Introduction and Rationale
The AOSC OS ABBS Tree is now home to over 5000 (and counting) packages, which are maintained by over 20 (historical and current) packagers. With more than 5 years of history behind some packages, issues began to emerge in the following fashion:
- Packages lack dependencies.
- Insecure (unquoted) variables in build scripts.
- Hard-to-read build scripts, with little comments or indication of progression.
- Undescriptive package description(s) (
$PKGDES
). - Non-standard package section(s) (
$PKGSEC
). - ...
Without a comprehensive guildeline for packaging work in the future, these issues will not go away - rather, the list will grow longer and further degrade package qualities in our distribution. This Styling Manual seeks to provide sectioned and targetted sets of guidelines for fixing existing and new packages.
Packager, Package Names, and Descriptions
This section contains the three most basic descriptors for an AOSC OS package.
Packager Information
Packager, or "Maintainer", as referenced in Debian Packages (.deb
), should have its value formatted as follows:
Executed Packager <[email protected]>
Package Names
Package names (PKGNAME=
, or $PKGNAME
) should be lower-cased, and otherwise comply with the choice of package manager.
Descriptions
Package descriptions (PKGDES=
, or $PKGDES
) are to be composed with the following guidelines:
- Start with a upper-case letter.
- With no period point or any punctuation mark at the end.
However, it is worth noting that package descriptions found with AOSC OS packages should be descriptive, but not definitive. For example, an acceptable package description should look something like...
"Library with common API for various MATE modules"
Or less descriptive, like...
"MATE Desktop Library"
Or too definitive, like...
"Library with concise and convenient API for various MATE modules"
Package Specs
In the current implementation of ACBS (Autobuild CI Build Service), three categories of variables are defined in a file named spec
- these variables will be discussed below.
Versioning Variables
Versioning variable define the package's version and revision levels.
VER=
The VER=
, or $VER
variable defines the main version of the resulting package. When packaging for AOSC OS, packagers should take note of the following requirements. These requirements are presented in the table below.
Situations | Appropriate Actions | Examples |
---|---|---|
"Normal" versioning, with only "dot" separators | Retain version, as defined by the upstream. | GNOME Clocks 3.32.1 -> VER=3.32.1 |
Versions with letter notation(s) | Lower-case all letter(s), and remove symbols surrounding the letter(s). | Bind 9.12.3-P4 -> VER=9.12.3p4 |
Versions with dash(es) ("-") | Replace the dash(es) with plus ("+") sign(s). | ImageMagick 6.9.10-23 -> VER=6.9.10+23 |
Versions with underscore(s) ("_") | Replace the underscore(s) with dot(s) ("."). | Icarus Verilog 10_2 -> VER=10.2 |
Versions with release stage notation(s) ("alpha", "beta", "rc", etc.) | Lower-case all notations, "Beta" to "beta", etc. Prepend a tilde ("~"). | Golden Dict 1.5.0-RC2 -> VER=1.5.0~rc2 |
Versions with formatted date(s) | Replace dash(es) ("-") with dots ("."). | QuickJS 2020-09-06 -> VER=2020.09.06 |
Git or other VCS snapshots | Write last tagged version (e.g. "3.2.1") or "0" if never tagged, then append "+", VCS name (e.g. "git") and date of commit. | Shadowsocks 5ff694b2c2978b432918dea6ac104706b25cbf48 -> VER=0+git20181219 |
REL=
The REL=
, or $REL
variable defines the revision level of the resulting package. This variable should only hold a single positive integer as its value.
Source Variables
Source variables define the package's source(s), and in the case of a VCS (version control system) based source, define in addition a specific source snapshot.
SRCTBL=
The SRCTBL=
, or $SRCTBL
variable is used when a package's source is released in the form of a single compressed archive. Requirements and recommendations are presented in the table below.
Criteria | Required/Recommended | Appropriate Actions |
---|---|---|
URI schemes | Recommended | Use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS, https://) where possible. Avoid non-secure connections (http://) and plain FTP (File Transfer Protocol, ftp://). |
Source format | Recommended | Use XZ-compressed Tar-Archives (.tar.xz) where possible, other formats are considered appropriate. Avoid the inefficient BZip2-compressed Tar-Archives (.tar.bz2) where possible. |
Version substitutions | Required | Source links must replace all versions with substitutions from the $VER variable (see above). SRCTBL= must not be defined with hard-coded version(s). |
Versioned tarballs | Required | Source archives (tarballs) must be versioned in order to ensure consistency. |
CHKSUM=
The CHKSUM=
, or $CHKSUM
variable is used in conjunction with $SRCTBL
, to define the proper checksum for specific source archive(s). The format is as follows.
CHKSUM="$ALGORITHM::$CHECKSUM"
Where...
$ALGORITHM
is to be replaced with specific hashing algorithms, written in lower-case. For instance,sha256
.$CHECKSUM
is to be replaced with the corresponding hash checksum of the aforementioned algorithm.
For descriptions of different cryptographic hash algorithms, and for identification of insecure (and therefore unacceptable) algorithms, refer to this Wikipedia chapter under "Cryptographic Hash Function".
$CHKSUM
will become a required value in the near future.
VCS Variables
VCS (Version Control System) based sources may use any one of the each combinations.
VCS | Required Variables | Additional Notes |
---|---|---|
Bazaar (BZR) | BZRSRC= , or $BZRSRC , which defines the Bazaar repository; BZRCO= , or $BZRCO , which defines the specific Bazaar revision. | |
Git | GITSRC= , or $GITSRC , which defines the Git repository; GITCO= , or $GITCO , which defines the specific Git "checkout(s)" (a commit, or a tag) | Use Git over Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS, https://) where possible. |
Mercurial (HG) | HGSRC= , or $HGSRC , which defines the Meruciral repository. | Avoid using Mecurial source(s) where possible, as support for checking out a specific revision is not yet implemented. |
Subversion (SVN) | SVNSRC= , or $SVNSRC , which defines the SVN repository; SVNCO= , or $SVNCO , which defines the specific SVN checkout(s) (revision). |
DUMMYSRC=
The DUMMYSRC=
, or $DUMMYSRC
variable is used when a package is empty (meta package), or uses custom-generated sources. This variable takes a bolean value.
Other Variables
Other variables may be used, so long as they are not any of the variables listed above. These variables are often used to aid with manipulating $SRCDIR
, here's the spec
file of extra-devel/netbeans
, for instance.
VER=8.2
REL=1
SUB=201609300101
SRCTBL="http://download.netbeans.org/netbeans/$VER/final/zip/netbeans-$VER-$SUB.zip"
SUBDIR=.
Dependencies
In the context of AOSC OS packaging, dependencies are arranged in two categories: run-time depedencies, and build-time dependencies. These dependencies are defined by PKGDEP=
($PKGDEP
), and BUILDDEP=
($BUILDDEP
), respectively.
Run-time Dependencies
Run-time dependencies should be written in such a way that, not only does the package function (programs run, libraries link, etc.), all linkages to the package should also be included. In the case of extra-multimedia/ario
, for instance, not only should $PKGDEP
contain the following dependencies:
avahi, curl, dbus-glib, gnutls, hicolor-icon-theme, libglade, libmpdclient, libnotify, libsoup, libunique, taglib, xdg-utils
Which, through explicit and implicit dependencies, allows for a system environment that contains sufficient runtime for the program /usr/bin/ario
to function.
By the quality assurance standard, defined in code E432, all direct dependencies on the ELF level should also be included in $PKGDEP
, and thus the addition of dbus
to $PKGDEP
is necessary.
As of March 16th, 2019, 42.4% (1592/3705) of all packages provided in the Stable channel for amd64
has the issue of insufficient ELF dependencies.
Additional Notes
- When a package has a sole dependency on the GCC Runtime (
gcc-runtime
) or the GNU C Library (glibc
), these dependencies should be included in$PKGDEP
.
Build-time Dependencies
Build-time dependencies should written in such a way that the package will compile, install, and package successfully in the BuildKit build environment. Given this, any packages included in the BuildKit environment will not need to be included in $BUILDDEP
. For example...
- CMake (
cmake
) is required for buildingextra-devel/extra-cmake-modules
, however,cmake
is an integral part of BuildKit. Therefore, packagers are not required to includecmake
in$BUILDDEP
. - Bazel (
bazel
) is required fo buildingextra-scientific/tensorflow
. In this case,bazel
must be included in$BUILDDEP
, asbazel
is not installed in BuildKit as standard.
Package Features
When packaging for AOSC OS, please work in accordance to our distribution feature guide. The table below digests some of the common considerations when building packages for AOSC OS.
Considerations | Appropriate Actions |
---|---|
Features | Enable all features, unless a feature is unmaintained, or violates any of the other considerations in this table. |
Language packs (dictionaries, locale data, etc.) | Language packs must be included in the same package as the main executables, etc. |
Splitting packages | Packages are to be remained intact, unless package comes in multiple flavours, or otherwise agreed upon by the developer majority. |
Telemetry | All telemetry functionalities must be stripped or disabled by default (opt-in), packages that do not function without such feature should only be accepted on a case-by-case basis (rejected by default). |
Update checking | All update checking (notification, downloading, etc.) functionalities must be stripped, packages that do not function without such feature should only be accepted on a case-by-case basis (rejected by default). |
Scripting
While most packages could be built with one of the pre-defined Autobuild Types ($ABTYPES
), and that patches could be applied automatically from the autobuild/patches
directory (or via a pre-defined series
file to specify patch order), some packages require manual preparation, patching, and build. This section is dedicated to prepare
, patch
, build
, and beyond
under the autobuild/
directory.
A general rule of thumb is to write such scripts secure (quoted) variables, sufficient comments, error control, architectural considerations, progression report, ... Writing easy-to-read and reliable build scripts is not easy, and the table below aims to aid you with making good scripting decisions.
Criteria | Required/Recommended | Explanations |
---|---|---|
Autobuild3 Build Templates (ABTYPE ) | Required | Packager should utilise Autobuild Types where possible, without using autobuild/build or ABTYPE=self . |
Error Handling | Required | Build errors should be captured and handled appropriately. By default, errors are handled automatically by Autobuild3 and will result in aborted build, however, autobuild/build is not yet covered due to a bug in Autobuild3. |
Progression report | Requried | Progress should be reported by appropriately employing abinfo and abwarn wrappers, this is required for packages utilising the autobuild/build , or ABTYPE=self . |
Citations and References | Required | When adapting/copying build scripts from other distributions, packager must include a comment indicating the source(s) of the build script(s) |
Secure Variables | Required | Variables should be quoted, for example, all "$SRCDIR" and "$PKGDIR" . |
File Directories | Required | All files manually installed from the source tree must be referenced with absolute paths, for instance, "$SRCDIR"/desktop/foo.desktop . |
Architectural Considerations | Recommended | While it is convenient to write build scripts adapted to the amd64 port, it is important to note that AOSC OS builds packages for more than five other architectures using the same scripts. |
Comments | Recommended | Good scripts tend to be well commented. However, comments can be replaced with progression report clauses, see "Progression report". |
As many packagers tend to reference or copy build scripts from Arch Linux, please reference the TODO: AOSC OS-Arch Rosetta Stone for a comprehensive guide on translating PKGBUILD (Arch Linux) into Autobuild3 manifests (AOSC OS).
Patch Naming
Patches should follow a (mostly) uniform file naming for clear arrangement and sorting, before they are included in autobuild/patches/
.
Git-based Sources
When dealing with Git-based sources, it is possible to create numbered patches from the following command:
git format-patch -n $HASH
Where n
defines the amount of commits from the specific commit $HASH
, including the specified commit. Alternatively, you can omit the $HASH
...
git format-patch -n
To create a series of patches from n
commits to the branch HEAD
.
These commands generate a series patches like the following...
0001-contrib-autobuild-aoscarchive-one-more-syntax-fix.patch
0002-common_switches-add-sanitizer-support.patch
0003-contrib-autobuild-aoscarchive-fix-overlay-subdir-che.patch
0004-arch-_common_switches-fix-syntax.patch
0005-autobuild-aoscarchive-adapt-to-new-workflow.patch
Other Sources
Without an automatic mean to generate patches, patches should be named in the following format.
NNNN-$CATEGORY-$CONTENT.patch
Where:
NNNN
, like the sample patch file names, is a "serial" number for sorting patches.$CATEGORY
defines the category of a patch, for instance,bugfix
,feature
, etc.$CONTENT
defines "what is to be done" when a patch is applied, for instance,fix-build-with-openssl-1.1
.
Likewise, when including patch(es) from other distributions, they should also be renamed in accordance to the guidelines above.
File Placements
AOSC OS, like many other Linux Distributions, expect packaged files to be located in appropriate directories. Please reference the non-comprehensive table below for our standard of file placements.
Types of Files | Appropriate Placements |
---|---|
Binary or script executables | /usr/bin |
Binaries run by other programs | /usr/libexec , unless hard-coded by other packages/components (GNOME, *ahem*) |
Data files (no ELF, or architecturally-dependent scripts) | /usr/share |
Daemon user home | /var/lib/$COMPONENTNAME , where an appropriate$COMPONENTNAME is decided in practice, for instance, /var/lib/lightdm |
Go components and shared data | /usr/share/gocode |
Headers (includes) | /usr/include |
Java components (commons, etc.) | /usr/share/java |
Libraries (shared and static) | /usr/lib |
Licences | /usr/share/doc/$PKGNAME |
Manpages | /usr/share/man |
Non-manpage documentations | /usr/share/doc/$PKGNAME |
Private libraries | /usr/lib/$COMPONENTNAME , where an appropriate$COMPONENTNAME is decided in practice, for instance, /usr/lib/R |
Electron and Chromium-based Packages
Electron, Chromium, and other Chromium-based packages should be packaged with the following structure.
Components | Appropriate Placements |
---|---|
Binary executables | /usr/bin , where the executable is a symbolic link to its target in /usr/lib/$PKGNAME |
Desktop, AppStream, and other data files | /usr/share |
Main program data | /usr/lib/$PKGNAME |
Binary Packaging (Binpack)
Binary packages should not be installed to /opt
, unless the package's licence prohibits such file movement. With adjustments and other modifications, these packages should be installed to the /usr
prefix - if packager find it impossible, they should consider rejecting such packages.
Git Commit Messages
When committing (or contributing, if you like) to the AOSC OS ABBS Tree, please observe the commit message standards, shown in the table below.
Action | Message Formatting | Sample Commit Message |
---|---|---|
Introducing a new package | $PKGNAME: new, $PKGVER | windowsnt-kernel: new, 5.1.2600 |
Security fixes with version update | $PKGNAME: update to $PKGVER; #NNN | bash: update to 5.2; #114514 , where #114514 is a reference to the original security report (GitHub issue) |
Security fixes without version update, utilising distribution patch(es) | $PKGNAME: ($DISTNAME patch[es], $CHANNEL) #NNN | gnome-shell: (Ubuntu patches, 18.10) #2333 , where #2333 is a reference to the original security report (GitHub issue) |
Security fixes without version update, utilising upstream patch(es) | $PKGNAME: (upstream patch[es]) #NNN | audacious: (upstream patches) #1919 , where #1919 is a reference to the original security report (GitHub issue) |
Updating a package | $PKGNAME: update to $PKGVER | mate-desktop: update to 1.22.0 |
Work-in-progress with a fail-to-build package | $PKGNAME: ... (FTBFS) | chromeos-desktop: update to 99.0.9999 (FTBFS) , note that "FTBFS" stands for "Failed To Build From Source", this term is used loosely |
Working with a package | $PKGNAME: ... | kde-workspace: add qt-5 dependency , just say what you did in present tense |
Working with a package, multiple actions | $PKGNAME: ...; ... | gnome-shell: add at-spi2-core dependency; update to 3.32.0 |
Working with a package, utilising distribution patch(es) | $PKGNAME: ($DISTNAME patch[es], $CHANNEL) ... | qt-4: (Arch Linux patches) rebuild for openssl |
Working with a package, utilising upstream patch(es) | $PKGNAME: (upstream patch[es]) ... | kodi: (upstream patch) fix lock-up on start-up |
Working with a QA issue | $PKGNAME: ... ($ISSUECODE) | psiconv: rebuild for imagemagick (E431) , for a list of QA issue codes, refer to this list |
Working with an architecturally-exclusive package | $PKGNAME: ... ($ARCH) | google-chrome: new, 100.0.9999.999 (amd64) |
Working with an architecturally-independent package | $PKGNAME: ... (noarch) | mate-common: update to 1.22.0 (noarch) |
Long Messages
When more than one of the actions were committed, and that the short message goes beyond 50 characters (including space and punctuation marks), you should utilise a "long Git commit message", for example:
firefox: update to 64.0.2; #1536
- Enable PGO on AMD64, patches from Fedora and upstream.
- Clean up defines.
- Remove deprecated --enable-pie option.
- More vendor-specific preferences to further limit Pocket integration and telemetry.