[tz] input needed on creation of a new sub-package for raw zone data

[Brian Inglis]

On 2017-05-22 07:03, Patsy Franklin wrote:
> I'd appreciate community input on this plan. Ideally if others decide
> to also ship a similar subpackage we can use a common naming
> convention and install directory.
> 
> We are planning to ship a new subpackage for users who want to have 
> access to the raw zone data files e.g. leapseconds, and in a 
> pre-determined install location e.g. /usr/share/zoneinfo/zonedata/.

How about using /usr/share/tzdata{,-src}/ maybe with subdirectories
tzdata-2017b, etc.

> The raw zone data is useful for users designing their own interfaces
> on top of this data. The broadest flexibility is offered by the raw
> zone data, and while the compiled binary data is versioned and more
> stable, some users have expressed a request for the raw zone data.
> The understanding is that the raw zone data format may change.
> 
> In summary:
> Our current plan is to use -zonedata in naming the subpackage, For 
> example, tzdata-zonedata-2017b-1.el7.

How about tzdata-src-2017b...?

> We plan to install the files in this subpackage under
> /usr/share/zoneinfo/zonedata/.

Adding zonedata does not add any useful information about the contents
and storing under /usr/share/zoneinfo/ could be confusing as there are
already subdirectories posix and right holding copies of standard and
leapsecond compensated binary data files, so TZ=posix/... and
TZ=right/... are valid zones, and users may expect something similar to
happen using TZ=zonedata/... which would be unfortunate.

> Just as an example we would ship the following files:
> LICENSE
> version
> africa
> antarctica
> asia
> australasia
> europe
> northamerica
> southamerica
> pacificnew
> etcetera
> backward
> systemv
> factory
> backzone
> iso3166.tab
> leapseconds
> leap-seconds.list
> zone1970.tab
> zone.tab

README, CONTRIBUTING, NEWS, and Theory should be included, also
tz-how-to.html which documents how to define and use the sources.
leap-seconds.list should be a (symbolic?) link to the canonical file
version leap-seconds.<timestamp> e.g. leap-seconds.3692908800.

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada