[Fedora-packaging] Moving configuration files in a package...

[Kalev Lember]

On 09/25/2013 05:56 PM, Darryl L. Pierce wrote:
> For one package I maintain (qpid-cpp-server) the upstream team moved the
> location of the configuration file from /etc to /etc/qpid, where the
> other configuration files lived.
> 
> I pushed the latest update and am now getting hit with negative karma
> and a BZ complaining about this change.
> 
> What is SOP for when a project moves configurations? I had resisted the
> suggestion of having the spec move the configuration. Talking with other
> packagers they agreed. But simply replying to a BZ with "the file's
> moved, just copy yours over" and closing the BZ feels a bit aloof.
> 
> Suggestions?

I would leave the new qpid-cpp version to F20+ only. People can deal
with changes during distro upgrades -- they know that stuff might have
changed and can manually fix up any issues that the migration might have
caused. They are also more likely to have taken backups and other
precautions, so that if your rpm overwrites an other config file during
a distro upgrade, it's not the end of the world for them.

Doing major configuration file reorganization in a stable Fedora
release, when people are minding their own business and not looking out
for changes, might not be appreciated by users.

See also http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Updates_Policy#Stable_Releases

-- 
Kalev