Packge description update

[hggh]

The long description of the redis package does not match the debian guidelines. I have updated the long description for your package.

diff --git a/package.xml b/package.xml
index 11ba538..7ab6b38 100644
--- a/package.xml
+++ b/package.xml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  <name>redis</name>
  <channel>pecl.php.net</channel>
  <summary>PHP extension for interfacing with Redis</summary>
- <description>This extension provides an API for communicating with Redis servers.</description>
+ <description> This extension allows php applications to communicate with the Redis persistent key-value store. The php-redis module provides an easy object oriented interface.</description>
  <lead>
   <name>Nicolas Favre-Felix</name>
   <user>nff</user>```

[michael-grunder]

Hey,

Thanks for the update. Out of curiosity was the description simply not descriptive enough?

@nicolasff Do you mind doing the pecl stuff as it confuses me? 😃

[nicolasff]

@michael-grunder this is in the context of an email @hggh sent me yesterday about getting phpredis packaged for Debian. He is not the first person to attempt it, and there are a few hurdles. Although updating the description is a trivial matter, the biggest problem is the PHP license, which isn't accepted by the Debian project.

From https://ftp-master.debian.org/REJECT-FAQ.html:

You have a PHP add-on package (any php script/"app"/thing, not PHP itself) and it's licensed only under the standard PHP license. That license, up to the 3.x which is actually out, is not really usable for anything else than PHP itself. I've mailed our -legal list about that and got only one response, which basically supported my view on this. Basically this license talks only about PHP, the PHP Group, and includes Zend Engine, so its not applicable to anything else. And even worse, older versions include the nice ad-clause.
One good solution here is to suggest a license change to your upstream, as they clearly wanted a free one. LGPL or BSD seems to be what they want.

I am not quite sure what to do about this, for the following reasons:

1. There are quite a few packages with the PHP license in Debian already:
   • http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/php5-memcached (PHP 3.01 license)
   • http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/php/php5-xdebug (XDebug license, based on PHP 3.01 license)
   • http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/php/php-apc (PHP 3.01 license)
   • http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/php/php5-suhosin (mostly PHP 3.01 license)
2. As I understand it, the PHP license is essential to a release on PECL, which we now provide.
3. I don't really know how I would go about changing the license seeing as phpredis contains code from many contributors.
4. There are many ways to install phpredis as it is (compiled, packaged by others such as Dotdeb, installed through PECL...)

I would of course like to get this resolved! It seems that the Debian project does accept PHP-licensed packages, as pointed out above; maybe it only takes someone at a higher level to make the push?

Comments and advice from anyone reading this are much welcome.

Nicolas

[michael-grunder]

Hey,

I'm really unfamiliar with this sort of stuff, but it does look like BSD works in PECL and Debian:
http://pecl.php.net/package/markdown, http://www.debian.org/legal/licenses/

Like you say though, I don't know what the rules are regarding a licensing change given that there are many contributors. I also welcome information from people more in the know on the legal aspects of such things.

I'll troll around the internet and see if I can come up with anything useful.

[michael-grunder]

Closing old issues. I believe there are multiple ways to apt get phpredis.