Source: python-defaults
Source-Version: 2.7.18-3
Severity: important
User: debian-d...@lists.debian.org
Usertags: dpkg-mismatch-source-vs-version-format
Hi!
This package uses a native source format, with a non-native version,
which is rather confusing (to unexperienced and experience packagers
alike) and subverts the semantics of both the source and version
formats. Which is a common source of accidental packaging bugs,
and makes handling of source packages more brittle by external tools.
This currently produces a lintian error, and with dpkg-dev 1.20.1 it
started producing warnings, but my intention is to eventually make
it error out, given the above.
Please, either use a non-native source format, or a native version,
so that these are coherent.
I do understand the appeal of the current usage in this package, as it
wants to represent the upstream versions faithfully. But there are
workable alternatives used by other similar default source packages:
* Use a different revision separator, the common pattern would be to
use «+», but it could also be a string. This has the advantage
that it can be easily mapped and follows the current packaging
practice.
* Use an independent version, and set the binary package versions
from debian/rules. For this package this would be more cumbersome
and probably confusing given the existing version scheme.
* Switch to use a non-native source format.
Thanks,
Guillem
