Scripsit Anthony Towns <aj@azure.humbug.org.au> > Henning Makholm wrote:
>> Hmm. Does apt suppport having a Packages file separate from the pool >> whose files it refers to? > Yes; cf dists/ and pool/, or think back to when we were first doing > pools and had some files in dists/ and some files in pool/. Well, dists/ and pool/ are currently usually on the same ftp or http server that you get the Packages file from. I was thinking of whether it would be possible for a third party to publish an abridged Packages file without also himself mirroring the .debs it refers to. >> It would be cool to be able to generate Packages files for one's >> particular combination of freedoms-I-care-about-personally, and >> then fetch the files from a general mirror. > For that you'd want to download the Packages file for non-free, then > have apt or aptitude/etc filter out the stuff you're not interested > in. Which would probably be a useful feature anyway, of course. I was speculating about the possibility of doing the filtering _before_ the gets the file. > It's not likely to be one that'd be acceptable to the FSF-types > though; there's a big difference between: > deb http://blah/debian etch main fsf-free > and > deb http://blah/debian etch main non-free > if you're a free software hacker who just happens to have a different > idea of what freedoms are important to Debian's. Hm, I don't personally think we should care much about the kind of FSF types who get all uptight about which possibilities we offer to *other* people and how we describe it. But it would be a good thing for us to support people who would like an FSF filter for the packages on their *own* box rather than the default Debian filter. >>>That's kinda kludgy for the "free-software / >>>free-software-and-firmware" tags, afaics. >> Could you elaborate on that? I don't really get which kludginess you >> are referring to - > It just feels backwards; count the negatives in "I don't care about > non-free firmware" and "I don't care about non-free non-software", Ok, I see that. Not sure how to fix it, though. -- Henning Makholm "I ... I have to return some videos." -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]