path: root/policy.xml

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.1.2//EN"
	"/usr/share/sgml/docbook/dtd/4.1/docbook.dtd"
[
<!ENTITY must "<emphasis>must</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY mustnot "<emphasis>must not</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY may "<emphasis>may</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY should "<emphasis>should</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY j1r "<emphasis>java1-runtime</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY j2r "<emphasis>java2-runtime</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY d-jdk "<emphasis>default-jdk</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY d-jbdep "<emphasis>default-jdk-builddep</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY d-jdoc "<emphasis>default-jdk-doc</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY g-n-h "<emphasis>gcj-native-helper</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY JVM "<acronym>JVM</acronym>">
<!ENTITY JIT "<acronym>JIT</acronym>">
<!ENTITY debpol "http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy">
<!ENTITY djmail "<email>debian-java@lists.debian.org</email>">
]>

<book>
  <bookinfo>
    <title>Debian policy for Java</title>
    <edition>$Revision:$ $Date:$</edition>
    <authorgroup>
      <author>
	<surname>Thykier</surname>
	<firstname>Niels</firstname>
	<authorblurb>
	  <para>
	    <email>niels@thykier.net</email>
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    The current author of the java policy.
	  </para>
	</authorblurb>
      </author>
      <author>
	<surname>Lundqvist</surname>
	<firstname>Ola</firstname>
	<authorblurb>
	  <para>
	    <email>opal@debian.org</email>
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    A previous author of the java policy.
	  </para>
	</authorblurb>
      </author>
      <author>
	<surname>Bortzmeyer</surname>
	<firstname>Stephane</firstname>
	<authorblurb>
	  <para>
	    <email>bortzmeyer@debian.org</email>
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    The original author of the java policy.
	  </para>
	</authorblurb>
      </author>
      <author>
	<authorblurb>
	  <para>
	    Most issues of the java policy have been discussed on the
	    &djmail; mailinglist.
	  </para>
	</authorblurb>
      </author>
    </authorgroup>
    <abstract>
      <title>Abstract</title>
      <para>
	This is the java policy for Debian. It begins with a
	background description, continues with the real policy, some
	issues to discuss and ends with some advices to java packagers.
      </para>
      <para>
	The policy covers java virtual machines, java compilers, java
	programs and java libraries.
      </para>
    </abstract>
  </bookinfo>
  
  <chapter id="background">
    <title>Background</title>
    
    <para>
      There are several "subpolicies" in Debian. They all want to make
      the <ulink url="&debpol;">Debian Policy</ulink> more precise when
      it comes to a specific subject. See the Emacs subpolicy in package
      emacsen-common for instance.  As far as I know, the only subpolicy
      for a programming language, is that of
      <ulink
	url="http://non-us.debian.org/~hertzog/perl-policy.html/">Perl</ulink>.
    </para>
    
    <para>
      Feel free to report comments, suggestions and/or disagreements to the
      java-common package (<email>java-common@packages.debian.org</email>)
      or the Debian Java mailing list &djmail;. Change requests should be
      sent as a bug to the java-common package.
    </para>

  </chapter>
  
  <chapter id="policy">
    <title>Policy</title>
    
    <para>
      Virtual packages are created: &j1r; and &j2r;.
    </para>

    <para>
      Packages written in Java are separated in two categories: programs
      and libraries. Programs are intended to be run by end-users. Libraries
      are intended to help programs to run and to be used by developers.
    </para>

    <para>
      Both &must; be shipped as Java bytecode (<filename>*.class</filename>
      files, packaged in a <filename>*.jar</filename> archive) and with
      an "Architecture: all". There are rare exceptions to this such as Eclipse
      SWT. Exceptions to this rule can only be granted by the Java Team.
      Requests &must; be sent to &djmail;.
    </para>

    <para>
      The Java bytecode &may; additionally be shipped as machine code, as produced for example
      by the GNU Compiler for Java, in a separate architecture-specific package.
    </para>

    <para>
      Programs and libraries &should; enable JUnit tests, if these are present.
      The build &may; ignore test failures.
    </para>
    
    <sect1 id="policy-vm">
      <title>Virtual machines</title>
      
      <para>
	Java virtual machines &must; depend on java-common. They can also
	provide the runtime environment	that the package contains (&j1r;
	and/or &j2r;). If it does not provide the files itself it &must;
	depend on the needed runtime environment.
      </para>

      <para>
        Packages that contain a runtime conforming to the Java 1.1
	specification &should; provide &j1r;. Packages that contain a runtime
	conforming to the Java 2 specification &should; provide &j2r;.
	If a package conforms to both, then it &should; provide both; however,
	packages that do not implement the methods from Java 1.1 that have been
	deprecated in Java 2 &mustnot; provide &j1r;.
      </para>
	
      <para>
	They &should; use <filename>/etc/alternatives</filename>
	for the name 'java' if they are command-line compatible with the
	Sun's java program.
      </para>
      <para>
	They &should; have a CLASSPATH predefined which include the needed
	runtime environment.
      </para>
      
      <para>
	If a given source (like the JDK does) brings both a compiler and a
	virtual machine, you &may; name the compiler package xxxx-dev.
      </para>
      
      <para>
	Some Java classes implement their routines using a "native"
	language (such as C).  This native code is compiled and stored
	in dynamic libraries (such as JNI modules) that are loaded at
	runtime.  If a virtual machine supports native code, it &must;
	include the directory <filename>/usr/lib/jni</filename> in its
	search path for these dynamic libraries.
      </para>
    </sect1>
    
    <sect1 id="policy-programs">
      <title>Java programs</title>
      
      <para>
	Programs &must; have one or more executables in one or more of
	the directories defined by <ulink url="&debpol;/ch-opersys.html#s9.1">
	9.1</ulink> of the Debian Policy. These &must; either be a wrapper
	script or a symlink to an executable jar. In any case, they &must; run
	without specific environment variables (see
	<ulink url="&debpol;/ch-opersys.html#s10.9">Policy 10.9</ulink>), for
	instance CLASSPATH. They &must; respect the Policy rules for
	executables (for instance a manual page per executable, see
	<ulink url="&debpol;/ch-docs.html#s13.1">
	  Policy 13.1</ulink>).
      </para>

      <para>
	If the package installs a jar (or a symlink to a jar) as an executable
	the package &must; have an absolute dependency on jarwrapper or an
	equivalent package, which allows jar files to be executed directly
	from PATH like a normal program. The package &must; also ensure that
	the correct class is used as main-class. As an example jarwrapper
	uses the Main-Class attribute from the main part of the Manifest of the
	jar file to determine this.
      </para>

      <para>
	Additional classes in the package must be packaged in one or more JARs 
	which can be put into /usr/share/java (if they are intended to be used 
	by other programs) or into a private directory in
	/usr/share/&lt;package&gt;.
      </para>
      <para>
        Programs &must; depend on the needed runtime environment (&j1r; and/or
	&j2r;).
      </para>
      <para>
        There is no naming rules for programs, they are ordinary programs,
	from the user point of view.
      </para>
    </sect1>
    
    <sect1 id="policy-libraries">
      <title>Java libraries</title>
      
      <para>
	Libraries are not separated between developers (-dev) and users
	versions, since this is meaningless in Java.
      </para>
      
      <para>
	Java libraries packages &must; be named libXXX[version]-java
	(without the brackets), where the version part is optional and &should;
	only contain the necessary part. The version part &should; only be
	used to avoid naming collisions. The XXX part is the actual package
	name used in the text below.
      </para>
      
      <para>
	Their classes &must; be in <filename>jar</filename> archive(s) in
	the directory <filename>/usr/share/java</filename>, with the name
	<filename>packagename[-extraname]-fullversion.jar</filename>.
	The extraname is optional and used internally within the package to
	separate the different jars provided by the package. The fullversion
	is the version of that jar file. In some cases that is not the same as
	the package version.
      </para>
      <para>
	Some package &must; also provide a symbolic link from
	<filename>packagename-extraname.jar</filename> to the most compatible
	version of the available
	<filename>packagename-extraname-version.jar</filename> files.
      </para>

      <para>
	Class files in a java library &must; be built with debug symbols.
      </para>

      <para>
	All jar files &must; have a well-documented CLASSPATH, so 
	that developers should know what to add to their wrappers.
      </para>

      <para>
	This applies only to libraries, <emphasis>not</emphasis> to the core
	classes provided by a the runtime environment.
      </para>

      <para>
	Some Java libraries rely on code written in a "native" language,
	such as JNI (Java Native Interface) code.  This native code is
	compiled into separate dynamic libraries which are loaded by the
	Java virtual machine at runtime.
      </para>

      <para>
	If a Java library relies on native code, the dynamic libraries
	containing this compiled native code &should; be installed into
	the directory <filename>/usr/lib/jni</filename>.  These dynamic
	libraries &should; be shipped in a separate architecture-specific
	package named libXXX[version]-jni.  The package containing the Java
	bytecode (generally libXXX[version]-java) &should; depend on
	this package.
      </para>
      <para>
	There may be situations, such as with very small packages,
	where it is better to bundle the Java code and the native code
	together into a single package. Such packages &should; be
	architecture-specific and follow the usual libXXX[version]-java
	naming convention.
      </para>

      <para>
	Java library packages &should; compile the javadoc API of the
 	library. The API &must; link against the javadoc API of the
	libraries it depends on. This includes the core java classes,
	which are provided by &d-jdoc;. The API &must; be registered with
	doc-base and &must; be installed in
	<filename>/usr/share/doc/&lt;package&gt;/api/</filename> or
	<filename>/usr/share/doc/&lt;package&gt;/api-&lt;component&gt;/</filename>.
      </para>
      <para>
	The API &must; be placed in a separate doc package. This package
	&must; recommend the doc packages it was linked against.
      </para>
    </sect1>

    <sect1 id="policy-gcj-native">
      <title>Native Java Bytecode (gcj packages)</title>

      <para>
	Java bytecode compiled into native code is referred to as
	gcj-code and packages containing gcj-code as gcj-packages.
      </para>

      <para>
	gcj-packages has been added in order to improve
	performance of Java libraries and programs. This is
	particularly useful on architectures where the JVM
	does not have a &JIT;. However, this performance comes 
	at the cost of size, extra compilation time and
	creates architecture dependent packages.
      </para>

      <para>
 	Packages &mustnot; ship gcj-code without the permission of
 	the Java team (&djmail;). Source packages that shipped
 	gcj-packages as of March 22nd,2010, have been given this
 	permission through the ratification of this policy.
      </para>

      <para>
	A request for permission to add gcj should convince
	the Java Team that the performance boost of adding
	the gcj-packages out-weights the disadvantages.
      </para>

      <para>
	Source packages compiling gcj-packages &must; Build-Depend on
	&g-n-h; (formerly known as &d-jbdep;). The gcj-code &should;
	only be shipped for a selected set of architectures.
      </para>

      <para>
 	The gcj-code &must; be installed in <filename>/usr/lib/gcj/</filename>
	and shipped separately from the original jar file. The gcj-package
	&must; also install the classmap file generated by aot-compile in
	<filename>/usr/share/gcj/classmap.d/</filename>.
      </para>

      <para>
	The gcj-package &must; call rebuild-gcj-db in the postinst and
	postrm script, if rebuild-gcj-db is present.
      </para>

      <para>
	The gcj-package &must; depend on the package providing the jar
	file, it is a native compilation.
 	The package containing the jar file &must; declare either a
	Suggests or a Recommends relationship on the gcj-package.
     </para>

    </sect1>

    <sect1 id="policy-politics">
      <title>Main, contrib or non-free</title>
      <para>
	About politics: packaging Java stuff changes nothing to the
	rules Debian uses to find if a program is free or not. Since there are
	not many free Java tools, keep in mind the following:
      </para>
      
      <itemizedlist>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    If your source package can compile (correctly) only
	    with non-free tools, it cannot go to main. If your package itself
	    is free, it &must; go to contrib.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    If your binary package can run only with non-free
	    virtual machines
	    (<ulink
	    url="http://www.gnu.org/software/classpath">GNU-Classpath</ulink> has
	    a list of free versions), it cannot go to main. If
	    your package itself is free, it &must; go to contrib.
	    Since java libraries do not have a runtime dependency,
	    this rule does not apply to them.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
      
      </itemizedlist>
    </sect1>
  </chapter>
  
  <chapter id="to-discuss">
    <title>Issues to discuss</title>
    
    <para>
      The following points are discussions about the policy, either
      because they have to be studied more, or are controversial.</para>
    
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Name and existence of the repository. It was removed
	  in the latest version.
	</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
	<para>
	  The symbolic links in <filename>/usr/share/java</filename> be
	  made by a script instead, similar to the c-libraries.
	</para>
      </listitem>

      
      <listitem>
	<para>Core classes (<filename>java.*</filename>). More study
	  needed.</para>
      </listitem>
      
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Sun's Community Source Licence. Can we use it? How?
	  The 2.3 version of the text can be found 
	  <ulink url="http://wwws.sun.com/software/java2/license.html">here</ulink>.
	</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
	<para>All jars must have a good CLASSPATH documentation, but
	  how should it be documented. The best solution is probably in some
	  computer parsable format to make it even easier for the developer.
	</para>
	<para>It should exist some tool to parse this. How should it
	  work?
	</para>
	<para>Should the tool also be used to create the necessary symbolic
	  links needed by servlets under tomcat?
	</para>
      </listitem>
      
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Should there be a default CLASSPATH, similar to a
	  repository? Which jars should be included in that? A standard and
	  one optional part? If there are a default CLASSPATH (in the
	  wrapper) how should it be overridden?
	</para>
      </listitem>      

      <listitem>
	<para>How to check for a good enough &JVM;, and to select a
	  proper one to use. Are <filename>/etc/alternatives</filename>
	  not good enough?
	</para>
      </listitem>
      
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Should the &JVM; internal classes be possible to
	  override entirely and how?
	</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
  </chapter>
  
  <chapter id="advices">
    <title>Advices to Java packagers</title>
    
    <para>
      Warning: These are just advices, they are not part of the policy.
    </para>
    
    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Be sure to manage all dependencies by hand in
	  <filename>debian/control</filename>. Debian development tools cannot
	  find them automatically like they do with C programs and libraries 
	  (or like dh_perl does it for Perl, a volunteer to write dh_java
	  would be welcome).
	</para>
      </listitem>
      
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  You can suppress many calls in <filename>debian/rules</filename>
	  which are meaningless for Java, like dh_strip and dh_shlibdeps.
	</para>
      </listitem>
      
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Source package handling is painful, since most Java
	  upstream programs come with <filename>.class</filename> files. I
	  suggest to make a new <filename>.orig</filename> tarball after
	  cleaning them, otherwise, dpkg-source will complain.
	</para>
      </listitem>
      
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Java properties files are probably better under
	  <filename>/etc</filename> and flagged as configuration files (this
	  will be integrated in the policy, one day).
	</para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
	<para>
	  Java packages &should; be built with &d-jdk; if possible.
	</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    
  </chapter>
  
</book>