Bug#985728: ITP: howdy -- Infrared Facial Authentication Module for Linux

2021-03-23 Thread Lem Severein
Hey Gard,

Weirdly I can't see that package locally at all. Probably because I'm on
such an old distro.

I'm not 100% sure if that dlib package ships with the python bindings or if
it's just the C++ version. I'll look into that. If it does have python
bindings then that solves the problem in its entirety.

You're not too negative at all! I'm entirely new to this part of the
packaging process so your feedback has been invaluable to me, so thanks a
lot!

With kind regards,
Lem Severein

On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 2:22 PM Gard Spreemann  wrote:

>
> Lem Severein  writes:
>
> > Hey Gard,
> >
> > Thanks for the helpful links, I fully understand your concern.
> >
> > I can do away with the numpy and opencv installs through the (much more
> > outdated) python-numpy and python-opencv debian packages respectively.
> > However, dlib does not seem to have such a package yet and having to
> > maintain that would be out of scope for me. I'm only a dlib user, not a
> > contributor, and i don't think it would be my place to package it.
>
> https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/dlib ? Or is this a different dlib?
>
> > However, dlib is available through pip and running that command would be
> > idempotent.
>
> OK, but your package cannot rely on stuff installed through pip!
>
> > (I wrongly hit "Reply" instead of "Reply All" in my last email, thanks
> for
> > letting me know)
>
> No problem. And I hope I'm not coming across as too negative; I just
> wanna make sure you're not wasting a lot of effort on packaging
> something that ends up being undistributable in Debian :-)
>
>  -- Gard
>


Bug#985728: ITP: howdy -- Infrared Facial Authentication Module for Linux

2021-03-23 Thread Gard Spreemann

Lem Severein  writes:

> Hey Gard,
>
> Thanks for the helpful links, I fully understand your concern.
>
> I can do away with the numpy and opencv installs through the (much more
> outdated) python-numpy and python-opencv debian packages respectively.
> However, dlib does not seem to have such a package yet and having to
> maintain that would be out of scope for me. I'm only a dlib user, not a
> contributor, and i don't think it would be my place to package it.

https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/dlib ? Or is this a different dlib?

> However, dlib is available through pip and running that command would be
> idempotent.

OK, but your package cannot rely on stuff installed through pip!

> (I wrongly hit "Reply" instead of "Reply All" in my last email, thanks for
> letting me know)

No problem. And I hope I'm not coming across as too negative; I just
wanna make sure you're not wasting a lot of effort on packaging
something that ends up being undistributable in Debian :-)

 -- Gard


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Bug#985728: ITP: howdy -- Infrared Facial Authentication Module for Linux

2021-03-23 Thread Lem Severein
Hey Gard,

Thanks for the helpful links, I fully understand your concern.

I can do away with the numpy and opencv installs through the (much more
outdated) python-numpy and python-opencv debian packages respectively.
However, dlib does not seem to have such a package yet and having to
maintain that would be out of scope for me. I'm only a dlib user, not a
contributor, and i don't think it would be my place to package it.

The absolute minimum install would only install pre-packaged dlib through
pip or compile it from source.

However, dlib is available through pip and running that command would be
idempotent. If apt install is aborted then pip will simply retry installing
dlib the next time apt installation is attempted. If the pip dlib install
goes through and postinst is called again pip will simply state that dlib
is already installed.

(I wrongly hit "Reply" instead of "Reply All" in my last email, thanks for
letting me know)

With kind regards,
Lem Severein

On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 12:51 PM Gard Spreemann  wrote:

>
> Lem Severein  writes:
>
> > Unfortunately the dlib compilation step is necessary to be executed on
> the
> > machine itself. The build automatically enables certain hardware
> > accelerations, depending on system components.
>
> I think people would be quite upset with a d/postinst script that not
> only builds third-party software (already a problem), but also reaches
> out to the internet to fetch said software (without even getting into
> the fact that the authenticity of the downloaded software is not
> verified, which is a separate problem independent of Debian).
>
> Additionally, the current maintainer scripts don't look very idempotent
> (Policy § 6.2 [1]).
>
> > If complete offline installation is a must I could move the dlib into the
> > Howdy deb file. Not sure how that would work license wise.
>
> This sounds like a violation of Policy § 4.13 [2].
>
> If the local dlib compilation is indeed a requirement for this package,
> I would hazard a guess that it is not distributable in Debian.
>
>
> [1]
> https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-maintainerscripts.html#maintainer-scripts-idempotency
>
> [2]
> https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-source.html#embedded-code-copies
>
>
>   Best,
>   Gard
>


Bug#985728: ITP: howdy -- Infrared Facial Authentication Module for Linux

2021-03-23 Thread Gard Spreemann

Lem Severein  writes:

> Unfortunately the dlib compilation step is necessary to be executed on the
> machine itself. The build automatically enables certain hardware
> accelerations, depending on system components.

I think people would be quite upset with a d/postinst script that not
only builds third-party software (already a problem), but also reaches
out to the internet to fetch said software (without even getting into
the fact that the authenticity of the downloaded software is not
verified, which is a separate problem independent of Debian).

Additionally, the current maintainer scripts don't look very idempotent
(Policy § 6.2 [1]).

> If complete offline installation is a must I could move the dlib into the
> Howdy deb file. Not sure how that would work license wise.

This sounds like a violation of Policy § 4.13 [2].

If the local dlib compilation is indeed a requirement for this package,
I would hazard a guess that it is not distributable in Debian.


[1] 
https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-maintainerscripts.html#maintainer-scripts-idempotency

[2] https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-source.html#embedded-code-copies


  Best,
  Gard


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Bug#985728: ITP: howdy -- Infrared Facial Authentication Module for Linux

2021-03-23 Thread Gard Spreemann

Lem Severein  writes:

> Version 3.0.0 will introduce large changes and make Howdy a lot more
> mature. I think it's time to try and package it within the main debian
> archive.
>
> I am the main developer and maintainer of this package, and i
> intend to continue to support Howdy. I'm not sure in what team 
> this package would fit, but a sponsor would be nice.

Maybe this is already covered under the discussion of the more mature
version 3 coming up, but: the shenanigans going on in the postinst
script (like downloading stuff from the internet) seem to me quite
worrisome.

 Best,
 Gard
 


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Bug#985728: ITP: howdy -- Infrared Facial Authentication Module for Linux

2021-03-22 Thread Lem Severein
Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Lem Severein 

* Package name: howdy
  Version : 3.0.0
  Upstream Author : Lem Severein 
* URL : https://boltgolt.nl/howdy
* License : MIT
  Programming Lang: Python, C++
  Description : Infrared Facial Authentication Module for Linux

Howdy provides Windows Hello style authentication for Linux. Use 
your built-in infrared emitters and camera in combination with 
facial recognition to prove who you are.

Based on visitor and download statistics Howdy is already used on 
tens of thousands of systems. Currently distributed with a PPA or 
deb file directly. Version 3.0.0 will introduce large changes and
 make Howdy a lot more mature. I think it's time to try and 
package it within the main debian archive.

I am the main developer and maintainer of this package, and i
intend to continue to support Howdy. I'm not sure in what team 
this package would fit, but a sponsor would be nice.