'foo') on which they depend, '''SHOULD''' express their build dependency correctly as <pkgconfig(foo). For more information, see https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:PkgConfigBuildRequires --- Guidelines for shared web assets including browser-side javascript have been added. These finally add rules for unbundling javascript libraries from web applications as well as shared css libraries, icons, and other files. Two related areas were clarified as part of this: pre-compiled shockwave flash files count as pre-compiled binaries and are not allowed (compile flash resources from source with an open source flash toolchain or patch them out of the package). Font files need to have proper licensing informaiton in their metadata. The following pages contain the updated guidelines: * https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Web_Assets * https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:JavaScript * https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:FontsPolicy#Licensing_Information_in_Metadata --- The naming guidelines have been changed to emphasize that package names should generally use lowercase and turn underscores into dashes unless there's a compelling reason to follow a different upstream convention. --- The FPC changed its recommendation on dealing with library conflicts. The new recommendation makes clear that using a subdirectory is useful in very few cases, makes use of environment-modules instead of an ld.so.conf.d file to switch between them, and asks that for the cases where subdirectories don't work maintainers press upstreams hard to change their library names. If someone would care to submit a draft for dealing with library conflicts that fall outside of this area FPC would be happy to look at whether it makes sense to add those instructions. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Conflicts#Library_Name_Conflicts --- The autodep filter guidelines were updated to reflect changes to RPM in Fedora 20. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:AutoProvidesAndRequiresFiltering#Perl --- A method of handling noarch packages which have dependencies that are not present on some architectures was made official. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Guidelines#Noarch_with_unported_dependencies These methods are a change from the common practice in, for instance, node.js packaging. Packagers should think about updating their packages to the new guidelines as they make other updates. Please see https://fedorahosted.org/fpc/ticket/355#comment:8 or the meeting log for that date if you want more information than is in the Guidelines. The possibility of enhancing rpm or koji to deal with this in a better manner is being looked into by the packaging-team and rel-eng. When those features eventually are available to Fedora, we'll update the Guidelines to take advantage of them. --- The guidelines for including both sysvinit scripts and systemd unit files were changed. New packages must not include both even if the sysvinit scripts are in a separate subpackage. As in many cases of guideline changes, old packages are grandfathered but packagers are encouraged to look into dropping the sysvinit subpackages as they update in rawhide. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:SysVInitScript#Initscripts_in_addition_to_systemd_unit_files --- A new bundling exception has been made for the java time-api package to reverse bundle the javax.time api present in openjdk8 for code which uses prior versions of the jdk. --- The kernel provides a library for monitoring events which is used by perf, powertop, rasdaemon and possibly other programs. As the library is not currently built and installed for general use but the plan is to enable that in kernel-3.14 a temporary bundling exception has been granted through Fedora 22. --- Two changes have been made to the Ada Guidelines: * instructions on using comfignat to build ada packages has been added to the Ada Guidelines: * instructions on how to allow rpaths for testsuites and binaries that are only used at buildtime. The instructions also include a requirement to explicitly run %{_rpmconfigdir}/check-rpaths in %check if rpaths are turned on for the build. https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Ada --- As part of the ongoing effort to update the guidelines for an eventual change from python2 to python3 as the default python we're promoting use of %{python2}, %{python2_sitelib}, and %{python2_sitearch} instead of the unversioned %{python}, %{python_sitelib}, and %{python_sitearch} macros. These macros are not available for EPEL5 and EPEL6. We've updated the Python Guidelines to mention conditionally defining those macros for EPEL5 and EPEL6 builds. --- Changes to python-setuptools in F20 cause easy_install to install egg files instead of egg directories by default. This sometimes causes problems for rpms of multi-version python modules as the egg filenames are the same if the version of the package hasn't been increased and rpm is unable to replace the directory with a file. To fix this, the https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Python_Eggs#Multiple_Versions guideline has been updated to pass the "-Z" switch to easy_install which restores the former behaviour of installing eggs as a directory. If you package a backwards or forwards compat python module that makes use of the Multiple_Versions guideline (or easy_install in some other way), please update your spec file to include the -Z switch. --- The java guidelines have seen a large update that simplifies the language and removes instructions for EOL-Fedora releases. One particularly important change is the addition of the java-headless virtual dependency. Please see the Java Guidelines for complete information: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Java --- New guidelines have been added that address modifying the /etc/shells file when a package adds a new login shell: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:ScriptletSnippets#Shells --- Packaging Guidelines for building modules and themes for Drupal7 have been approved: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Drupal7 --- The Guidelines contained a section stating not to use "Requires(post,pre):" type syntax due to rpm bugs. Since those bugs only apply to the rpm shipped in RHEL5, the prohibition has been removed from the guidelines. --- These guideline changes were approved by the Fedora Packaging Committee (FPC). Many thanks to the uncountable number of people in the Fedora community for raising and resolving these issues, and all of the members of the FPC, for assisting in drafting, refining, and passing these guidelines. As a reminder: The Fedora Packaging Guidelines are living documents! If you find something missing, incorrect, or in need of revision, you can suggest a draft change. The procedure for this is documented here: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Committee#GuidelineChangeProcedure Thanks, ~tom -- packaging mailing list packaging@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/packaging
