Request for review: perl-Number-Compare

[Michael Schwendt]

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 13:56:35 +0100, Paul Howarth wrote:

> Michael Schwendt wrote:
> > On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 13:39:22 +0100, Paul Howarth wrote:
> > 
> >>Michael Schwendt wrote:
> >>
> >>>On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 10:32:00 +0100, Paul Howarth wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>- I'd put %check after %install rather than after %clean, so that builds 
> >>>>on rpm versions not supporting %check could still work.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Does order of spec sections matter? (I don't think so)
> >>
> >>Current rpm versions run the %check scriptlet after %install, if %check 
> >>is present.
> > 
> > 
> > Regardless of where I put %check inside the spec? I can move the %files
> > section at the top of the spec. Could I do the same with %check or
> > %clean? ;)
> 
> Try rearranging them and see.
> 
> >>Older rpm versions don't understand %check, and will barf when they come 
> >>across it.
> > 
> > 
> > That was not the questions.
> >  
> > 
> >>If instead you have:
> >>
> >>%install
> >>...
> >>%clean
> >>...
> >>%check || :
> >>...
> >>
> >>then old versions of rpm 
> > 
> > 
> > How old?
> 
> rpm 4.0.something I think. Well before the dawn of Fedora. So for a spec 
> file tailored for Extras, none of this matters. However, it's perfectly 
> possible to write spec files that will build just fine on really old Red 
> Hat Linuxes, and still meet Extras packaging guidelines. Obviously most 
> people won't want to bother with that, and that's OK, but if they're not 
> bothered about backwards compatibility, there's no need for the "|| :" 
> after %check - and that's all my original comment was about in the review.

No, actually (as can be seen in the quote at the very top of this mail)
you suggested reordering %install and %check. Here:

> - I'd put %check after %install rather than after %clean, so that builds 
> on rpm versions not supporting %check could still work.

I've never before payed attention to this. Hence my interest in
the rationale for such a recommendation. And I'm still confused. Does
it matter where to put the %check section in a spec? 

[I'm aware of "%check || :" from fedora.us times and multi-dist src.rpms,
that are supposed to build on RHL 7.3, too, e.g.]