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Revision 1.1		Revision 1.6
1	GLEP: 42	1	GLEP: 42
2	Title: Critical News Reporting	2	Title: Critical News Reporting
3	Version: $Revision: 1.1 $	3	Version: $Revision: 1.6 $
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: 2005/12/18 04:16:44 $
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, 13-Dec-2005, 18-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-4.1`` 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
		34	* ``einfo`` and ``ewarn`` messages in ``pkg_setup`` or ``pkg_postinst``
29		35
30	A more reliable way of getting news of critical updates out to users is required	36	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	37	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.	38	solution based around pushing news items out to the user via the ``rsync`` tree.
33		39
		40	.. Important:: This GLEP does not seek to replace or modify ``einfo`` messages
		41	which are displayed post-install. That is a separate issue which is handled
		42	by ``elog`` [#bug-11359]_.
		43
34	Requirements	44	Requirements
35	============	45	============
36		46
37	An adequate solution must meet all of the following requirements:	47	An adequate solution must meet all of the following requirements:
38		48
39	Preemptive	49	Preemptive
40	Users should be told of changes before they break the user's system,	50	Users should be told of changes before they break a system, not after the
41	after the damage has already been done.	51	damage has already been done. Ideally, the system administrator would be
		52	given ample warning to plan difficult upgrades and changes, rather than only
		53	being told just before action is necessary.
42		54
43	No user subscription required	55	No user subscription required
44	It has already been demonstrated [#forums-whining]_ that many users do not	56	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	57	read the ``gentoo-announce`` mailing list or ``RSS`` feeds. A solution which
46	requires subscription has no advantage over current methods.	58	requires subscription has no advantage over current methods.
47		59
48	No user monitoring required	60	No user monitoring required
49	It has already been demonstrated [#forums-whining]_ that many users do not	61	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	62	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	63	until it is too late. A solution that relies upon active monitoring of a
52	particular source has no advantage over current methods.	64	particular source has no advantage over current methods.
53		65
54	Relevant	66	Relevant
…		…
58	upon users unnecessarily.	70	upon users unnecessarily.
59		71
60	Lightweight	72	Lightweight
61	It is not reasonable to expect all users to have an MTA, web browser, email	73	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.	74	client, cron daemon or text processing suite available on their system.
		75	Users must not be forced to install unreasonable extra software to be able
		76	to read news items.
63		77
64	No privacy violations	78	No privacy violations
65	Users of the solution should not be required to provide information about	79	Users of the solution should not be required to provide information about
66	their systems (for example, IP addresses or installed packages).	80	their systems (for example, IP addresses or installed packages).
67		81
68	Multiple delivery method support	82	Multiple delivery method support
69	Some users may wish to view news items via email, some via a terminal and	83	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	84	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	85	methods or (better still) make it simple to write clients for displaying
72	news items in different ways.	86	news items in different ways.
73		87
74	The following characteristics would be desirable:	88	The following characteristics would be desirable:
75		89
76	Internationalisable	90	Internationalisable
77	Being able to provide messages in multiple languages may be beneficial.	91	Being able to provide messages in multiple languages may be beneficial.
78		92
79	Quality control	93	Quality control
80	There should be some way to ensure that badly written or irrelevant messages	94	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	95	are not sent out, for example by inexperienced developers or those whose
82	English language skills are below par or morons.	96	English language skills are below par.
83		97
84	Simple for developers	98	Simple for developers
85	Posting news items should be as simple as is reasonably possible.	99	Posting news items should be as simple as is reasonably possible.
86		100
87	Simple for users	101	Simple for users
…		…
99	Overview	113	Overview
100	--------	114	--------
101		115
102	News items are published and delivered to users as follows:	116	News items are published and delivered to users as follows:
103		117
104	1. A news item is written. The format to be used is described in	118	1. A news item is written. The format to be used is described below.
105	`News Item File Format`_.	119
106	2. The news item is reviewed, following the process described in	120	2. The news item is reviewed, following the process described in
107	`News Item Quality Control`_.	121	`News Item Quality Control`_.
		122
108	3. The news item is committed to a CVS (or Subversion [#glep-36]_) repository.	123	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	124	From here, it is merged with the rsync tree. This is described in `News Item
110	Distribution`_.	125	Distribution`_.
111	4. The news item is merged with the rsync tree. Implementation details of this	126
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	127	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	128	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	129	unwanted change. No changes to the existing rsync process are required by
117	this GLEP.	130	this GLEP.
118	6. Portage filters the news item and, if it is relevant, installs it in a	131
119	special location to be read by a news item reader. Messages are also	132	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.	133	news item for reading. The package manager should also display a notice
		134	informing the user that there are unread news items.
		135
121	7. The news item is handled by the user's choice of news item reader. See `News	136	6. The news item is handled by the user's choice of news item reader. See `News
122	Item Clients`_.	137	Item Clients`_.
123		138
124	News Item File Format	139	Required Portage Enhancements
		140	-----------------------------
		141
		142	The following extensions to Portage are required:
		143
		144	TODO: ferringb wants spaces added to the first item on the list. I don't,
		145	because it makes repo id -> filename mappings nasty.
		146
		147	* Every repository (including overlays) will require a unique identifier. It is
		148	assumed that an identifier will be a string consisting of characters from
		149	``a`` to ``z``, ``A`` to ``Z``, ``0`` to ``9``, ``+`` (plus), ``-`` (hyphen),
		150	``:`` (colon) and ``_`` (underscore).
		151
		152	* Portage must provide a way for external programs to obtain a list of all
		153	repository identifiers for a given system. It is assumed that this will be in
		154	the form of a ``portageq`` command (e.g. ``portageq get_repo_ids``).
		155
		156	* Portage must provide a way for external programs to obtain the base path for
		157	a repository with a given ID. It is assumed that this will be in the form of
		158	a ``portageq`` command (e.g. ``portageq get_repo_root gentoo-x86``).
		159
		160	* Portage must extend ``portageq has_version`` to support restrictions to a
		161	given repository ID.
		162
		163	* Portage must extend ``portageq`` to implement a command which returns whether
		164	or not the profile used for a given repository ID matches a certain base path
		165	(e.g. ``portageq profile_used default-linux/sparc/sparc64/2004.3 gentoo-x86``).
		166
		167	These extensions are assumed during the following specification.
		168
		169	News Item Identities
		170	--------------------
		171
		172	Each news item will have a unique identifier. This identifier will be in the
		173	form ``yyyy-mm-dd-short-name``, where ``yyyy`` is the year (e.g. ``2005``),
		174	``mm`` is the month (``01`` through ``12``) and dd is the day of the month
		175	(``01`` through ``31``). The ``short-name`` is a very short name describing the
		176	news item (e.g. ``yoursql-updates``), consisting only of the characters ``a-z``,
		177	``0-9``, ``+`` (plus), ``:`` (colon), ``-`` (hyphen) and ``_`` (underscore).
		178
		179	News Item Directories
125	---------------------	180	---------------------
126		181
127	Each news item will be represented by a single text file. This file will be	182	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	183	news item's identifier.
129	Gentoo documentation [#docs-policy]_ and tree [#glep-31]_ practices.
130		184
131	The news item will be named in the form ``yyyy-mm-dd-item-name.en.txt``, where	185	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	186	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		187
136	News items may be signed using GPG. If this is done, a detached signature should	188	If a news item is translated, other files named ``yyyy-mm-dd-short-name.xx.txt``
137	be used.	189	(where ``xx`` is the ISO 639 [#iso-639]_ two letter country code) will also be
		190	provided. However, only the English version of a news item is authoritative.
		191	This anglocentricity is justified by precedent [#glep-34]_.
138		192
139	The directory and file name rules are designed specifically to allow easy	193	News Item Files
140	sorting by date.	194	---------------
141		195
142	An English (``en``) version must be available for all news items. Other	196	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	197	compatibility with and for the same reasons as existing Gentoo documentation
144	who have commit access. This anglocentricity is justified on the grounds that	198	[#docs-policy]_ and the tree [#glep-31]_.
145	nobody objected to it with GLEP 34 [#glep-34]_.
146		199
		200	News items should be signed with a detached GPG signature: ::
		201
		202	gpg --armour --detach-sign ????-??-??-*.??.txt
		203
147	A news item's content will consist of an RFC 822 [#rfc-822]_ style header	204	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	205	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 --	206	various optional and mandatory headers. Future GLEPs may propose new headers —
150	tools handling these news items must ignore any unrecognised header.	207	tools handling these news items must ignore any unrecognised header.
151		208
152	News Item Headers	209	News Item Headers
153	'''''''''''''''''	210	'''''''''''''''''
154		211
155	The following headers describe the purpose and format of the news item:	212	The following headers describe the purpose and format of the news item:
156		213
157	``Title:``	214	``Title:``
158	A short (maximum 44 characters) descriptive title. Mandatory.	215	A short (maximum 44 characters) descriptive title. Mandatory.
		216
159	``Author:``	217	``Author:``
160	Author's name and email address, in the form ``Real Name <email@address>``.	218	Author's name and email address, in the form ``Real Name <email@address>``.
161	Mandatory, multiple author fields may be specified if appropriate.	219	Mandatory; multiple author headers may be specified if appropriate.
		220
162	``Translator:``	221	``Translator:``
163	For translated news items, the translator's name and email address.	222	For translated news items, the translator's name and email address. Multiple
		223	translator headers may be specified if appropriate.
		224
164	``Content-Type:``	225	``Content-Type:``
165	Must be ``text/plain``. Mandatory.	226	Must be ``text/plain``. Mandatory.
		227
166	``Posted:``	228	``Posted:``
167	Date of posting, in ``dd-mmm-yyyy`` format (e.g. 14-Aug-2001). UTC time in	229	Date of posting, in ``yyyy-mm-dd`` format (e.g. 2005-12-18) for
168	``hh-mm-ss +0000`` format may also be included. This field is mandatory.	230	compatibility with GLEP 45 [#glep-45]_. Mandatory.
		231
169	``Version:``	232	``Revision:``
170	Initially 1. Incremented every time a non-trivial change is made. Changes	233	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	234	which require a re-read of the news item should instead use a new news item
172	file.	235	file. Mandatory.
		236
173	``News-Item-Format:``	237	``News-Item-Format:``
174	Must be ``1.0``. Future revisions to the format may increment the minor	238	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	239	number for backwards-compatible changes, or the major number for major
176	changes.	240	changes.
177		241
178	The following headers are used for filtering. If none of these headers are	242	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		243
182	``Display-If-Installed:``	244	``Display-If-Installed:``
183	A dependency atom or simple package name (for example,	245	A dependency atom or simple package name (for example,
184	``<dev-lang/php-5_alpha`` or ``net-www/apache``). If the user has the	246	``<dev-lang/php-5_alpha`` or ``net-www/apache``). If the user has the
		247	package specified installed from the repository from which the news item was
185	package specified installed, the news item should be displayed.	248	obtained, the news item should be displayed.
186		249
187	``Display-If-Keyword:``	250	``Display-If-Keyword:``
188	A keyword [#glep-22]_ name, for example ``mips``. If the user is on the arch	251	A keyword [#glep-22]_ name, for example ``mips`` or ``x86-fbsd``. If the
189	in question, the news item should be displayed.	252	user is on the keyword in question, the news item should be displayed.
190		253
191	``Display-If-Profile:``	254	``Display-If-Profile:``
192	A profile path, for example ``default-linux/sparc/sparc64/server``. If the	255	A profile path, for example ``default-linux/sparc/sparc64/server``. If the
193	user is using the exact profile in question, the news item should be	256	user is using the exact profile in question, or a subprofile of this
194	displayed. This header may be used to replace ``deprecated`` files in the	257	profile, the news item should be displayed. This header may be used to
195	future.	258	replace ``deprecated`` files in the future.
		259
		260	.. Note:: When performing package moves, developers must also update any
		261	relevant ``Display-If-Installed`` headers in news files.
		262
		263	The algorithm used to determine whether a news item is 'relevant' is as
		264	follows:
		265
		266	* For each ``Display-If-`` header type which occurs at least once:
		267
		268	+ The news item is not relevant if none of the headers of this type are
		269	successfully matched.
		270
		271	* Otherwise the news item is relevant.
		272
		273	In particular, if no ``Display-If-`` header is specified, a news item will be
		274	relevant for all users.
		275
		276	This algorithm was chosen because it makes conditions like "display this news
		277	item for ``YourSQL`` users who are on ``sparc`` or ``x86-obsd`` relatively
		278	simple to specify — it is believed that these kinds of condition are far more
		279	likely to occur than "display this news item for people using ``YourSQL``, or
		280	for people on ``sparc`` or ``x86-obsd``\" or "display these news items for
		281	people who use ``YourSQL`` and who are on both ``sparc`` and ``x86-obsd``\".
196		282
197	News Item Body	283	News Item Body
198	''''''''''''''	284	''''''''''''''
199		285
200	The header section must be followed by a blank line, then the main body of the	286	The header section must be followed by a blank line, then the main body of the
201	text.	287	text.
202		288
203	The text body should be wrapped at 72 characters. No fancy formatting or tab	289	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	290	characters should be used — the news item may be being displayed directly to a
205	terminal. Paragraphs should be separated by two blank lines.	291	terminal. Paragraphs should be separated by a blank line.
206		292
207	Hyperlinks may be used to refer to further information (for example, an upgrade	293	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	294	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	295	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	296	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.	297	administrated — this will be the case on may servers and routers, for example.
212		298
213	Example News Item	299	Example News Item
214	'''''''''''''''''	300	'''''''''''''''''
215		301
216	The following hypothetical news item could be used for an upgrade to the	302	`This hypothetical news item`__ could be used for an upgrade to the
217	``YourSQL`` database format which breaks forward compatibility. It should be	303	``YourSQL`` database format which breaks forward compatibility.
218	named ``2005-11/2005-11-01-yoursql-upgrades.en.txt``.
219		304
220	::	305	.. __: 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		306
248	News Item Quality Control	307	News Item Quality Control
249	-------------------------	308	-------------------------
250		309
251	There have been complaints regarding the comprehensibility of some upgrade	310	There have been complaints regarding the comprehensibility of some upgrade
252	notices and news items in the past. This is understandable -- not every Gentoo	311	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	312	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	313	professionalism and avoiding making us look like prats, it is important that any
255	before inflicting a news item upon end users.	314	language problems be corrected before inflicting a news item upon end users.
256		315
257	Thus, all proposed news items must be posted to the ``gentoo-dev`` or	316	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	317	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	318	(exceptions may be made in exceptional circumstances). Any complaints — for
260	circumstances). Any complaints regarding wording or clarity must be	319	example regarding wording, clarity or accuracy — must be addressed before
261	addressed before the news item goes live.	320	the news item goes live.
		321
		322	.. Note:: A previous draft of this GLEP allowed news items to be sent to
		323	``gentoo-core`` instead of ``gentoo-dev``. It is possible that a situation
		324	may arise where this will be necessary (for example, a security update which
		325	must break backwards compatibility and which cannot be revealed to the public
		326	before a given date).
262		327
263	News items must only be for important changes that may cause serious upgrade	328	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	329	or compatibility problems. Ordinary upgrade messages and non-critical news items
265	should remain in ``einfo`` notices. The importance of the message to its	330	should remain in ``einfo`` notices. The importance of the message to its
266	intended audience should be justified with the proposal.	331	intended audience should be justified with the proposal.
…		…
274	----------------------	339	----------------------
275		340
276	Server Side	341	Server Side
277	'''''''''''	342	'''''''''''
278		343
279	News items are to be made available via the Portage tree. This removes any	344	News items are to be made available via the standard rsync tree. This removes
280	need for polling of a remote source.	345	any need for polling of a remote source.
281		346
282	A new repository will be created for news items. The type (CVS or Subversion),	347	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	348	location and access controls on this repository are beyond the scope of this
284	GLEP.	349	GLEP.
285		350
286	.. Note:: A previous draft of this GLEP instead used the main ``gentoo-x86``	351	.. Note:: A previous draft of this GLEP instead used the main ``gentoo-x86``
287	tree. This was changed following advice from Infrastructure	352	tree. This was changed following advice from Infrastructure
288	[#ramereth-repo]_. Both solutions have the same end result.	353	[#ramereth-repo]_. Both solutions have the same end result.
289		354
290	This repository will contain directories named ``yyyy-mm/``, where ``yyyy`` is	355	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	356	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.	357	12 for December). This separation will help keep news items more manageable.
293		358
294	The contents of this repository will automatically be merged with the main rsync	359	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	360	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	361	merging these items is beyond the scope of this GLEP — a similar setup is
297	already used for merging GLSAs into the rsync tree.	362	already used for merging GLSAs into the rsync tree.
298		363
299	.. Note:: The ``profiles/`` directory will not be used. This fits in with	364	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		365
303	Client Side	366	Client Side
304	'''''''''''	367	'''''''''''
305		368
306	Whenever relevant unread news items are found, ``emerge`` will copy or symlink	369	Whenever relevant unread news items are found, the package manager will create a
307	the news file into ``/var/lib/gentoo/news/``.	370	file named ``/var/lib/gentoo/news/news-repoid.unread`` (if it does not
		371	already exist) and append the news item identifier (eg
		372	``2005-11-01-yoursql-updates``) on a new line.
308		373
309	Notification that new relevant news items will be displayed via the	374	Notification that new relevant news items will be displayed via the
310	``emerge`` tool in a similar way to the existing "configuration files need	375	``emerge`` tool in a similar way to the existing "configuration files need
311	updating" messages:	376	updating" messages:
312		377
313	::	378	::
314		379
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.	380	* Important: there are 5 unread news items.
319	* Type emerge --help news to learn how to read news files.	381	* Type emerge --help news to learn how to read news files.
320		382
321	The unread news message will also be displayed immediately after an	383	Checks for new news messages should be displayed:
322	``emerge sync``.
323		384
324	Portage may also warn of unread news items using, for example, a red flashy	385	* After an ``emerge sync``
325	before actions such as merging a package.	386	* After an ``emerge --pretend``
		387	* Before an ``emerge <target>`` (which may also include a red warning message)
		388	* Before an ``emerge --ask <target>`` sequence
326		389
327	Portage must keep track of news items which have already been installed to avoid	390	The package manager may use a timestamp check file to avoid having to process
328	repeatedly reinstalling a deleted news item.	391	news items unnecessarily.
		392
		393	The package manager must keep track of news items that have already been added
		394	to the unread list to avoid repeatedly marking a deleted news item. This could
		395	be handled via a ``news-repoid.skip`` file containing the IDs of news items that
		396	have already been added to a ``news-repoid.unread`` file, but this method is not
		397	required by this GLEP.
329		398
330	Users who really don't care about news items can use ``rsync_excludes`` to	399	Users who really don't care about news items can use ``rsync_excludes`` to
331	filter out the ``news/`` directory.	400	filter out the ``metadata/news/`` directory.
332		401
333	News Item Clients	402	News Item Clients
334	-----------------	403	-----------------
335		404
336	Once a news item is 'installed', third party tools (or a traditional Unix pager	405	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``	406	Unix tools) can be used to display and view the news files.
		407
		408	When a news item is read, its name should be removed from the
		409	``news-repoid.unread`` file. If a news client acts as an interactive reader
		410	rather than a gateway, it should then add the name to a ``news-repoid.read``
		411	file in the same directory with the same file format.
		412
338	[#eselect]_ module shall be created as the 'suggested' display tool; other	413	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	414	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	415	be ideal for users who sync on a ``cron``) are left as options for those who
341	simple file format make this relatively simple.	416	desire them.
342		417
343	News Item Removal	418	News Item Removal
344	-----------------	419	-----------------
345		420
346	News items can be removed (by removing the news file from the main tree) when	421	News items can be removed (by removing the news file from the main tree) when
…		…
349	entries.	424	entries.
350		425
351	Integration with Existing Systems	426	Integration with Existing Systems
352	=================================	427	=================================
353		428
354	It would be trivial to convert these news items into the format used for news	429	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.	430	items on the Gentoo website or posts for the ``gentoo-announce`` mailing list.
356		431
357	There is an existing automated tool [#forums-glsa]_ for posting GLSAs to the	432	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.	433	forums. A similar tool can be used for these news items.
359		434
…		…
372	TODO	447	TODO
373		448
374	Simple ``eselect`` News Client	449	Simple ``eselect`` News Client
375	------------------------------	450	------------------------------
376		451
377	A demonstration ``eselect`` news display script follows:	452	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 $(get_all_filenames ) \|\| die -q "Couldn't delete news items"
494	}
495	# }}}
496		453
497	Simple News to Mail Forwarder	454	Simple News to Mail Forwarder
498	-----------------------------	455	-----------------------------
499		456
500	A demonstration shell script which delivers news items via email follows:	457	TODO Removed until the exact format details are figured out.
501
502	::
503
504	#!/bin/bash
505
506	to_address="root@localhost"
507	mail="mailx"
508	best_lang="${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		458
520	Credits	459	Credits
521	=======	460	=======
522		461
523	The idea behind notifying users of news updates via Portage comes from Stuart	462	The idea behind notifying users of news updates via Portage comes from Stuart
524	Herbert [#stuart-blog]_.	463	Herbert [#stuart-blog]_.
525		464
526	Thanks to Lance Albertson, Donnie Berkholz, Grant Goodyear, Brian Harring, Dan	465	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	466	Brian Harring, Dan Meltzer, Jason Stubbs, Paul de Vrieze and Alec Warner for
528	here are theirs, others go completely against their suggestions.	467	input. Some of the ideas presented here are theirs, others go completely
		468	against their suggestions.
		469
		470	Example Files
		471	=============
		472
		473	TODO Removed until the exact format details are figured out.
529		474
530	References	475	References
531	==========	476	==========
532		477
		478	.. [#bug-11359] Bugzilla Bug 11359
		479	"[NEW FEATURE] pkg_postinst/pkg_preinst ewarn/einfo logging",
		480	https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=11359
533	.. [#docs-policy] Gentoo XML Guide, Daniel Robbins et al.,	481	.. [#docs-policy] Gentoo XML Guide, Daniel Robbins et al.,
534	http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xml-guide.xml	482	http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xml-guide.xml
535	.. [#eselect] eselect modular framework for configuration and	483	.. [#eselect] eselect modular framework for configuration and
536	administration utilities,	484	administration utilities,
537	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/eselect/index.xml	485	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/eselect/index.xml
538	.. [#forums-glsa] Forums user GLSA,	486	.. [#forums-glsa] Forums user GLSA,
539	http://forums.gentoo.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=55648	487	http://forums.gentoo.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=55648
540	.. [#forums-whining] Forums thread "Gentoo Apache2 Config Change Idiocy",	488	.. [#forums-apache2] Forums thread "Gentoo Apache2 Config Change Idiocy",
541	http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-384368.html	489	http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-384368.html
542	.. [#glep-22] GLEP 22: "New "keyword" system to incorporate various	490	.. [#glep-22] GLEP 22: "New "keyword" system to incorporate various
543	userlands/kernels/archs", Grant Goodyear,	491	userlands/kernels/archs", Grant Goodyear,
544	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0022.html	492	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0022.html
545	.. [#glep-31] GLEP 31: "Character Sets for Portage Tree Items", Ciaran	493	.. [#glep-31] GLEP 31: "Character Sets for Portage Tree Items", Ciaran
…		…
548	.. [#glep-34] GLEP 34: "Per-Category metadata.xml Files", Ciaran McCreesh,	496	.. [#glep-34] GLEP 34: "Per-Category metadata.xml Files", Ciaran McCreesh,
549	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0034.html	497	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0034.html
550	.. [#glep-36] GLEP 36: "Subversion/CVS for Gentoo Hosted Projects", Aaron	498	.. [#glep-36] GLEP 36: "Subversion/CVS for Gentoo Hosted Projects", Aaron
551	Walker,	499	Walker,
552	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0036.html	500	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0036.html
		501	.. [#glep-45] GLEP 45: "GLEP date format", Henrik Brix Andersen,
		502	http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/glep/glep-0045.html
553	.. [#iso-639] ISO 639 "Code for the representation of names of languages"	503	.. [#iso-639] ISO 639 "Code for the representation of names of languages"
554	.. [#ramereth-repo] "Re: [gentoo-dev] GLEP ??: Critical News Reporting", Lance	504	.. [#ramereth-repo] "Re: [gentoo-dev] GLEP ??: Critical News Reporting", Lance
555	Albertson,	505	Albertson,
556	http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=gentoo-dev&m=113111585907703&w=2	506	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"	507	.. [#rfc-822] RFC 822 "Standard for the format of ARPA Internet text messages"
		508	.. [#rfc-3629] RFC 3629: "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646"
		509	http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3629.txt
558	.. [#stuart-blog] "Favouring an automatic news mechanism", Stuart Herbert,	510	.. [#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	511	http://stu.gnqs.org/diary/gentoo.php/2005/10/28/favouring_an_automatic_news_mechanism
560		512
561	Copyright	513	Copyright
562	=========	514	=========

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