OFFTOPIC can I haz a deb course WAS Re: 4.8?

[Mike Massonnet]

2009/10/14 Dexter Filmore <Dexter.Filmore at gmx.de>:
> Ever since I migrated to debian and debian-like systems I wanted to learn how
> to make debs myself, but everyone I ask keeps huring the debian package
> maintainer guide at me which obliterates me with badly structured torrents of
> info and is generally overblown for my needs as my goal is not to release
> packages to a public mirror.
> Pointers like "how to quickly create debs and skip the most common tripwires"
> are welcome.

Well, that's now off-topic, but may I give it a try. Yes the
maintainer guide is overkill but only because it can provide you, when
needed, with the small info you may be looking for such or another
specific type of a package. Now you could have search the web for
"create debian package"[0] and notice that there are many topics about
it (like one on debian-administration.org[0.1][0.2]) with clear
examples and explanations that aren't the copy of the maint-guide. A
package is no more complicated than a debian folder with a bunch of
required files[1] describing it. The rules file is the part that
builds the application. Just run dh_make in a source directory to
unroll a debian directory full of example files.

Once you have a functionnal debian folder (you can copy paste ones as
suggested earlier) you only need to run "debuild" in the source
directory of the application followed by "sudo debi" if you want to
install the builded package. The command "debuild" is a kind of a
wrapper on top of dpkg-buildpackage which is the reason why it accepts
same parameters and is able to clean the build with "debuild clean".

I hope that rope will be sufficient cause I won't throw others :-)

[0] http://www.google.com/search?q=create+debian+package
[0.1] http://www.debian-administration.org/article/Rolling_your_own_Debian_packages_part_1
[0.2] http://www.debian-administration.org/article/Rolling_your_own_Debian_packages_part_2
[1] http://www.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/ch-dreq.en.html


-- 
Mike