Source: util-linux
Version: 2.27.1-1
Severity: wishlist
Tags: patch
This source package's package descriptions have a number of minor
English language problems, most of which are trivial enough that I
wouldn't normally bother with them, but the high Priority levels on
the packages bump the bug up to wishlist.
Commented version of the attached patch:
> Package: util-linux
[...]
> -Description: Miscellaneous system utilities
> +Description: miscellaneous system utilities
These descriptions are inconsistent in their capitalisation; the
Debian Developer's Reference prefers lowercase.
> This package contains a number of important utilities, most of which
> - are oriented towards maintenance of your system. Some of the more
> + are oriented towards maintenance of your system. Some of the more
> important utilities included in this package allow you to partition
> your hard disk, view kernel messages, and create new filesystems.
Another trivial inconsistency, which I'm fixing it in the direction of
single-spacing. It's not what I use in my own writing, but it's the
standard usually recommended on debian-l10n-english - reformatters
squeeze whitespace anyway.
> Package: util-linux-locales
[...]
> -Description: Locales files for util-linux
> +Description: locales files for util-linux
DDR-compliance.
> - This package contains the internationalization files of for the util-linux
> + This package contains the internationalization files for the util-linux
> package.
Grammar error - delete the extra word.
[...]
> Package: mount
[...]
> -Description: Tools for mounting and manipulating filesystems
> +Description: tools for mounting and manipulating filesystems
DDR compliance.
[...]
> Package: bsdutils
[...]
> Package: fdisk-udeb
[...]
There's nothing wrong with these.
> Package: libblkid1
[...]
> -Description: block device id library
> +Description: block device ID library
An "id" goes with an ego and superego; you want the quasi-initialism
"ID".
> - The blkid library which allows system programs like fsck and
> - mount to quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID and
> - LABEL. This allows system administrators to avoid specifying
> - filesystems by hard-coded device names, but via a logical naming
> - system instead.
> + The blkid library allows system programs such as fsck and mount to
> + quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID or label.
> + This allows system administrators to avoid specifying filesystems by
> + hard-coded device names and use a logical naming system instead.
Recurring issues:
* Singlespace sentences (fixed accidentally).
* The long description should be made up of sentences.
One-offs:
* "Like" can be slightly ambiguous; you don't mean a set of programs
that resemble fsck, you mean a set of programs that includes fsck.
* "UUID" is an initialism, but "label" is just a word.
* Grammar error - you can't use "but" like that.
> Package: libblkid1-udeb
[...]
> Package: libblkid-dev
[...]
Use the same fixed boilerplate as above.
> Package: libfdisk1
[...]
> - The libfdisk library is used for manipulating with partition tables.
> - The library is the core of the fdisk, cfdisk and sfdisk tools.
> + The libfdisk library is used for manipulating partition tables. It is
> + the core of the fdisk, cfdisk, and sfdisk tools.
"Manipulating with" is a grammar error ("manipulate" is transitive),
and then starting the second sentence with "the library" is just
repetitive. (I suspect at one stage the first sentence started with
plain "libfdisk".)
I've also standardised in the direction of serial comma.
> Package: libfdisk1-udeb
[...]
> Package: libfdisk-dev
[...]
Use the same fixed boilerplate as above.
> Package: libmount1
[...]
> - The device mounting library, used by mount and umount helpers.
> + This device mounting library is used by mount and umount helpers.
The long description should be made up of sentences.
> Package: libmount-dev
[...]
Use the same fixed boilerplate as above.
> Package: libsmartcols1
[...]
> Description: smart column output alignment library
> - The smart column output alignment library, used by fdisk utilities.
> + This smart column output alignment library is used by fdisk utilities.
The long description should be made up of sentences.
> Package: libsmartcols1-udeb
[...]
> Package: libsmartcols-dev
[...]
Use the same fixed boilerplate as above.
> Package: libuuid1
[...]
> - The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit universally unique
> - ids (UUIDs). A UUID is an identifier that is unique across both
> - space and time, with respect to the space of all UUIDs. A UUID can
> - be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely
> - short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects
> - across a network.
> + The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit Universally Unique
> + IDs (UUIDs). A UUID is an identifier that is unique within the space
> + of all such identifiers across both space and time. It can be used for
> + multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime
> + to reliably identifying very persistent objects across a network.
> .
> See RFC 4122 for more information.
The "ids" and doublespacing are recurring issues, but most of the
changes here are just to make it slightly more natural English.
> Package: uuid-runtime
[...]
Use the same fixed boilerplate as above. Then:
> .
> This package contains the uuidgen program and the uuidd daemon.
> .
> The uuidd daemon is used to generate UUIDs, especially time-based
> - UUID’s, in a secure and guaranteed-unique fashion, even in the face
> - of large numbers of threads trying to grab UUID’s running on
> - different CPU’s. It is used by libuuid as well as the uuidgen
> - program.
> + UUIDs, in a secure and guaranteed-unique fashion, even in the face of
> + large numbers of threads trying to grab UUIDs running on different CPUs.
> + It is used by libuuid as well as the uuidgen program.
If there's one place where we shouldn't turn an ASCII apostrophe into
a Unicode curlyquote it's where the styleguides say there shouldn't be
an apostrophe in the first place.
> Package: libuuid1-udeb
[...]
> -Description: stripped down universally unique id library, for
> debian-installer
> - libuuid generates and parses 128-bit universally unique ids (UUIDs).
> - See RFC 4122 for more information.
> +Description: stripped down Universally Unique ID library, for
> debian-installer
> + The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit Universally Unique IDs
> + (UUIDs). See RFC 4122 for more information.
> .
> This is a minimal package for debian-installer.
Normally I don't bother editing udeb descriptions, but here it was
easier to make the search-and-replace global.
> Package: uuid-dev
[...]
The fixed boilerplate that the above version is the same as.
> Package: util-linux-udeb
[...]
All done.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: stretch/sid
APT prefers testing
APT policy: (990, 'testing'), (50, 'unstable')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Kernel: Linux 4.3.0-trunk-686-pae (SMP w/1 CPU core)
Locale: LANG=en_GB.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_GB.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
Versions of packages util-linux depends on:
ii initscripts 2.88dsf-59.2
ii libblkid1 2.27.1-1
ii libc6 2.19-22
ii libfdisk1 2.27.1-1
ii libmount1 2.27.1-1
ii libncursesw5 6.0+20151024-2
ii libpam0g 1.1.8-3.1
ii libselinux1 2.4-3
ii libsmartcols1 2.27.1-1
ii libsystemd0 228-2
ii libtinfo5 6.0+20151024-2
ii libudev1 228-2
ii libuuid1 2.27.1-1
ii lsb-base 9.20150917
ii sysvinit-utils 2.88dsf-59.2
ii tzdata 2015g-1
ii zlib1g 1:1.2.8.dfsg-2+b1
util-linux recommends no packages.
Versions of packages util-linux suggests:
ii dosfstools 3.0.28-2
ii kbd 1.15.5-2
ii util-linux-locales 2.27.1-1
-- debconf information:
util-linux/noauto-with-nonzero-passnum:
--
JBR with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package
diff -ru util-linux-2.27.1.pristine/debian/control util-linux-2.27.1/debian/control
--- util-linux-2.27.1.pristine/debian/control 2015-11-02 11:42:11.000000000 +0000
+++ util-linux-2.27.1/debian/control 2015-11-29 13:19:18.701969205 +0000
@@ -51,9 +51,9 @@
mount (= 2.26.2-3),
mount (= 2.26.2-3ubuntu1)
Multi-Arch: foreign
-Description: Miscellaneous system utilities
+Description: miscellaneous system utilities
This package contains a number of important utilities, most of which
- are oriented towards maintenance of your system. Some of the more
+ are oriented towards maintenance of your system. Some of the more
important utilities included in this package allow you to partition
your hard disk, view kernel messages, and create new filesystems.
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@
Priority: optional
Depends: util-linux (>= ${source:Upstream-Version}), ${misc:Depends}
Replaces: util-linux (<< 2.11b)
-Description: Locales files for util-linux
- This package contains the internationalization files of for the util-linux
+Description: locales files for util-linux
+ This package contains the internationalization files for the util-linux
package.
.
They are needed when you want the programs in util-linux to print their
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@
Depends: ${misc:Depends}
Suggests: nfs-common (>=1:1.1.0-13)
Multi-Arch: foreign
-Description: Tools for mounting and manipulating filesystems
+Description: tools for mounting and manipulating filesystems
This package provides the mount(8), umount(8), swapon(8),
swapoff(8), and losetup(8) commands.
@@ -116,12 +116,11 @@
Pre-Depends: ${misc:Pre-Depends}
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
-Description: block device id library
- The blkid library which allows system programs like fsck and
- mount to quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID and
- LABEL. This allows system administrators to avoid specifying
- filesystems by hard-coded device names, but via a logical naming
- system instead.
+Description: block device ID library
+ The blkid library allows system programs such as fsck and mount to
+ quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID or label.
+ This allows system administrators to avoid specifying filesystems by
+ hard-coded device names and use a logical naming system instead.
Package: libblkid1-udeb
Architecture: any
@@ -129,12 +128,11 @@
Priority: optional
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Package-Type: udeb
-Description: stripped down block device id library, for debian-installer
- The blkid library which allows system programs like fsck and
- mount to quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID and
- LABEL. This allows system administrators to avoid specifiying
- filesystems by hard-coded device names, but via a logical naming
- system instead.
+Description: stripped down block device ID library, for debian-installer
+ The blkid library allows system programs such as fsck and mount to
+ quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID or label.
+ This allows system administrators to avoid specifying filesystems by
+ hard-coded device names and use a logical naming system instead.
.
This is a minimal package for debian-installer.
@@ -148,12 +146,11 @@
uuid-dev,
${misc:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
-Description: block device id library - headers and static libraries
- The blkid library which allows system programs like fsck and
- mount to quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID and
- LABEL. This allows system administrators to avoid specifiying
- filesystems by hard-coded device names, but via a logical naming
- system instead.
+Description: block device ID library - headers and static libraries
+ The blkid library allows system programs such as fsck and mount to
+ quickly and easily find block devices by filesystem UUID or label.
+ This allows system administrators to avoid specifying filesystems by
+ hard-coded device names and use a logical naming system instead.
.
This package contains the development environment for the blkid library.
@@ -164,8 +161,8 @@
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
Description: fdisk partitioning library
- The libfdisk library is used for manipulating with partition tables.
- The library is the core of the fdisk, cfdisk and sfdisk tools.
+ The libfdisk library is used for manipulating partition tables. It is
+ the core of the fdisk, cfdisk, and sfdisk tools.
Package: libfdisk1-udeb
Architecture: any
@@ -174,8 +171,8 @@
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Package-Type: udeb
Description: stripped down fdisk partitioning library, for debian-installer
- The libfdisk library is used for manipulating with partition tables.
- The library is the core of the fdisk, cfdisk and sfdisk tools.
+ The libfdisk library is used for manipulating partition tables. It is
+ the core of the fdisk, cfdisk, and sfdisk tools.
.
This is a minimal package for debian-installer.
@@ -191,8 +188,8 @@
${misc:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
Description: fdisk partitioning library - headers and static libraries
- The libfdisk library is used for manipulating with partition tables.
- The library is the core of the fdisk, cfdisk and sfdisk tools.
+ The libfdisk library is used for manipulating partition tables. It is
+ the core of the fdisk, cfdisk, and sfdisk tools.
.
This package contains the development environment for the fdisk library.
@@ -203,7 +200,7 @@
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
Description: device mounting library
- The device mounting library, used by mount and umount helpers.
+ This device mounting library is used by mount and umount helpers.
Package: libmount-dev
Architecture: linux-any
@@ -215,7 +212,7 @@
${misc:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
Description: device mounting library - headers and static libraries
- The device mounting library, used by mount and umount helpers.
+ This device mounting library is used by mount and umount helpers.
.
This package contains the development environment for the mount library.
@@ -226,7 +223,7 @@
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
Description: smart column output alignment library
- The smart column output alignment library, used by fdisk utilities.
+ This smart column output alignment library is used by fdisk utilities.
Package: libsmartcols1-udeb
Architecture: any
@@ -235,7 +232,7 @@
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Package-Type: udeb
Description: stripped down smart column output aligment library, for debian-installer
- The smart column output alignment library, used by fdisk utilities.
+ This smart column output alignment library is used by fdisk utilities.
.
This is a minimal package for debian-installer.
@@ -248,7 +245,7 @@
${misc:Depends}
Multi-Arch: same
Description: smart column output alignment library - headers and static libraries
- The smart column output alignment library, used by fdisk utilities.
+ This smart column output alignment library is used by fdisk utilities.
.
This package contains the development environment for the mount library.
@@ -261,12 +258,11 @@
Replaces: e2fsprogs (<< 1.34-1)
Multi-Arch: same
Description: Universally Unique ID library
- The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit universally unique
- ids (UUIDs). A UUID is an identifier that is unique across both
- space and time, with respect to the space of all UUIDs. A UUID can
- be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely
- short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects
- across a network.
+ The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit Universally Unique
+ IDs (UUIDs). A UUID is an identifier that is unique within the space
+ of all such identifiers across both space and time. It can be used for
+ multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime
+ to reliably identifying very persistent objects across a network.
.
See RFC 4122 for more information.
@@ -280,22 +276,20 @@
Replaces: e2fsprogs (<= 1.40.3-1ubuntu1)
Multi-Arch: foreign
Description: runtime components for the Universally Unique ID library
- The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit universally unique
- ids (UUIDs). A UUID is an identifier that is unique across both
- space and time, with respect to the space of all UUIDs. A UUID can
- be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely
- short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects
- across a network.
+ The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit Universally Unique
+ IDs (UUIDs). A UUID is an identifier that is unique within the space
+ of all such identifiers across both space and time. It can be used for
+ multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime
+ to reliably identifying very persistent objects across a network.
.
See RFC 4122 for more information.
.
This package contains the uuidgen program and the uuidd daemon.
.
The uuidd daemon is used to generate UUIDs, especially time-based
- UUID’s, in a secure and guaranteed-unique fashion, even in the face
- of large numbers of threads trying to grab UUID’s running on
- different CPU’s. It is used by libuuid as well as the uuidgen
- program.
+ UUIDs, in a secure and guaranteed-unique fashion, even in the face of
+ large numbers of threads trying to grab UUIDs running on different CPUs.
+ It is used by libuuid as well as the uuidgen program.
Package: libuuid1-udeb
Architecture: any
@@ -303,9 +297,9 @@
Priority: optional
Depends: ${misc:Depends}, ${shlibs:Depends}
Package-Type: udeb
-Description: stripped down universally unique id library, for debian-installer
- libuuid generates and parses 128-bit universally unique ids (UUIDs).
- See RFC 4122 for more information.
+Description: stripped down Universally Unique ID library, for debian-installer
+ The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit Universally Unique IDs
+ (UUIDs). See RFC 4122 for more information.
.
This is a minimal package for debian-installer.
@@ -316,9 +310,9 @@
Depends: libc6-dev | libc-dev, libuuid1 (= ${binary:Version}), ${misc:Depends}
Replaces: e2fslibs-dev (<< 1.15)
Multi-Arch: same
-Description: universally unique id library - headers and static libraries
- libuuid generates and parses 128-bit universally unique ids (UUIDs).
- See RFC 4122 for more information.
+Description: Universally Unique ID library - headers and static libraries
+ The libuuid library generates and parses 128-bit Universally Unique IDs
+ (UUIDs). See RFC 4122 for more information.
.
This package contains the development environment for the uuid library.
