Please backport pdftk-java 3.0.2-2 (universe) from Disco

[Ciarán Mooney]

Reason for the backport:
========================

pdftk was removed from Debian and Ubuntu [1] due to the removal of one of its build-dep: GCJ. It was replaced by a new source package: pdftk-java [2].
Unfortunately, pdftk-java was not ready in time for Bionic. So, Bionic is the only Ubuntu release without any working pdftk package which is very annoying.

[1] https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1757314
[2] https://bugs.debian.org/901370

Testing:
========
Mark off items in the checklist [X] as you test them, but please leave the checklist so that backporters can quickly evaluate the state of testing.

* bionic:
[x] pdftk-java builds without modification
[x] pdftk-java installs cleanly and runs

No reverse dependencies (included on this request).

https://launchpad.net/~daissi/+archive/ubuntu/testing/

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Related to Bug #Bug #1757314, where pdftk was removed due to deprecated dependencies in Debian, see (https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=892539).

Later Ubuntu releases (Cosmic, Bionic) have moved over to pdftk-java as Debian has started using pdftk-java.

Once pdftk-java packaged for 18.04.02 then Bug #1764450, request for pdftk being re-introduced.

[Ciarán Mooney (ciaran-mooney)]

I have downloaded the Cosmic pdftk-java package and managed to install in on 18.04.2.

Needed to install the following packages with apt-get --fix-broken to get it working:

*libbcprov-java
*libcommons-lang3-java
*libcommons-parent-java
*libapache-pom-java

I intend to re-package pdftk-java for 18.04 and get it included in the repo.

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

*** This is an automated message ***

This bug is tagged needs-packaging which identifies it as a request for a new package in Ubuntu. As a part of the managing needs-packaging bug reports specification, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/Specs/NeedsPackagingBugs, all needs-packaging bug reports have Wishlist importance. Subsequently, I'm setting this bug's status to Wishlist.

[Simon Quigley (tsimonq2)]

Hello Ciarán, thank you for the bug report.

We rarely sync new packages into stable releases; I would recommend either following the Backports process or making a snap of it.

Unsubscribing the Ubuntu Sponsors Team as there is nothing to sponsor.

Thanks!

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[HRJ (harshad-rj)]

> We rarely sync new packages into stable releases;

In this case, the package was dropped in the stable release and then later became available in a non-LTS release. This is a request to bring it back into the stable release.

[Bert Driehuis (driehuis)]

The snap has restrictions that the pdftk-java package from Cosmic does not have: the snap refuses to process files in /tmp (even when the directory has been created securely with mkstemp), which makes it unusable for some server workloads, including mine.

Other considerations in favor of extending the current support from cosmic to bionic:
* the version from cosmic works unchanged on bionic
* The version in eoan is identical to cosmic's
* there is no foreseeable update forthcoming from upstream that could break bionic but not the current release (pdftk is actively maintained in an extremely backward-compatible manner)
* users of Ubuntu bionic are now forced to use unmaintained PPA's or even xenial binaries to provide this functionality
* pdftk often is a minor cog in a larger enterprise or open source solution, i.e. to the end user, Ubuntu's latest LTS just misses critical functionality
* switching to alternatives for pdftk generally means using code of a lesser quality
* using a snap in a server environment means adding yet another update mechanism into the mix

I have resorted to installing cosmic's version on my systems, but it means that pdftk is off my security radar, which sucks.

[Dan Streetman (ddstreet)]

Hello,

the backports process has recently been updated, please see the new documentation:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuBackports

I'm closing this bug, but please feel free to open a new bug (or reopen this bug) using the new process, if appropriate.