[ Sorry if this comes through twice, my Postfix/TLS certificate expired,
and mail stopped working for a bit ]
Here's an updated patch which should address the concerns raised.
--- debian-policy-3.5.6.1/policy.sgml 2002-03-14 13:17:48.000000000 -0500
+++ debian-policy-3.5.6.1.hacked/policy.sgml 2002-08-21 14:58:41.000000000
-0400
@@ -5332,13 +5332,21 @@
</p>
<p>
- Generally the following compilation parameters should be used:
+ By default, when a package is being built, any binaries
+ created should include debugging information, as well as
+ being compiled with optimization. You should also turn on
+ as many reasonable compilation warnings as possible; this
+ makes life easier for porters, who can then look at build
+ logs for possible problems. For the C programming language,
+ this means the following compilation parameters should be
+ used:
<example compact="compact">
CC = gcc
-CFLAGS = -O2 -Wall # sane warning options vary between programs
+CFLAGS = -O2 -g -Wall # sane warning options vary between programs
LDFLAGS = # none
install -s # (or use strip on the files in debian/tmp)
- </example></p>
+ </example>
+ </p>
<p>
Note that by default all installed binaries should be stripped,
@@ -5346,60 +5354,67 @@
<prgn>install</prgn>, or by calling <prgn>strip</prgn> on
the binaries after they have been copied into
<tt>debian/tmp</tt> but before the tree is made into a
- package.</p>
+ package.
+ </p>
<p>
- The <tt>-N</tt> flag should not be used. On <tt>a.out</tt>
- systems it may have been useful for some very small
- binaries, but for ELF it has no good effect.</p>
-
- <p>
- Debugging symbols are useful for error diagnosis,
- investigation of core dumps (which may be submitted by users
- in bug reports), or testing and developing the software.
- Therefore it is recommended to support building the package
- with debugging information through the following interface:
- If the environment variable <tt>DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS</tt>
- contains the string <tt>debug</tt>, compile the software
- with debugging information (usually this involves adding the
- <tt>-g</tt> flag to <tt>CFLAGS</tt>). This allows the
- generation of a build tree with debugging information. If
- the environment variable <tt>DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS</tt> contains
- the string <tt>nostrip</tt>, do not strip the files at
- installation time. This allows one to generate a package
- with debugging information included.<footnote>
- <p>
- Rationale: Using <tt>-g</tt> by default causes wasted
- CPU cycles since the information is stripped away
- anyway; this can have a significant impact on the
- efficiency of the autobuilders. Having a standard way
- to build a debugging variant also makes it easier to
- build debugging bins and libraries since it provides a
- documented way of getting this type of build; one does
- not have to manually edit <tt>debian/rules</tt> or
- <tt>Makefile</tt>s.
- </p>
- </footnote>
+ Although binaries in the build tree should be compiled with
+ debugging information by default, it can often be difficult
+ to debug programs if they are also subjected to compiler
+ optimization. For this reason, it is recommended to support
+ the standardized environment
+ variable <tt>DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS</tt>. This variable can
+ contain several flags to change how a package is compiled
+ and built.
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ <taglist>
+ <tag>noopt</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>
+ The presence of this string means that the package
+ should be complied with a minimum of optimization.
+ For C programs, it is best to add <tt>-O0</tt>
+ to <tt>CFLAGS</tt> (although this is usually the
+ default). Some programs might fail to build or run at
+ this level of optimization; it may be necessary to
+ use <tt>-O1</tt>, for example.
+ </p>
+ </item>
+ <tag>nostrip</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>
+ This string means that the debugging symbols should
+ not be stripped from the binary during installation,
+ so that debugging information may be included in the
+ package.
+ </p>
+ </item>
+ </taglist>
+ </p>
+ <p>
The following makefile snippet is an example of how one may
- test for either condition; you will probably have to massage
- this example in order to make it work for your package.
+ implement the build options; you will probably have to
+ massage this example in order to make it work for your
+ package.
<example compact="compact">
-CFLAGS = -O2 -Wall
+CFLAGS = -Wall -g
INSTALL = install
INSTALL_FILE = $(INSTALL) -p -o root -g root -m 644
INSTALL_PROGRAM = $(INSTALL) -p -o root -g root -m 755
INSTALL_SCRIPT = $(INSTALL) -p -o root -g root -m 755
INSTALL_DIR = $(INSTALL) -p -d -o root -g root -m 755
-ifneq (,$(findstring debug,$(DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS)))
-CFLAGS += -g
+ifneq (,$(findstring noopt,$(DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS)))
+CFLAGS += -O0
+else
+CFLAGS += -O2
endif
ifeq (,$(findstring nostrip,$(DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS)))
INSTALL_PROGRAM += -s
endif
</example>
</p>
-
<p>
It is up to the package maintainer to decide what
compilation options are best for the package. Certain
@@ -5410,7 +5425,9 @@
if there is good reason to do so. Feel free to override
the upstream author's ideas about which compilation
options are best: they are often inappropriate for our
- environment.</p></sect>
+ environment.
+ </p>
+ </sect>
<sect>
