
This file contains notes relevant to users who want to build their own
debram packages.

UNPACKING

Since you are reading these words, you probably knew it already,
but the usual way to unpack the debram source is to put the .dsc
and .tar.gz files in the current directory and to run the
appropriate "dpkg-source -x" command.  There is no .diff.gz
or .orig.tar.gz, because debram is a native Debian package.
See the dpkg-source(1) man page for further information.

BUILDING

It is generally recommended to build the debram source as a standard
Debian package.  From the directory in which this file resides,

  $ dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -uc -us
  $ fakeroot debian/rules clean

omitting the " -uc -us" if building the package for actual upload to the
official Debian archive.  However, you can alternately build the source
not for packaging or installation but just for immediate local testing
with

  $ DEBRAM_LOCAL=1 make clean
  $ DEBRAM_LOCAL=1 make

BUILDING FOR SARGE

Even if you have downloaded the debram source from Debian unstable (sid)
or testing (etch), nothing prevents you from building it on and for a
Debian sarge stable platform.  In the file `debian/control', if the
Standards-Version number is not "3.6.1", revert it to "3.6.1"; then
build on sarge and install as usual.

On the other hand, most sarge users need only to update the debram-data
binary package, not the debram binary package.  The debram (0.6.4)
binary distributed with sarge works fine with later debram-data (0.6.x).
You won't hurt anything by building and installing your own local debram
(0.6.x) binaries, but for most sarge users this probably isn't
necessary.  Just update debram-data.

INSTALLING

Since you are reading these words, you probably knew it already, but the
usual way to install a package you have built yourself is by "dpkg -i".
See the dpkg(8) man page for further information.

[TO DEBRAM MAINTAINERS]

[Debram maintainers are asked not to ignore this file in future uploads,
but rather to keep it up to date as necessary---or if not so, then to
delete it, so that by obsolescence it not mislead.  Because of the
nature of the problem debram treats, it is desirable to keep
debram (0.6.x) as backportable as possible to sarge.  However, some
kinds of potential changes in Debian policy could conceivably render
such backportability hard to maintain in future debram issues.  If so,
at least these notes should accurately reflect the fact.]

[Minor changes to the source which do not call new shared library
functions are unlikely to affect the buildability of this source on
sarge.  Trouble on this front is more likely to come if changes to the
source must be made to comply with an updated Debian policy.  Since
updated Debian policy usually includes appropriate transition clauses,
with a little care we can probably avoid the trouble.]

[The debram shipped with sarge was version (0.6.4).  Sarge debram users
were promised that future debram-data (0.6.x) binaries would work with
debram (0.6.4), but they were not promised that the debram (0.6.x)
source would be buildable on sarge.  With the slight modification noted
above, the present debram source *is* buildable on sarge.  This is good
and desirable, is worth some limited effort to continue to support, and
should not be broken without reason; but it is not strictly necessary
for future debram issues.  We can always rely on backports.org if the
need arises, after all.]

[Further notes of interest to Debram maintainers can be found in
`helper/RelSteps'.]

