Package: debarchiver
Version: 0.9.6
Severity: wishlist
Tags: patch
The package description for debarchiver hasn't been updated since it
was first released in Woody:
# Description: Tool to handle Debian package archives
# This tool can create a potato like file structure that dselect,
# apt-get and similar tools can use for easier installation.
# .
# You just have to place the package files into a incoming
# directory and the tool does the sorting (if you place the
# generated '.changes' file there too).
# .
# OBSERVE! This package will create a cronjob that does the
# actual sorting.
Expecting readers to recognise the name of Debian 2.2 "Potato" might
have made sense at the turn of the century, but for present-day users
"a potato like file structure" sounds like word salad. It needs to
say roughly what kind of layout it's talking about; fortunately there
is some text in the man page that I can adapt.
There are also a few non-nativisms ("a incoming") and stylistic
problems ("OBSERVE!") in the text which I might as well fix with a
rewrite.
I would suggest:
| Description: tool to handle Debian package archives
| This tool can sort packages into a directory structure that apt-get
| and similar tools can use as an installation source (arranged in an
| old-style simple repository layout without package pools). It is meant
| to be used by local administrators who need special packages, or
| tweaked versions to ease administration.
| .
| Package files placed in debarchiver's incoming directory along with the
| corresponding generated ".changes" file will be sorted by a cronjob
| into the appropriate directory of the repository.
--
JBR with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package
diff -ru debarchiver-0.9.10.pristine/debian/control debarchiver-0.9.10/debian/control
--- debarchiver-0.9.10.pristine/debian/control 2011-11-02 21:29:40.000000000 +0000
+++ debarchiver-0.9.10/debian/control 2012-12-07 17:39:21.838723944 +0000
@@ -11,13 +11,13 @@
Depends: opalmod (>= 0.1.10), apt-utils | dpkg-dev, adduser, ${misc:Depends}
Recommends: exim4 | mail-transport-agent | mailutils | bsd-mailx | mailx
Suggests: devscripts, gnupg
-Description: Tool to handle Debian package archives
- This tool can create a potato like file structure that dselect,
- apt-get and similar tools can use for easier installation.
+Description: tool to handle Debian package archives
+ This tool can sort packages into a directory structure that apt-get
+ and similar tools can use as an installation source (arranged in an
+ old-style simple repository layout without package pools). It is meant
+ to be used by local administrators who need special packages, or
+ tweaked versions to ease administration.
.
- You just have to place the package files into a incoming
- directory and the tool does the sorting (if you place the
- generated '.changes' file there too).
- .
- OBSERVE! This package will create a cronjob that does the
- actual sorting.
+ Package files placed in debarchiver's incoming directory along with the
+ corresponding generated ".changes" file will be sorted by a cronjob
+ into the appropriate directory of the repository.
