please update libcapi

[Rolf Leggewie]

Binary package hint: isdnutils

Unfortunately, activity in ISDN related packages is slow, to put it mildly. Debian upstream seems to be missing in action for about three years now. I'd like to suggest to replace the capi20 directory in the source code with the new work done by Jan-Michael Brummer. He modularized the code and added a few features. The code is backward compatible and necessary for new applications like ffgtk. Code development is supported by the AVM company, a reputable German hardware manufacturer very active behind ISDN related code development in Linux.

https://www.isdn4linux.de/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/isdn4k-utils/capi20.new/

The isdn4utils project has already accepted the code, the old capi20 code is stale. The code has also been shipping in OpenSuse for a few months. Jan-Michael tells me there very few errors reported and they were all minor, related to compilation issues. I've made a package in my PPA which can serve as a test ground. It demonstrates the changes I am requesting here. Let us know if there are any questions or things that need consideration and discussion.

We're also pushing for a new upstream release, but given the slow nature of development it's not clear when that can actually happen.

[Julien Lavergne (gilir)]

We can't upload a package from a PPA to the official repository. Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Contributing#Preparing%20New%20Revisions .
Also we have now in Feature Freeze for Karmic, so if you want to include it in Karmic, you need a freeze exception (see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FreezeExceptionProcess#FeatureFreeze%20for%20new%20upstream%20versions).

I unsubscribe ubuntu-universe-sponsors for now, please re-subscribe when there is something to sponsor.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

Julien, thank you for your comment. But you misunderstood my request. The stuff in the PPA is for demonstration purpose only. Furthermore, there is no need for an FFe, the isdnutils package against which this ticket is filed is already in Ubuntu and has been for years.

What this ticket is about is replacing one directory in the source code with another.

[Daniel Holbach (dholbach)]

Can you please explain which patch or package you want to have reviewed and uploaded?

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

My apologies, I must have been unclear. Here's what I would like to see uploaded.

dget -ux http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/i/isdnutils/isdnutils_3.12.20071127-0ubuntu5.dsc
cd isdnutils-3.12.20071127/
rm -Rf capi20
cvs -d :pserver:<email address hidden>:/i4ldev login (password readonly)
cvs -d :pserver:<email address hidden>:/i4ldev co isdn4k-utils/capi20.new
mv isdn4k-utils/capi20.new/ capi20
rm -Rf capi20/CVS/ isdn4k-utils/

The result after adjusting the changelog is https://launchpad.net/~r0lf/+archive/ppa/+sourcepub/710727/+listing-archive-extra

Essentially, what's happening there is that we replace the capi20 source code with the "next-generation" code. If you prefer, I can prepare a debdiff. I expect it to be fairly big and not meaningful. I thought "please replace X with Y" was more conducive to the review process. Let me know how you want to proceed.

[buzz (buzz2)]

As the developer of the new official libcapi20 i would be glad about the integration in the new upcoming ubuntu release. This new version has been successfully tested as well as in many test cases and officially in OpenSuSE since version 11.1. Every reported bug has been fixed and is integrated within the isdn4linux cvs tree. I'm going to maintain this tree in the future and i'm open for any further support.

Please update to this new version. Thanks a lot.

[Daniel Holbach (dholbach)]

Subscribing MOTU Release team for input.

[StefanPotyra (sistpoty)]

Hi Rolf,

basically I'm all for it, as I've personally felt the pain of (not) getting isdn working.

However can you please upload a source package to REVU? (a cvs checkout can change over time, and I'd like to have a static orig.tar.gz [and packging] to review).

Thanks,
    Stefan.

[StefanPotyra (sistpoty)]

Oh, and thanks very much to you buzz, upstream comments are always very much appreciated! :)

[Scott Kitterman (kitterman)]

In concept, I agree too, but I'd also like to see an upload to REVU of this new update.

[Daniel Holbach (dholbach)]

I guess this is going to get you the newest and proposed source package:

dget -xu https://launchpad.net/~r0lf/+archive/ppa/+files/isdnutils_3.12.20071127-0ubuntu6~rolf1.dsc

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

Daniel Holbach wrote:
> I guess this is going to get you the newest and proposed source package:
>
> dget -xu
> https://launchpad.net/~r0lf/+archive/ppa/+files/isdnutils_3.12.20071127-0ubuntu6~rolf1.dsc
>

Yes, that's right.

My apologies for not responding sooner. I was away on business for a
few days.

[StefanPotyra (sistpoty)]

May I ask you again to upload the package to REVU?

I've taken a glimpse at the package in th e PPA, and the first step should be to rebase it to a new .orig.tar.gz (which could be created by cvs checkout).

Thanks,
   Stefan.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

I've uploaded the non-rebased version to revu for now. FWIW, anybody else could have done the same. All sources were public.

[Scott Kitterman (kitterman)]

I think it is too late for Karmic with this. Please continue to pursue sponsorship once Lucid opens and then we can do a backport to make it available to Karmic users who want it without risking a late change right before release.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

Lucid is open now, how do we progress?

[Peter Meiser (meiser79)]

If I'm not mistaken, all files under /usr/lib/capi, which are the plugins themselves, are missing in the libcapi package.

Rolf, could you re-check?

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

I'm not sure what exactly it is you are talking about. You can inspect the contents of packages with "dpkg --contents $debfile" or by visiting http://packages.ubuntu.com/$package

HTH

[Peter Meiser (meiser79)]

Well, you missed to add new files to the respective packages, e.g. usr/lib/capi/*.so.* into libcapi20-3, the new pkgconfig file in libcapi20-dev, etc.

I checked out isdn4k-utils CVS today and adapted the package accordingly. Please find attached the debdiff.

If you want, I can also upload it to REVU.

[Peter Meiser (meiser79)]

All my changes are inside the debian directory. The rest are changes due to autoreconf and some small upstream changes.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

people here suggest to go to REVU for further discussion, but nobody ever shows up to discuss anything. Then finally, dktrkranz does show up and guess what, he suggests opening a ticket on LP and archives isdnutils on REVU. ROTFL. Guys, make up your mind and let's get moving, OK?

[Peter Meiser (meiser79)]

As the version number was increased to 3.13 in the Makefile, please find attached a new debdiff.

[Benjamin Drung (bdrung)]

Rolf or Whoopie, do you want to maintain this package in Debian? isdnutils is orphaned in Debian and needs a new maintainer. Instead of sponsoring the debdiff, I would favor sponsoring a sync or merge from Debian.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

Benjamin, yes I agree and I'd be willing to act as maintainer in Debian. But not as sole maintainer because frankly my skill set and available time are not up for the task. I've been talking to a few people to form a team for maintainership but so far no positive reactions. I guess the task is pretty daunting. Benjamin, Stefan and everybody else, would you be willing to join such a team? Other commitments such as indication of willingness to act as a mentor (not sponsor, I know a few DD myself) would also be more than welcome and increase the chance for a succesful adoption.

That being said, I don't think that option is really available for the lucid timeframe (and we already missed karmic!). Even if the team formed rather quickly, Debian would first have to resolve bug 511988 and move to 3.12.20071127. That needs testing and can't be done in a knee-jerk reaction, I think. For Lucid, I would rather patch the version that is already there instead of going to Debian first. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough time, I think.

[Benjamin Drung (bdrung)]

I am willing to act as mentor. I do not want to maintain the package, because I have never used it. It would not get the love from me that it needs to.

The license issue (bug #511988) needs to be solved for both distribution (not only Debian). You can directly upgrade the package to the latest version and resolve the license issue for this version.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

I guess the new dpkg v3 format will make overwriting the capi20 directory a lot easier. But I guess that's more than offset by the amount of copyright work that apparently looms.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

should you be looking for a diff of the changes proposed here, http://git.debian.org/?p=collab-maint/isdnutils.git;a=commitdiff;h=31c9086fafeb59addabd45064c299f61d3432feb would give you just that

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

Guys, I was operating under the apparently mistaken assumption here that this change was touching an existing package in an existing version and thus would be exempt from FeatureFreeze.

With the door to lucid closed, I have now come to the conclusion that the possibility of contributing packages to Ubuntu as an outsider (somebody without an @ubuntu.com address) is nothing but an illusion. All one gets is non-timely comments of "please upload to REVU" when it's not really clear what that should achieve and IMHO that person should have just made that upload themselves (This is just an example, I'm not picking on the person who made that particular comment). Consequently, after much pinging and begging in IRC, all that happened is the REVU upload being closed with "please open a ticket in LP".

Bitrot has now set in (RC bug) for , FF is in effect, the hurdles for the proponent rise constantly when I don't think the blame is with him that after more than half a year and two release windows passed, there is still 0 progress despite very clear instructions from the outset.

I've tried the process three times, it failed three times despite ample time. All I can remember from the experience is being given silly run-arounds like "replace (C) with ©" which should not block progress in Ubuntu. The comments as such were helpful and usually implemented within hours only to see everything stalling for weeks to months again afterwards.

I've come to the conclusion that unfortunately, my efforts were wasted a third time and thus withdraw this request (alongside my aspiration to contribute packages straight to Ubuntu). I'll simply build the package locally and reconsider uploading it to a PPA once my mood improves. Contributing to Debian was supposedly difficult, but it's actually quite easy even if I'm not a user. Contributing to Ubuntu OTOH only seems to be for the masochist with time to waste.

[Benjamin Drung (bdrung)]

Rolf, I know that the beginning is hard. You may have to wait long, especially if you package new programs or new upstream releases. This can get frustrating. The best way for getting new packages into Ubuntu is through Debian. It's always good to keep the Debian and Ubuntu package close.

I recommend you to bring the package to Debian and then lets see if we get a feature freeze exception for the sync or merge.

[Rolf Leggewie (r0lf)]

Benjamin, thank you for your comment. I kindly suggest (and I don't mean this negatively in any way) that you take a look at what I've been doing and how long I've been doing it when it comes to packaging.

http://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=foss%40rolf.leggewie.biz may be a starter as well as my LP page.

Packages I have an ongoing interest in, I will generally maintain in Debian even though I haven't used Debian for about 5 years or longer. But no rule without exception and certain situations made it seem that pushing to Ubuntu first and backpushing to Debian later seemed more promising. Until of course I had to learn that three times out of three pushing to Ubuntu fails for two releases in a row.

I will compile my own package and have no energy left to care about what Ubuntu does or doesn't do here. I certainly have no energy or interest left when it comes to moving isdnutils or ffgtk forward in Ubuntu.

[Benjamin Drung (bdrung)]

Wow, I didn't know how much experience you have.

It's sad to hear - um, read - that you lost your interest in bringing the improvement to the Ubuntu archive. There is room for improving the sponsorship process. If you have ideas for improving it, please let the Ubuntu development mailing list know.

[Peter Meiser (meiser79)]

A new isdn4k-utils release is out and already in Debian stable. Would be great if we could merge.

[Peter Meiser (meiser79)]

There's a lot of activity right now. The current version in Debian unstable is 3.25-1. Would be great if it was synced/merged.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Mattia Rizzolo (mapreri)]

The isdnutils packages is currently updated and merged from the latest debian release. Is the feature you requested imported?

[Peter Meiser (meiser79)]

Mattia, yes, the feature is now available with 3.25+dfsg1-3.3ubuntu1. Thanks a lot!