Changes

Prefer native overriding mechanisms to diversions & alternatives

copyedit new text regarding diversions

changelog & upgrading checklist for #1035733

add second from Holger

Add the new non-free-firmware archive area

General Resolution 2022-003 added the non-free-firmware archive
area for non-free packages containing firmware that may be required
for functionality or security of hardware. Document that archive
area in Policy with the same Policy restrictions (and tolerances)
as non-free.

Move footnotes in "The Debian Archive"

Move footnotes in the section "The Debian Archive" to live with
the section where they are referenced. This produces nicer output
from Sphinx and avoids collecting unrelated footnotes at the end
of the last section.

Footnote requirements for non-free-firmware

Reference the same footnote in non-free-firmware defining what
"possible for them to meet" means as is used for non-free. This
unfortunately requires explicitly numbering the footnotes so that
there can be two references to the same footnote.

Standardize bullet list indentation in chapter 2

"The Debian Archive" used two spaces after the hyphen for bullet
lists throughout. This convention makes some sense for parallelism
with numbered lists, but people don't notice it and don't preserve
it in patches. Simplify to a single space, which is more typical
and less surprising.

Add changelog and upgrading-checklist for #1029211

archive: Point out that mixed main/contrib source packages can exist

Most source packages produce only binary packages in the same archive
area, but a few source packages in main (such as bumblebee) produce
a mixture of main and contrib binary packages.

If an upstream project is in this situation (for example a program with
optional plugins that have non-free dependencies) it isn't entirely
obvious how to package it; clarify that a single source package in main
is considered to be appropriate in this case, as long as no non-free
build-dependencies are required.

archive: Clarify binaries produced by contrib and non-free source

A source package outside main cannot produce main binary packages, because
we want main to be self-contained: if you download all main source
packages, that should give you the source code of all main binary
packages.

A source package in contrib cannot produce non-free binary packages,
because by definition contrib only contains free software (with non-free
dependencies, but those are not part of the source code).

A source package in non-free cannot produce contrib binary packages,
because we want main + contrib to be self-contained: if you download
all main or contrib source packages, that should give you the source
code of all main and contrib binary packages.

Clarify wording of main and contrib source packages

Apply wording suggestions from Sean Whitton. Rephrase the restriction
on build dependencies to use must language. Note that the reason for
discouraging mixtures of main and contrib binary packages is their
complexity for archive tooling.

Add changelog and upgrading-checklist for #994008

Fix changelog attributions

Allow hard links in source packages

It's not clear why this restriction was in place, and Debian
included a package containing hard links without anyone noticing
in the last release.

Add changelog and upgrading checklist for #970234

Binary and Description optional in .changes

In .changes files for source-only uploads, the Binary and
Description fields are not present.  Document this, and be clearer
in the description of the Description field for .changes files that
only descriptions of binary packages are included.

Add changelog and upgrading checklist for #963524

systemd unit files are now required

systemd is dropping support for the generator that allows it to
automatically create units for init scripts. As a result, all
packages that want to integrate with systemd service management
must start shipping systemd units.

State that arranging for services to be automatically started or
stopped is a should, but if the package wishes to do that, a
systemd service unit is a must unless the package is only intended
for use with alternate init systems. Avoid saying that systemd uses
/etc/rcn.d links to determine service ordering.

Add changelog and upgrading checklist for #1039102

Improve alternative build dependency discussion

Alternatives in build dependencies are normally (except for
backports) handled specially by autobuilders to try to maintain
consistent builds.  This was documented in Policy, but in a
footnote that people often didn't see.

Move this text into the main body of the discussion of build
dependencies and reword it for additional clarity.  Add a pointer
to this discussion where alternative dependencies are introduced.

No network access for required targets for contrib & non-free

update po files

finalise 4.7.0.0`

fix typo in 9.3.1