I am not sure how Ubuntu or Debian-specific this is, so I am writing both to the dev list and to the Ubuntu maintainer. If this is the wrong place, please accept my apologies in advance.
I am trying to fix a bug in writer's filter for saving documents in WW8 format. Since I live in an Ubuntu machine, I decided to do the work on the Ubuntu package source, so that when I try out my test versions they are properly installed and can be properly removed. I figure that is not the standard operating procedure when hacking on OpenOffice.org :-P Everything builds just fine. My problem is, I can't figure out how to recompile the program after making a change to the source. The symptoms: $ export DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS="ccache parallel=4 nocheck" $ debuild -uc -us -b ...1.5 hours later... Everything is built beautifully Now I make a change: $ jedit ooo-build/build/OOO310_m19/sw/source/filter/ww8/ww8atr.cxx If I just build again: $ debuild -uc -us -b ...source is deleted, unpacked and patched all over again... ...1.5 hours later... I have the same default package without my changes If I try to skip the cleaning and unpacking: $ rm debian/stampdir/build $ debuild -uc -us -b -Tbuild ...debuild sets up its environment... ...cds into ooo-build... ...calls /usr/bin/make... ...which checks every subdirectory of ooo-build except ooo-build/build, and decides that nothing needs to be done! How do I get make to notice that ww8atr.cxx has changed and recompile the parts that need recompiling? All of the documentation I have seen only tells me how to build from clean sources. I can see that making a patch, tossing it into the patches directory and rebuilding from scratch will get my code into the build, but at the cost of 1.5 hours every time I change a line of code. Alternately, I could uninstall OpenOffice.org from my system, download the sources for the same version from SVN, work on those (assuming they don't use the same build process), make a patch, add that patch to the Ubuntu sources, build the package, and reinstall. I would rather avoid that since I want to be building and testing a version as close to what is in karmic as possible (including the same dependencies, selection of patches and so on). I feel like a noob. OK, when it comes to figuring out very complex debian build rules, I am a noob. And when it comes to building OOo, I am a total, utter noob. I have hacked plenty of packages before, but they are all 1/1000th the size of OOo. Any help appreciated. I am sure there is a thread where this was all discussed in depth two years ago...I just can't find it! Ciao, Alex
