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Gettext Runtime Subpackage

Summary

Subpackage gettext's runtime programs in a smaller runtime subpackage, reducing the default install footprint.

Owner

Current status

  • Targeted release: Fedora Linux 37
  • Last updated: 2022-06-07
  • FESCo issue:
  • Tracker bug:
  • Release notes tracker:

Detailed Description

Gettext is one of the core packages. Its installed on-disk size is about ~6.1 MB. A large number of packages directly or indirectly depend on it. Extracting "runtime" from main gettext package into a separate sub-package would reduce the footprint by about ~4.7 MB on most normal installations.

After the split this should look like: 

gettext-runtime subpackage
-----------------------
compressed size: 172 kB
uncompressed size: 749.6 kB

gettext package
------------------------
compressed size: 1.0 MB
uncompressed size: 4.7 MB

As gettext-runtime depends on gettext-libs:

gettext-libs subpackage
-----------------------
compressed size: 322K
uncompressed size: 933.7 kB

Grouping of binaries: 

gettext-runtime:
envsubst gettext gettext.sh ngettext

gettext:
msgattrib msgcat msgcmp msgcomm msgconv msgen msgexec msgfilter msgfmt msggrep msginit msgmerge msgunfmt msguniq recode-sr-latin xgettext

Feedback

  • initial devel thread floating subpackaging idea (April 2022)

Benefit to Fedora

Space saving of about ~4.7 MB for typical installations.

Scope

  • Proposal owners:
    • Update the gettext package in rawhide to have the new gettext-runtime subpackage, pulled in by the gettext base package (PR)
    • File bugs against packages that could only need gettext-runtime at runtime.
  • Other developers:
    • Packagers who own packages that have a direct runtime dependency on gettext (estimated under 30 packages) and actually only need gettext-runtime can change their Requires: gettext to the new gettext-runtime subpackage in Rawhide (estimated around 10 Fedora packages).
  • Release engineering:
    • todo: link to ticket
  • Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change)
  • Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)
  • Alignment with Objectives:

Upgrade/compatibility impact

On upgrade both packages will get installed on systems having gettext. (preinstalled)


How To Test

  • Test upgrades from F36 to F37
  • Test minimal/default installs continue to work as expected
  • Packages that depend on gettext continue to rebuild, install, and function normally


User Experience

User will see a new lighter gettext-runtime package and a gettext package.
Many of the desktop/web apps/libraries continue using gettext. This subpackage separation also corresponds to the recommended packaging by upstream and Debian's gettext-base and gettext packages.

Dependencies

Packages which explicitly have a dependency on gettext need to check if they need programs provided by gettext-runtime, and if so they may update their dependency to "gettext-runtime" from gettext.

Perhaps about ~26 packages require gettext and ~1115 packages have build dependency.
Furthermore, gettext has a dependency to gettext-runtime.

Contingency Plan

  • Contingency mechanism: (What to do? Who will do it?) Package owners to revert relevant packages.
  • Contingency deadline: Beta freeze
  • Blocks release? No

Documentation

https://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=gettext.git;a=blob;f=PACKAGING


Release Notes

A gettext-runtime subpackage has been added to gettext to separate out the programs needed at runtime, reducing the default install footprint.

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