Bug#683408: Please package pcretest again
Hi, On 09/09/2019 12:56, Gedalya wrote: On 9/9/19 3:14 AM, Sam Kuper wrote: Please could you comment on whether `pcre2test` meets your needs, such that Debian Developers[1] need not expend effort packaging `pcretest`? It's worth noting that pcre2test doesn't use the same library and is not guaranteed to behave the same way as the old pcre. Packages still using the old pcre (source package pcre3) far outnumber the ones already using the new pcre2. Apart from php7.3 which is already on pcre2, some very widely used packages still on the old pcre include exim4, nginx, mariadb, apache2. That's true, but upstream have all but abandoned the old PCRE, and I'm hoping to remove it from Debian in due course. Having said that, it's plausible that pcre2test will be good enough in practice and behave equivalently to old pcre in most cases. From my POV, there is very little value to restoring pcretest to Debian given that old-PCRE is on the way to being at least deprecated, and pcre2test is in Debian. Regards, Matthew
Bug#683408: Please package pcretest again
On 9/9/19 3:14 AM, Sam Kuper wrote:
> On 29 Apr 2013, Richard James Salts wrote[0]:
>> [..] pcretest was a handy utility. It would be good if the program
>> could instead be included with the pcregrep package in pcre-utils
>> package or the like.
> On 31 Jul 2012, Gedalya wrote:
>> As per #616660, pcretest is no longer distributed in any package. [..]
>> I'd like to have it available. [..] if this takes a -tools package
>> then I'm in favor of that. [..]
> On 5 Jul 2013, Neale Banks wrote:
>> [..] Please package pcretest, either in its own binary or in a package
>> like prce-utils. [..]
> I agree that `pcretest`, or something very much like it, is useful to
> have in Debian.
>
> At time of writing, `pcretest` itself is still unavailable in Debian, at
> least within Debian 9 ("Stretch"), which is currently the oldstable
> branch.
>
> However, `pcre2test`, *is* available, via the `pcre2-utils` package.
> pcre2test is an updated version of `pcretest` by the same author as
> pcretest: Phillip Hazel. IMO, this obviates the need for `pcretest`.
>
>
> Please could you comment on whether `pcre2test` meets your needs, such
> that Debian Developers[1] need not expend effort packaging `pcretest`?
>
It's worth noting that pcre2test doesn't use the same library and is not
guaranteed to behave the same way as the old pcre.
Packages still using the old pcre (source package pcre3) far outnumber the ones
already using the new pcre2. Apart from php7.3 which is already on pcre2, some
very widely used packages still on the old pcre include exim4, nginx, mariadb,
apache2.
Having said that, it's plausible that pcre2test will be good enough in practice
and behave equivalently to old pcre in most cases.
Bug#683408: Please package pcretest again
On 29 Apr 2013, Richard James Salts wrote[0]:
> [..] pcretest was a handy utility. It would be good if the program
> could instead be included with the pcregrep package in pcre-utils
> package or the like.
On 31 Jul 2012, Gedalya wrote:
> As per #616660, pcretest is no longer distributed in any package. [..]
> I'd like to have it available. [..] if this takes a -tools package
> then I'm in favor of that. [..]
On 5 Jul 2013, Neale Banks wrote:
> [..] Please package pcretest, either in its own binary or in a package
> like prce-utils. [..]
I agree that `pcretest`, or something very much like it, is useful to
have in Debian.
At time of writing, `pcretest` itself is still unavailable in Debian, at
least within Debian 9 ("Stretch"), which is currently the oldstable
branch.
However, `pcre2test`, *is* available, via the `pcre2-utils` package.
pcre2test is an updated version of `pcretest` by the same author as
pcretest: Phillip Hazel. IMO, this obviates the need for `pcretest`.
Please could you comment on whether `pcre2test` meets your needs, such
that Debian Developers[1] need not expend effort packaging `pcretest`?
Alternatively, if neither of you replies within a reasonable amount of
time[2]; then I propose that this bug be marked as fixed.
In any case, once resolved, this bug report should possibly be modified
to match the state of #616660, and then be merged with it.
Sam
[0] https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=616660#15
[1] I am not a Debian Developer.
[2] I agree with Solveig[3] that a year is a reasonable amount of time.
I have no authority in the matter, though.
[3]
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWomen/Projects/MiniDebconf-Women/2014/Talks#Bug_triaging_and_bug_closing
Bug#683408: Please package pcretest again
I too have found pcretest useful - both for my own testing of REs and more importantly as a valuable tool when teaching REs. Please package pcretest, either in its own binary or in a package like prce-utils. Thanks, Neale. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
