Subject: Bug#3768: axe info files incorrectly installed

From: Richard Kettlewell <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 96 23:05:36 +0100 (BST)

Package: axe
Version: 6.1.2-2

richard@sfere:richard$ ls -l /usr/info/axe*
-r--r--r--   1 root     root         1163 Mar 16 16:42 /usr/info/axe.info
-r--r--r--   1 root     root        45461 Mar 16 16:42 /usr/info/axe.info-1
-r--r--r--   1 root     root        45338 Mar 16 16:42 /usr/info/axe.info-2
richard@sfere:richard$ 

According to the guidelines:

   * Info documents should be mode 644, owned by `root.root', and
     compressed with `gzip -9' when installed.  The package must call
     `install-info' to update the Info `dir' file.  This should be done
     in the post-installation script (`postinst'), like this:

          install-info --quiet /usr/info/foobar.info

     The entries should be removed by the pre-removal script (`prerm'),
     like this:

          install-info --quiet --remove /usr/info/foobar.info

     It is also a good idea to specify a section for the Info `dir'
     entry.  This is done with the `--section' switch.  To determine
     which section to use, you should use look at `/usr/info/dir' on
     your system and choose the most relevant (or create a new section
     if none of the current sections are relevant).

     If `install-info' cannot find a description entry in the Info file
     you will have to supply one.  See `install-info'(8) for details.

-- 
Richard Kettlewell   [email-masked]   [email-masked]
                             http://www.elmail.co.uk/staff/richard/

---

From: Michael Meskes <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 19:59:08 +0200 (MET DST)

Richard Kettlewell writes:
> ...

As the one who originally uploaded axe let me say the this is not a good
idea at all. Granted the modes should be 644 but the info files must not be
gzipped. Axe itself comes with an info browser for its own info files
similar to a help service. This program cannot read gzipped files. That's
the reason why I left them uncompressed. I can see three solutions for this:
1) Change the source of axinfo (lots of work).
2) Use two copies of the info files, on gzipped in /usr/info, one
uncompressed somewhere else (wastes some space).
3) Leave it as it is (as in "no rule without exception).

Opinions anyone?

Michael

-- 
Michael Meskes                   |    _____ ________ __  ____
[email-masked] |   / ___// ____/ // / / __ \___  __________
[email-masked]                  |   \__ \/ /_  / // /_/ /_/ / _ \/ ___/ ___/
[email-masked]                |  ___/ / __/ /__  __/\__, /  __/ /  (__  )
Use Debian Linux!		 | /____/_/      /_/  /____/\___/_/  /____/

---

From: Richard Kettlewell <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 96 23:11:31 +0100 (BST)

>1) Change the source of axinfo (lots of work).

Are there any other info browsers which don't cope with gzip'd man
pages?  If there aren't - and the 3 (?) which I've encountered all do,
though in one case spectacularly badly - then it's arguably a genuine
bug in axinfo.

>3) Leave it as it is (as in "no rule without exception).

I once heard of a `drop in' libc replacement which could do
transparent compression.  Perhaps building axinfo against that might
be a solution.

---

From: Ian Jackson <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 96 02:30 BST

Michael Meskes writes ("Bug#3768: axe info files incorrectly installed"):
...
> 1) Change the source of axinfo (lots of work).

This would be ideal, of course, but of course effort may be better
spent elsewhere.

> uncompressed somewhere else (wastes some space).

This is silly, and defeats the purpose of compressing them.

> 3) Leave it as it is (as in "no rule without exception).

Leave the bug open until the source to axinfo is changed to support
compressed files; in the meantime leave the files uncompressed.

Ian.