From Fedora Project Wiki


Change Packaging Guidelines to discourage requires into /bin and /sbin

Summary

Disallow dependencies on files under /bin, /sbin, /lib and /lib64.

Owner

Current status

  • Targeted release: Fedora 20
  • Last updated: July 16, 2013.
  • Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

The current packaging guidelines read:

 Whenever possible you should avoid file dependencies outside of /etc, /bin, /sbin, /usr/bin, or /usr/sbin.

I propose changing this to:

 Whenever possible you should avoid file dependencies outside of /etc, /usr/bin, or /usr/sbin.

Related FPC ticket https://fedorahosted.org/fpc/ticket/314, FPC wanted this change to be created.

Benefit to Fedora

Making the UsrMove business a bit less unfinished. /bin dependencies etc. don't currently work for dependency resulition properly anyway, there's nothing providing e.g. /bin/python, even though the two paths are accidentally the same in today's Fedora.

Scope

  • Proposal owners: None
  • Other developers: replace all explicit /bin/<foo> requires with /usr/bin/<foo>.
  • Release engineering: N/A
  • Policies and guidelines: update the packaging guidelines accordingly.

Upgrade/compatibility impact

Packages with broken /bin requires will be installable again once they are fixed.

How To Test

Packaging guidelines contain information that /bin etc. requires should be avoided.

User Experience

End users will not notice.

Dependencies

None.

Contingency Plan

  • Contingency mechanism: FPC changing the guideline.
  • Contingency deadline: Anytime.
  • Blocks release? No.

Documentation

This proposal and the Fedora Packaging Guidelines.

Release Notes