Using checkinstall in svn build

[Foxy]

I tried to build a xfce from svn using checkinstall instead of make 
install. It proved a real problem. The thing is that checkinstall does 
not like spaces in version and release numbers, signs like > or = and 
spaces in dependencies. I wanted to use a script which I found at 
http://www.q-collective.org/xfce/ and modified. Well I ended up 
installing a snapshot and for the components which are not in snapshot I 
edited .spec file every time.

I wonder if it is possible to make it easier to install xfce-svn using 
checkinstall?