Code review comment for lp:~serge-hallyn/ubuntu/natty/multipath-tools/debe1

On Wed, Jan 05, 2011 at 07:46:53PM -0000, Serge Hallyn wrote:
> This sounds like a bad idea in principle.

Lots of other Ubuntu developers maintain packages like this, at many
different scales of complexity. It's pretty much the standard approach
for packages maintained in bzr (though the merge source varies).

I realise that the Linux kernel approach is to rebase, but this is not
usual for most userspace packages; we merge, and don't worry about there
being a "clean" commit series corresponding to each of our changes.
Management of a queue of changes to be sent upstream is typically
handled by patches in debian/patches/ instead, allowing comments on each
change to be easily visible by people who download the source package.

> In order to come up with anything reasonable, I'd have to
> merge lp:ubuntu/multipath-tools in one revision at a time (akin
> to a git rebase with each commit changed to an 'edit').
>
> So I prefer to just base it on lp:debian/experimental/multipath-tools.

This will at least not break tools (i.e. it'll be possible to do a merge
later, or even a rebase), so I would be OK with sponsoring a package
built that way. However, I do think it would be worth you getting used
to the way most Ubuntu developers maintain packages in bzr; if only
because if you're cooperating on a package with somebody else then they
will probably be most annoyed if you rebase on them. :-)