Package: flex
Version: 2.5.35-10
Severity: wishlist
Tags: patch
User: ubuntu-de...@lists.ubuntu.com
Usertags: origin-ubuntu natty ubuntu-patch

Hi Manoj,

Now that the implementation of multiarch support in dpkg is coming along
(though regrettably too late for squeeze), I'm beginning to work out what
multiarch metadata should be included in the archive; and as flex is a
build-dependency of pam it's come near the top of my list.

Since the 'flex' package includes both a binary and a .so, per
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MultiarchSpec this package is logically 'Multi-Arch:
allowed'.  The attached patch adds this field to debian/control.  I've
uploaded this change to Ubuntu with the following changelog entry:

  * debian/control: flex should be declared Multi-Arch: allowed since it
    contains both an executable and a library.

You are welcome to consider applying the same patch to Debian.  Ultimately,
a better alternative would be if libfl, headers, etc.  could be split out
into a separate 'libflex-dev' binary package which flex would then depend
on; if libflex-dev installed libraries to multiarch paths this would make it
possible to install the package on more than one arch at the same time
(Multi-Arch: same) and let the main flex package be Multi-Arch: foreign, but
that's a more long-term sort of change since Policy technically doesn't
allow multi-arch -dev packages yet.

Thanks,
-- 
Steve Langasek                   Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer                   to set it on, and I can move the world.
Ubuntu Developer                                    http://www.debian.org/
slanga...@ubuntu.com                                     vor...@debian.org
=== modified file 'debian/control'
--- debian/control      2010-06-20 14:17:14 +0000
+++ debian/control      2011-01-26 22:50:04 +0000
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}, m4, dpkg (>= 1.15.4) |  install-info
 Recommends: gcc | c-compiler
 Suggests: bison, build-essential
+Multi-Arch: allowed
 Description: A fast lexical analyzer generator.
  Flex is a tool for generating scanners: programs which recognized lexical
  patterns in text. It reads the given input files for a description of a

Reply via email to