git native packaging (osc23)

Packaging for a distribution means taking sources from upstream projects, applying fixes and modifications, adding some configuration and then build the result by calling some commands. RPM formalized the process following a "pristine sources" model. The approach is basically to take the unmodified sources as released by upstream and store required changes in the form of patches as well as a build description next to them. Times have changed. The distributed version control system git dominates the free software world. Juggling tarballs and manually applying patches is no longer a natural workflow. Packager life could be much easier if downstream changes could be applied by means of git too, skipping tarballs. This talks presents a way how to apply the pristine source idea to a git based world, without history rewriting in the distro repo. Packaging for a distribution means taking sources from upstream projects, applying fixes and modifications, adding some configuration and then build the result by calling some commands. RPM formalized the process following a "pristine sources" model. The approach is basically to take the unmodified sources as released by upstream and store required changes in the form of patches as well as a build description next to them. Times have changed. The distributed version control system git dominates the free software world. Juggling tarballs and manually applying patches is no longer a natural workflow. Packager life could be much easier if downstream changes could be applied by means of git too, skipping tarballs. This talks presents a way how to apply the pristine source idea to a git based world, without history rewriting in the distro repo. about this event: https://c3voc.de