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Revision 1.1		Revision 1.4
1	GLEP: 42	1	GLEP: 42
2	Title: Critical News Reporting	2	Title: Critical News Reporting
3	Version: $Revision: 1.1 $	3	Version: $Revision: 1.4 $
4	Author: Ciaran McCreesh <ciaranm@gentoo.org>	4	Author: Ciaran McCreesh <ciaranm@gentoo.org>
5	Last-Modified: $Date: 2005/11/05 03:32:09 $	5	Last-Modified: $Date: 2005/12/11 01:38:18 $
6	Status: Draft	6	Status: Draft
7	Type: Standards Track	7	Type: Standards Track
8	Content-Type: text/x-rst	8	Content-Type: text/x-rst
9	Created: 31-October-2005	9	Created: 31-Oct-2005
10	Post-Date: 1-November-2005, 5-November-2005	10	Post-History: 1-Nov-2005, 5-Nov-2005, 7-Nov-2005, 11-Dec-2005
11		11
12	Abstract	12	Abstract
13	========	13	========
14		14
15	This GLEP proposes a new way of informing users about important updates and news	15	This GLEP proposes a new way of informing users about important updates and news
16	regarding tree-related items.	16	regarding tree-related items.
17		17
18	Motivation	18	Motivation
19	==========	19	==========
20		20
21	There are currently several ways of getting news out to our users, none of them	21	Although most package updates are clean and require little user action,
22	particularly effective:	22	occasionally an upgrade requires user intervention during the upgrade process.
		23	Recent examples of the latter include the ``gcc-3.4`` stabilisation on ``x86``
		24	and the ``mysql-5`` database format changes.
		25
		26	There are currently several ways of delivering important news items to our
		27	users, none of them particularly effective:
23		28
24	* Gentoo Weekly News	29	* Gentoo Weekly News
25	* The ``gentoo-announce`` mailing list	30	* The ``gentoo-announce``, ``gentoo-user`` and ``gentoo-dev`` mailing lists
26	* The Gentoo Forums	31	* The Gentoo Forums
27	* The main Gentoo website	32	* The main Gentoo website
28	* RSS feeds of Gentoo news	33	* RSS feeds of Gentoo news
29		34
30	A more reliable way of getting news of critical updates out to users is required	35	A more reliable way of getting news of critical updates out to users is required
31	to avoid repeats of the various recent upgrade debacles. This GLEP proposes a	36	to avoid repeats of the various recent upgrade debacles. This GLEP proposes a
32	solution based around pushing news items out to the user via the ``rsync`` tree.	37	solution based around pushing news items out to the user via the ``rsync`` tree.
33		38
		39	.. Important:: This GLEP does not seek to replace or modify ``einfo`` messages
		40	which are displayed post-install. That is a separate issue which is handled
		41	by ``elog`` [#bug-11359]_.
		42
34	Requirements	43	Requirements
35	============	44	============
36		45
37	An adequate solution must meet all of the following requirements:	46	An adequate solution must meet all of the following requirements:
38		47
39	Preemptive	48	Preemptive
40	Users should be told of changes before they break the user's system,	49	Users should be told of changes before they break a system, not after the
41	after the damage has already been done.	50	damage has already been done. Ideally, the system administrator would be
		51	given ample warning to plan difficult upgrades and changes, rather than only
		52	being told just before action is necessary.
42		53
43	No user subscription required	54	No user subscription required
44	It has already been demonstrated [#forums-whining]_ that many users do not	55	It has already been demonstrated [#forums-apache2]_ that many users do not
45	read the ``gentoo-announce`` mailing list or ``RSS`` feeds. A solution which	56	read the ``gentoo-announce`` mailing list or ``RSS`` feeds. A solution which
46	requires subscription has no advantage over current methods.	57	requires subscription has no advantage over current methods.
47		58
48	No user monitoring required	59	No user monitoring required
49	It has already been demonstrated [#forums-whining]_ that many users do not	60	It has already been demonstrated [#forums-apache2]_ that many users do not
50	read news items posted to the Gentoo website, or do not read news items	61	read news items posted to the Gentoo website, or do not read news items
51	until it is too late. A solution that relies upon active monitoring of a	62	until it is too late. A solution that relies upon active monitoring of a
52	particular source has no advantage over current methods.	63	particular source has no advantage over current methods.
53		64
54	Relevant	65	Relevant
…		…
58	upon users unnecessarily.	69	upon users unnecessarily.
59		70
60	Lightweight	71	Lightweight
61	It is not reasonable to expect all users to have an MTA, web browser, email	72	It is not reasonable to expect all users to have an MTA, web browser, email
62	client, cron daemon or text processing suite available on their system.	73	client, cron daemon or text processing suite available on their system.
		74	Users must not be forced to install unreasonable extra software to be able
		75	to read news items.
63		76
64	No privacy violations	77	No privacy violations
65	Users of the solution should not be required to provide information about	78	Users of the solution should not be required to provide information about
66	their systems (for example, IP addresses or installed packages).	79	their systems (for example, IP addresses or installed packages).
67		80
68	Multiple delivery method support	81	Multiple delivery method support
69	Some users may wish to view news items via email, some via a terminal and	82	Some users may wish to view news items via email, some via a terminal and
70	some via a web browser. A solution should either support all of these	83	some via a web browser. A solution should either support all of these
71	methods or (better still) make it trivial to write clients for displaying	84	methods or (better still) make it simple to write clients for displaying
72	news items in different ways.	85	news items in different ways.
73		86
74	The following characteristics would be desirable:	87	The following characteristics would be desirable:
75		88
76	Internationalisable	89	Internationalisable
77	Being able to provide messages in multiple languages may be beneficial.	90	Being able to provide messages in multiple languages may be beneficial.
78		91
79	Quality control	92	Quality control
80	There should be some way to ensure that badly written or irrelevant messages	93	There should be some way to ensure that badly written or irrelevant messages
81	are not sent out, for example by inexperienced developers, those whose	94	are not sent out, for example by inexperienced developers or those whose
82	English language skills are below par or morons.	95	English language skills are below par.
83		96
84	Simple for developers	97	Simple for developers
85	Posting news items should be as simple as is reasonably possible.	98	Posting news items should be as simple as is reasonably possible.
86		99
87	Simple for users	100	Simple for users
…		…
99	Overview	112	Overview
100	--------	113	--------
101		114
102	News items are published and delivered to users as follows:	115	News items are published and delivered to users as follows:
103		116
104	1. A news item is written. The format to be used is described in	117	1. A news item is written. The format to be used is described below.
105	`News Item File Format`_.	118
106	2. The news item is reviewed, following the process described in	119	2. The news item is reviewed, following the process described in
107	`News Item Quality Control`_.	120	`News Item Quality Control`_.
		121
108	3. The news item is committed to a CVS (or Subversion [#glep-36]_) repository.	122	3. The news item is committed to a CVS (or Subversion [#glep-36]_) repository.
109	From here, it is merged with the rsync tree. This is described in `News Item	123	From here, it is merged with the rsync tree. This is described in `News Item
110	Distribution`_.	124	Distribution`_.
111	4. The news item is merged with the rsync tree. Implementation details of this	125
112	point are beyond the scope of this GLEP; existing solutions are in place
113	for merging GLSAs to the tree.
114	5. Users fetch the news item when they sync. This ensures that the news items in	126	4. Users fetch the news item when they sync. This ensures that the news items in
115	question are pushed to the user before the user accidentally makes an	127	question are pushed to the user before the user accidentally makes an
116	unwanted change. No changes to the existing rsync process are required by	128	unwanted change. No changes to the existing rsync process are required by
117	this GLEP.	129	this GLEP.
118	6. Portage filters the news item and, if it is relevant, installs it in a	130
119	special location to be read by a news item reader. Messages are also	131	5. The package manager filters the news item and, if it is relevant, marks the
120	displayed to inform the user that news is available.	132	news item for reading. The package manager should also display a notice
		133	informing the user that there are unread news items.
		134
121	7. The news item is handled by the user's choice of news item reader. See `News	135	6. The news item is handled by the user's choice of news item reader. See `News
122	Item Clients`_.	136	Item Clients`_.
123		137
124	News Item File Format	138	News Item Identities
		139	--------------------
		140
		141	Each news item will have a unique identifier. This identifier will be in the
		142	form ``yyyy-mm-dd-short-name``, where ``yyyy`` is the year (e.g. ``2005``),
		143	``mm`` is the month (``01`` through ``12``) and dd is the day of the month
		144	(``01`` through ``31``). The ``short-name`` is a very short name describing the
		145	news item (e.g. ``yoursql-updates``), consisting only of the characters ``a-z``,
		146	``0-9`` and ``-`` (hyphen).
		147
		148	News Item Directories
125	---------------------	149	---------------------
126		150
127	Each news item will be represented by a single text file. This file will be	151	Each news item will be represented by a directory whose name is the same as the
128	encoded using UTF-8 for compatibility with and for the same reason as existing	152	news item's identifier.
129	Gentoo documentation [#docs-policy]_ and tree [#glep-31]_ practices.
130		153
131	The news item will be named in the form ``yyyy-mm-dd-item-name.en.txt``, where	154	The directory will contain a file named ``yyyy-mm-dd-short-name.en.txt``, which
132	``item-name`` is a very short name (e.g. ``apache-updates``) and ``en`` is the	155	contains the text of the news item, in English, in the format described below.
133	two letter ISO 639 [#iso-639]_ language code for the news item. The short name
134	must consist only of characters ``a-z``, ``A-Z``, ``0-9`` and ``-`` (hyphen).
135		156
136	News items may be signed using GPG. If this is done, a detached signature should	157	If a news item is translated, other files named ``yyyy-mm-dd-short-name.xx.txt``
137	be used.	158	(where ``xx`` is the ISO 639 [#iso-639]_ two letter country code) will also be
		159	provided. However, only the English version of a news item is authoritative.
		160	This anglocentricity is justified by precedent [#glep-34]_.
138		161
139	The directory and file name rules are designed specifically to allow easy	162	News Item Files
140	sorting by date.	163	---------------
141		164
142	An English (``en``) version must be available for all news items. Other	165	A news item file is a text file, encoded using UTF-8 [#rfc-3629]_ for
143	languages may be provided either by the original author or by other translators	166	compatibility with and for the same reasons as existing Gentoo documentation
144	who have commit access. This anglocentricity is justified on the grounds that	167	[#docs-policy]_ and the tree [#glep-31]_.
145	nobody objected to it with GLEP 34 [#glep-34]_.
146		168
		169	News items should be signed with a detached GPG signature: ::
		170
		171	gpg --armour --detach-sign ????-??-??-*.??.txt
		172
147	A news item's content will consist of an RFC 822 [#rfc-822]_ style header	173	A news item file's content will consist of an RFC 822 style header [#rfc-822]_
148	followed by the main body of the message as plain text. This GLEP defines	174	followed by the main body of the message as plain text. This GLEP defines
149	various optional and mandatory headers. Future GLEPs may propose new headers --	175	various optional and mandatory headers. Future GLEPs may propose new headers —
150	tools handling these news items must ignore any unrecognised header.	176	tools handling these news items must ignore any unrecognised header.
151		177
152	News Item Headers	178	News Item Headers
153	'''''''''''''''''	179	'''''''''''''''''
154		180
155	The following headers describe the purpose and format of the news item:	181	The following headers describe the purpose and format of the news item:
156		182
157	``Title:``	183	``Title:``
158	A short (maximum 44 characters) descriptive title. Mandatory.	184	A short (maximum 44 characters) descriptive title. Mandatory.
		185
159	``Author:``	186	``Author:``
160	Author's name and email address, in the form ``Real Name <email@address>``.	187	Author's name and email address, in the form ``Real Name <email@address>``.
161	Mandatory, multiple author fields may be specified if appropriate.	188	Mandatory; multiple author headers may be specified if appropriate.
		189
162	``Translator:``	190	``Translator:``
163	For translated news items, the translator's name and email address.	191	For translated news items, the translator's name and email address. Multiple
		192	translator headers may be specified if appropriate.
		193
164	``Content-Type:``	194	``Content-Type:``
165	Must be ``text/plain``. Mandatory.	195	Must be ``text/plain``. Mandatory.
		196
166	``Posted:``	197	``Posted:``
167	Date of posting, in ``dd-mmm-yyyy`` format (e.g. 14-Aug-2001). UTC time in	198	Date of posting, in ``dd-mmm-yyyy`` format (e.g. 14-Aug-2001) for
168	``hh-mm-ss +0000`` format may also be included. This field is mandatory.	199	compatibility with GLEP 1 [#glep-1]_. UTC time in ``hh-mm-ss +0000`` format
		200	may also be included. Mandatory.
		201
169	``Version:``	202	``Revision:``
170	Initially 1. Incremented every time a non-trivial change is made. Changes	203	Initially 1. Incremented every time a non-trivial change is made. Changes
171	which require a re-read of the news item should instead use a new news item	204	which require a re-read of the news item should instead use a new news item
172	file.	205	file. Mandatory.
		206
173	``News-Item-Format:``	207	``News-Item-Format:``
174	Must be ``1.0``. Future revisions to the format may increment the minor	208	Must be ``1.0``. Future revisions to the format may increment the minor
175	number for backwards-compatible changes, or the major number for major	209	number for backwards-compatible changes, or the major number for major
176	changes.	210	changes.
177		211
178	The following headers are used for filtering. If none of these headers are	212	The following headers are used for filtering:
179	specified, the news item is displayed for all users. Otherwise, the news item is
180	displayed if at least one header matches.
181		213
182	``Display-If-Installed:``	214	``Display-If-Installed:``
183	A dependency atom or simple package name (for example,	215	A dependency atom or simple package name (for example,
184	``<dev-lang/php-5_alpha`` or ``net-www/apache``). If the user has the	216	``<dev-lang/php-5_alpha`` or ``net-www/apache``). If the user has the
185	package specified installed, the news item should be displayed.	217	package specified installed, the news item should be displayed.
186		218
187	``Display-If-Keyword:``	219	``Display-If-Keyword:``
188	A keyword [#glep-22]_ name, for example ``mips``. If the user is on the arch	220	A keyword [#glep-22]_ name, for example ``mips`` or ``x86-fbsd``. If the
189	in question, the news item should be displayed.	221	user is on the keyword in question, the news item should be displayed.
190		222
191	``Display-If-Profile:``	223	``Display-If-Profile:``
192	A profile path, for example ``default-linux/sparc/sparc64/server``. If the	224	A profile path, for example ``default-linux/sparc/sparc64/server``. Standard
193	user is using the exact profile in question, the news item should be	225	shell GLOB wildcards may be used. If the user is using the exact profile in
194	displayed. This header may be used to replace ``deprecated`` files in the	226	question, the news item should be displayed. This header may be used to
195	future.	227	replace ``deprecated`` files in the future.
		228
		229	.. Note:: When performing package moves, developers must also update any
		230	relevant ``Display-If-Installed`` headers in news files.
		231
		232	The algorithm used to determine whether a news item is 'relevant' is as
		233	follows:
		234
		235	* For each ``Display-If-`` header type which occurs at least once:
		236
		237	+ The news item is not relevant if none of the headers of this type are
		238	successfully matched.
		239
		240	* Otherwise the news item is relevant.
		241
		242	In particular, if no ``Display-If-`` header is specified, a news item will be
		243	relevant for all users.
		244
		245	This algorithm was chosen because it makes conditions like "display this news
		246	item for ``YourSQL`` users who are on ``sparc`` or ``x86-obsd`` relatively
		247	simple to specify — it is believed that these kinds of condition are far more
		248	likely to occur than "display this news item for people using ``YourSQL``, or
		249	for people on ``sparc`` or ``x86-obsd``\" or "display these news items for
		250	people who use ``YourSQL`` and who are on both ``sparc`` and ``x86-obsd``\".
196		251
197	News Item Body	252	News Item Body
198	''''''''''''''	253	''''''''''''''
199		254
200	The header section must be followed by a blank line, then the main body of the	255	The header section must be followed by a blank line, then the main body of the
201	text.	256	text.
202		257
203	The text body should be wrapped at 72 characters. No fancy formatting or tab	258	The text body should be wrapped at 72 characters. No fancy formatting or tab
204	characters should be used -- the news item may be being displayed directly to a	259	characters should be used — the news item may be being displayed directly to a
205	terminal. Paragraphs should be separated by two blank lines.	260	terminal. Paragraphs should be separated by a blank line.
206		261
207	Hyperlinks may be used to refer to further information (for example, an upgrade	262	Hyperlinks may be used to refer to further information (for example, an upgrade
208	guide). However, the main body of the news item should be descriptive and not	263	guide). However, the main body of the news item should be descriptive and not
209	simply a "read this link" text. It is assumed that the user will have access to	264	simply a "read this link" text. It is assumed that the user will have access to
210	a web browser somewhere, but not necessarily on the box which is being	265	a web browser somewhere, but not necessarily on the box which is being
211	administrated -- this will be the case on may servers and routers, for example.	266	administrated — this will be the case on may servers and routers, for example.
212		267
213	Example News Item	268	Example News Item
214	'''''''''''''''''	269	'''''''''''''''''
215		270
216	The following hypothetical news item could be used for an upgrade to the	271	`This hypothetical news item`__ could be used for an upgrade to the
217	``YourSQL`` database format which breaks forward compatibility. It should be	272	``YourSQL`` database format which breaks forward compatibility.
218	named ``2005-11/2005-11-01-yoursql-upgrades.en.txt``.
219		273
220	::	274	.. __: glep-0042-extras/example-news-item.txt
221
222	Title: YourSQL Upgrades from 4.0 to 4.1
223	Author: Ciaran McCreesh <ciaranm@gentoo.org>
224	Content-Type: text/plain
225	Posted: 01-Nov-2005
226	Display-If-Installed: <dev-db/yoursql-4.1_alpha
227
228	YourSQL databases created using YourSQL version 4.0 are incompatible
229	with YourSQL version 4.1 or later. There is no reliable way to
230	automate the database format conversion, so action from the system
231	administrator is required before an upgrade can take place.
232
233	Please see the Gentoo YourSQL Upgrade Guide for instructions:
234
235	http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/yoursql-upgrading.xml
236
237	Also see the official YourSQL documentation:
238
239	http://dev.yoursql.com/doc/refman/4.1/en/upgrading-from-4-0.html
240
241	After upgrading, you should also recompile any packages which link
242	against YourSQL:
243
244	revdep-rebuild --library=libyoursqlclient.so.12
245
246	The revdep-rebuild tool is provided by app-portage/gentoolkit.
247		275
248	News Item Quality Control	276	News Item Quality Control
249	-------------------------	277	-------------------------
250		278
251	There have been complaints regarding the comprehensibility of some upgrade	279	There have been complaints regarding the comprehensibility of some upgrade
252	notices and news items in the past. This is understandable -- not every Gentoo	280	notices and news items in the past. This is understandable — not every Gentoo
253	developer speaks English as a first language. However, for the sake of clarity	281	developer speaks English as a first language. However, for the sake of clarity,
254	and professionalism it is important that any language problems be corrected	282	professionalism and avoiding making us look like prats, it is important that any
255	before inflicting a news item upon end users.	283	language problems be corrected before inflicting a news item upon end users.
256		284
257	Thus, all proposed news items must be posted to the ``gentoo-dev`` or	285	Thus, at least 72 hours before a proposed news item is committed, it must be
258	``gentoo-core`` mailing list, and ``Cc:``\ed to ``pr@gentoo.org`` at least 72	286	posted to the ``gentoo-dev`` mailing list and ``Cc:``\ed to ``pr@gentoo.org``
259	hours before being committed (exceptions may be made in exceptional	287	(exceptions may be made in exceptional circumstances). Any complaints — for
260	circumstances). Any complaints regarding wording or clarity must be	288	example regarding wording, clarity or accuracy — must be addressed before
261	addressed before the news item goes live.	289	the news item goes live.
		290
		291	.. Note:: A previous draft of this GLEP allowed news items to be sent to
		292	``gentoo-core`` instead of ``gentoo-dev``. It is possible that a situation
		293	may arise where this will be necessary (for example, a security update which
		294	must break backwards compatibility and which cannot be revealed to the public
		295	before a given date).
262		296
263	News items must only be for important changes that may cause serious upgrade	297	News items must only be for important changes that may cause serious upgrade
264	or compatibility problems. Ordinary upgrade messages and non-critical news items	298	or compatibility problems. Ordinary upgrade messages and non-critical news items
265	should remain in ``einfo`` notices. The importance of the message to its	299	should remain in ``einfo`` notices. The importance of the message to its
266	intended audience should be justified with the proposal.	300	intended audience should be justified with the proposal.
…		…
274	----------------------	308	----------------------
275		309
276	Server Side	310	Server Side
277	'''''''''''	311	'''''''''''
278		312
279	News items are to be made available via the Portage tree. This removes any	313	News items are to be made available via the standard rsync tree. This removes
280	need for polling of a remote source.	314	any need for polling of a remote source.
281		315
282	A new repository will be created for news items. The type (CVS or Subversion),	316	A new repository will be created for news items. The type (CVS or Subversion),
283	location and access controls on this repository are beyond the scope of this	317	location and access controls on this repository are beyond the scope of this
284	GLEP.	318	GLEP.
285		319
286	.. Note:: A previous draft of this GLEP instead used the main ``gentoo-x86``	320	.. Note:: A previous draft of this GLEP instead used the main ``gentoo-x86``
287	tree. This was changed following advice from Infrastructure	321	tree. This was changed following advice from Infrastructure
288	[#ramereth-repo]_. Both solutions have the same end result.	322	[#ramereth-repo]_. Both solutions have the same end result.
289		323
290	This repository will contain directories named ``yyyy-mm/``, where ``yyyy`` is	324	This repository will contain directories named ``yyyy/mm/``, where ``yyyy`` is
291	the current year and ``mm`` is the current month number (01 for January through	325	the current year and ``mm`` is the current month number (01 for January through
292	12 for December). This separation will help keep news items more manageable.	326	12 for December). This separation will help keep news items more manageable.
293		327
294	The contents of this repository will automatically be merged with the main rsync	328	The contents of this repository will automatically be merged with the main rsync
295	tree, placing the items under a top-level ``news/`` directory. The method used	329	tree, placing the items in a ``metadata/news/`` directory. The method used for
296	for merging these items is beyond the scope of this GLEP -- a similar setup is	330	merging these items is beyond the scope of this GLEP — a similar setup is
297	already used for merging GLSAs into the rsync tree.	331	already used for merging GLSAs into the rsync tree.
298		332
299	.. Note:: The ``profiles/`` directory will not be used. This fits in with	333	The main rsync tree will not use the ``yyyy/mm/`` subdirectory layout.
300	the Portage team's future plans for ``profiles/`` and ``metadata/``
301	separation.
302		334
303	Client Side	335	Client Side
304	'''''''''''	336	'''''''''''
305		337
306	Whenever relevant unread news items are found, ``emerge`` will copy or symlink	338	Whenever relevant unread news items are found, the package manager will create a
307	the news file into ``/var/lib/gentoo/news/``.	339	file named ``/var/lib/portage/news/news.unread`` (if it does not already exist)
		340	and append the news item identifier (eg ``2005-11-01-yoursql-updates``) on a new
		341	line.
		342
		343	.. Note:: Future changes to Portage involving support for multiple repositories
		344	may require one news list per repository. Assuming repositories have some
		345	kind of unique identifier, this file could be named ``news-repoid.unread``.
308		346
309	Notification that new relevant news items will be displayed via the	347	Notification that new relevant news items will be displayed via the
310	``emerge`` tool in a similar way to the existing "configuration files need	348	``emerge`` tool in a similar way to the existing "configuration files need
311	updating" messages:	349	updating" messages:
312		350
313	::	351	::
314		352
315	* Important: 3 config files in /etc need updating.
316	* Type emerge --help config to learn how to update config files.
317
318	* Important: there are 5 unread news items.	353	* Important: there are 5 unread news items.
319	* Type emerge --help news to learn how to read news files.	354	* Type emerge --help news to learn how to read news files.
320		355
321	The unread news message will also be displayed immediately after an	356	Checks for new news messages should be displayed:
322	``emerge sync``.
323		357
324	Portage may also warn of unread news items using, for example, a red flashy	358	* After an ``emerge sync``
325	before actions such as merging a package.	359	* After an ``emerge --pretend``
		360	* Before an ``emerge <target>`` (which may also include a red warning message)
326		361
327	Portage must keep track of news items which have already been installed to avoid	362	The package manager may use a timestamp check file to avoid having to process
328	repeatedly reinstalling a deleted news item.	363	news items unnecessarily.
		364
		365	The package manager must keep track of news items that have already been added
		366	to the unread list to avoid repeatedly marking a deleted news item. This could
		367	be handled via a ``news.skip`` file, but implementation is not specified by this
		368	GLEP.
329		369
330	Users who really don't care about news items can use ``rsync_excludes`` to	370	Users who really don't care about news items can use ``rsync_excludes`` to
331	filter out the ``news/`` directory.	371	filter out the ``metadata/news/`` directory.
332		372
333	News Item Clients	373	News Item Clients
334	-----------------	374	-----------------
335		375
336	Once a news item is 'installed', third party tools (or a traditional Unix pager	376	Once a news item is marked for reading, third party tools (or traditional core
337	and ``rm``) can be used to display and view the news files. An ``eselect``	377	Unix tools) can be used to display and view the news files.
		378
		379	When a news item is read, its name should be removed from the ``news.unread``
		380	file. News clients may add the name to a ``news.read`` file in the same
		381	directory with the same file format.
		382
338	[#eselect]_ module shall be created as the 'suggested' display tool; other	383	An ``eselect`` [#eselect]_ module shall be created as the 'suggested' display
339	display tools (for example, a news to email forwarder, which would be ideal for	384	tool; other display tools (for example, a news to email forwarder, which would
340	users who sync on a cron) are left as options for those who desire them -- the	385	be ideal for users who sync on a ``cron``) are left as options for those who
341	simple file format make this relatively simple.	386	desire them.
342		387
343	News Item Removal	388	News Item Removal
344	-----------------	389	-----------------
345		390
346	News items can be removed (by removing the news file from the main tree) when	391	News items can be removed (by removing the news file from the main tree) when
…		…
349	entries.	394	entries.
350		395
351	Integration with Existing Systems	396	Integration with Existing Systems
352	=================================	397	=================================
353		398
354	It would be trivial to convert these news items into the format used for news	399	It would be simple to convert these news items into the format used for news
355	items on the Gentoo website or posts for the ``gentoo-announce`` mailing list.	400	items on the Gentoo website or posts for the ``gentoo-announce`` mailing list.
356		401
357	There is an existing automated tool [#forums-glsa]_ for posting GLSAs to the	402	There is an existing automated tool [#forums-glsa]_ for posting GLSAs to the
358	forums. A similar tool can be used for these news items.	403	forums. A similar tool can be used for these news items.
359		404
…		…
372	TODO	417	TODO
373		418
374	Simple ``eselect`` News Client	419	Simple ``eselect`` News Client
375	------------------------------	420	------------------------------
376		421
377	A demonstration ``eselect`` news display script follows:	422	TODO Removed until the exact format details are figured out.
378
379	::
380
381	# Copyright 1999-2005 Gentoo Foundation
382	# Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2
383	# $Id: glep-0042.txt,v 1.1 2005/11/05 03:32:09 g2boojum Exp $
384
385	DESCRIPTION="Read important Gentoo news items"
386	MAINTAINER="ciaranm@gentoo.org"
387	SVN_DATE='$Date: 2005/11/05 03:32:09 $'
388	VERSION=$(svn_date_to_version "${SVN_DATE}" )
389
390	get_news_item_list() {
391	[[ -d "${ROOT}/var/lib/gentoo/news" ]] \|\| return
392	(
393	local news
394	for news in "${ROOT}/var/lib/gentoo/news/"*.txt ; do
395	echo $(basename ${news%%.*} )
396	done
397	) \| sort -u
398	}
399
400	get_filename() {
401	local best_lang=${LANG%%_*} lang= filename="${1}"
402	[[ -e "/${filename}" ]] \|\| for lang in "${best_lang}" "en" ; do
403	filename="${ROOT}/var/lib/gentoo/news/${1}.${lang}.txt"
404	[[ -e "${filename}" ]] && break
405	done
406	[[ -e "${filename}" ]] && echo "${filename}" \|\| die -q "Can't find '${1}'"
407	}
408
409	get_all_filenames() {
410	if [[ -z "${1}" ]] ; then
411	echo "${ROOT}/var/lib/gentoo/news/"*.??".txt"
412	else
413	echo "${ROOT}/var/lib/gentoo/news/${1}."??".txt"
414	fi
415	}
416
417	get_headers() {
418	sed -e '/^$/Q' < $(get_filename "${1}" )
419	}
420
421	get_body() {
422	sed -e '1,/^$/d' < $(get_filename "${1}" )
423	}
424
425	get_title() {
426	get_headers "${1}" \| sed -n -e '/^[Tt]itle: /s/^[^:]\+:[ \t]*//p'
427	}
428
429	### list action
430
431	## {{{ list stuff
432	describe_list() {
433	echo "List available news items"
434	}
435
436	do_list() {
437	write_list_start "Available news items:"
438	local empty=yes n=1
439	for news in $(get_news_item_list ) ; do
440	write_numbered_list_entry ${n} "$(highlight $(get_title ${news} ) ) (${news})"
441	n=$(( n + 1 ))
442	done
443	}
444	## }}}
445
446	## {{{ show stuff
447	describe_show(){
448	echo "Show a news item"
449	}
450
451	do_show() {
452	[[ -z "${1}" ]] && die -q "You didn't tell me which news item to read"
453
454	local target=${1} filename=
455	if is_number "${target}" && [[ ${target} -ge 1 ]] ; then
456	targets=( $(get_news_item_list ) )
457	target=${targets[$(( ${target} - 1 ))]}
458	fi
459
460	(
461	get_headers "${target}" \| grep -v '^Display-If-\\|Content-Type:'
462	echo
463	get_body "${target}"
464	) \| ${PAGER:-cat}
465	}
466	## }}}
467
468	# {{{ delete stuff
469	describe_delete() {
470	echo "Delete a news item"
471	}
472
473	do_delete() {
474	[[ -z "${1}" ]] && die -q "You didn't tell me which news item to delete"
475
476	for target in $@ ; do
477	if is_number "${target}" && [[ ${target} -ge 1 ]] ; then
478	targets=( $(get_news_item_list ) )
479	target=${targets[$(( ${target} - 1 ))]}
480	fi
481
482	rm $(get_all_filenames "${target}" ) \|\| die -q "Couldn't delete ${target}"
483	done
484	}
485	# }}}
486
487	# {{{ delete-all
488	describe_delete-all() {
489	echo "Delete all news items"
490	}
491
492	do_delete-all() {
493	rm $(get_all_filenames ) \|\| die -q "Couldn't delete news items"
494	}
495	# }}}
496		423
497	Simple News to Mail Forwarder	424	Simple News to Mail Forwarder
498	-----------------------------	425	-----------------------------
499		426
500	A demonstration shell script which delivers news items via email follows:	427	TODO Removed until the exact format details are figured out.
501
502	::
503
504	#!/bin/bash
505
506	to_address="root@localhost"
507	mail="mailx"
508	best_lang="${LANG%%_*}"
509
510	for news in /var/lib/gentoo/news/..txt ; do
511	[[ -z "${best_lang}" ]] \|\| news="${news%%.*}.${best_lang}.txt"
512	[[ -f "${news}" ]] \|\| news="${news%%.*}.en.txt"
513	[[ -f "${news}" ]] \|\| continue
514	title=$(sed -n -e '/^Title:/ { s,^[^:]\+:[ \t]\+,,p ; q }' < ${news} )
515	sed -e '1,/^$/ { /^Display-If\\|Content-Type/d }' < "${news}" \| \
516	${mail} -s "Gentoo news: ${title}" "${to_address}" && \
517	for file in ${news%%.}..txt ; do rm "${file}" ; done
518	done
519		428
520	Credits	429	Credits
521	=======	430	=======
522		431
523	The idea behind notifying users of news updates via Portage comes from Stuart	432	The idea behind notifying users of news updates via Portage comes from Stuart
524	Herbert [#stuart-blog]_.	433	Herbert [#stuart-blog]_.
525		434
526	Thanks to Lance Albertson, Donnie Berkholz, Grant Goodyear, Brian Harring, Dan	435	Thanks to Lance Albertson, Stephen Bennett, Donnie Berkholz, Grant Goodyear,
527	Meltzer, Paul de Vrieze and Alec Warner for input. Some of the ideas presented	436	Brian Harring, Dan Meltzer, Jason Stubbs, Paul de Vrieze and Alec Warner for
528	here are theirs, others go completely against their suggestions.	437	input. Some of the ideas presented here are theirs, others go completely
		438	against their suggestions.
		439
		440	Example Files
		441	=============
		442
		443	TODO Removed until the exact format details are figured out.
529		444
530	References	445	References
531	==========	446	==========
532		447
		448	.. [#bug-11359] Bugzilla Bug 11359
		449	"[NEW FEATURE] pkg_postinst/pkg_preinst ewarn/einfo logging",
		450	https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=11359
533	.. [#docs-policy] Gentoo XML Guide, Daniel Robbins et al.,	451	.. [#docs-policy] Gentoo XML Guide, Daniel Robbins et al.,
534	http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xml-guide.xml	452	http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xml-guide.xml
535	.. [#eselect] eselect modular framework for configuration and	453	.. [#eselect] eselect modular framework for configuration and
536	administration utilities,	454	administration utilities,
537	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/eselect/index.xml	455	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/eselect/index.xml
538	.. [#forums-glsa] Forums user GLSA,	456	.. [#forums-glsa] Forums user GLSA,
539	http://forums.gentoo.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=55648	457	http://forums.gentoo.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=55648
540	.. [#forums-whining] Forums thread "Gentoo Apache2 Config Change Idiocy",	458	.. [#forums-apache2] Forums thread "Gentoo Apache2 Config Change Idiocy",
541	http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-384368.html	459	http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-384368.html
		460	.. [#glep-1] GLEP 1: "GLEP Purpose and Guidelines", Grant Goodyear,
		461	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0001.html
542	.. [#glep-22] GLEP 22: "New "keyword" system to incorporate various	462	.. [#glep-22] GLEP 22: "New "keyword" system to incorporate various
543	userlands/kernels/archs", Grant Goodyear,	463	userlands/kernels/archs", Grant Goodyear,
544	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0022.html	464	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0022.html
545	.. [#glep-31] GLEP 31: "Character Sets for Portage Tree Items", Ciaran	465	.. [#glep-31] GLEP 31: "Character Sets for Portage Tree Items", Ciaran
546	McCreesh,	466	McCreesh,
…		…
553	.. [#iso-639] ISO 639 "Code for the representation of names of languages"	473	.. [#iso-639] ISO 639 "Code for the representation of names of languages"
554	.. [#ramereth-repo] "Re: [gentoo-dev] GLEP ??: Critical News Reporting", Lance	474	.. [#ramereth-repo] "Re: [gentoo-dev] GLEP ??: Critical News Reporting", Lance
555	Albertson,	475	Albertson,
556	http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=gentoo-dev&m=113111585907703&w=2	476	http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=gentoo-dev&m=113111585907703&w=2
557	.. [#rfc-822] RFC 822 "Standard for the format of ARPA Internet text messages"	477	.. [#rfc-822] RFC 822 "Standard for the format of ARPA Internet text messages"
		478	.. [#rfc-3629] RFC 3629: "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646"
		479	http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3629.txt
558	.. [#stuart-blog] "Favouring an automatic news mechanism", Stuart Herbert,	480	.. [#stuart-blog] "Favouring an automatic news mechanism", Stuart Herbert,
559	http://stu.gnqs.org/diary/gentoo.php/2005/10/28/favouring_an_automatic_news_mechanism	481	http://stu.gnqs.org/diary/gentoo.php/2005/10/28/favouring_an_automatic_news_mechanism
560		482
561	Copyright	483	Copyright
562	=========	484	=========

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