[SLL] DEB packaging question

[Bryan McLellan]

On Sun, Feb 8, 2009 at 9:13 PM, Derek Simkowiak <dereks at realloc.net> wrote:
> dpkg-buildpackage: source package PACKAGE
> dpkg-buildpackage: source version VERSION
> dpkg-source: error: source package name `PACKAGE' contains illegal
> character `P'

>   Why is it not pulling the package name and version correctly from my
> setup.py?  Have I misinterpreted the error message?  How to troubleshoot?

Edit debian/changelog and set a version and package name. Official
debian bits come from here. I can't tell where you got that debian
directory from, but when creating a package from scratch you should
use dh_make to initialize the debian directory, it should help.

>   I'm happy to read any docs, but it is surprisingly difficult to find
> information about packaging with Google.  The URL above is the clearest
> single explanation I've found... and it's not working for me.

Packaging documentation is convoluted because many tools have been
made over the years and thus there's been a lot of howto's written.
The Ubuntu stuff is a good start because it's pretty new. I recommend
following these tutorials at least once;

https://help.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/packagingguide/C/basic-debhelper.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/packagingguide/C/basic-scratch.html

Then you really need to hunker down on more than one occasion and read
the offical debian guides. Even though they're hard reads you'll end
up with lots of information in your head that you may not remember but
will be reminded of when you run into trouble with packaging.

http://www.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/
http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/

In particular read this early because it will help you determine where
subtle problems may be.

http://www.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/ch-checkit.en.html

There's some alternate stuff out there that's worth reading if you
still have time, for instance:

http://www.netfort.gr.jp/~dancer/column/libpkg-guide/libpkg-guide.html

I have not found the debian or ubuntu community as a whole to be
helpful with general packaging issues, especially when trying to offer
help and get started. Very specific questions will usually get
answered best on lists rather than IRC, unless you know which
developer on IRC you're specifically looking to query.

Bryan