HOW TO UNPACK A DEBIAN SOURCE PACKAGE

 

If you have `dpkg-source', you can use it to unpack any Debian source

package: put all the files in the same directory and type `dpkg-source

-x <whatever>.dsc'.  The remainder of this document explains how to

unpack Debian source packages on non-Debian systems, or on Debian

systems without the `dpkg-dev' package installed.

 

There are several kinds of Debian source packages, identified by the

Format: field in the .dsc file.  If there is no Format: field, treat

it as "1.0".

 

 

"1.0" packages can be either native or non-native.  Native packages

(where the Debian source is the upstream source) look like this:

      hello_1.3.dsc

      hello_1.3.tar.gz

To unpack this kind of package, just untar the .tar.gz file.

 

Non-native "1.0" packages look like this:

      hello_1.3-11.dsc

      hello_1.3-11.diff.gz

      hello_1.3.orig.tar.gz - note the `.orig' part

 

   1. untar P_V.orig.tar.gz.

   2. rename the resulting P-V.orig directory to P-V.  If some other

      directory results, rename *it* to P-V.

   3. mkdir P-V/debian.

   4. apply the diff with patch -p0.

   5. do `chmod +x P-V/debian/rules'

 (where P is the package name and V the upstream version - `hello' and

 `1.3' respectively in this example.)

 

 

"3.0 (native)" packages are the same as native "1.0" packages, except

that the source tarball may be compressed using methods other than

gzip.

 

 

"3.0 (quilt)" packages look like this:

      hello_1.3-11.dsc

      hello_1.3-11.debian.tar.gz

      hello_1.3.orig.tar.gz

      hello_1.3.orig-COMPONENT.tar.gz

        (optional, for one or more values of COMPONENT)

The compressed files may be compressed using methods other than gzip.

 

To unpack this kind of package, you will need to install `quilt'

(http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/quilt), then:

   1. untar P_V.orig.tar.gz.

   2. rename the resulting P-