119

Appendix D

Control files and their fields (from old

Packaging Manual)

Many of the tools in the

dpkg

suite manipulate data in a common format, known as control

files. Binary and source packages have control data as do the

.changes

files which control

the installation of uploaded files, and

dpkg

's internal databases are in a similar format.

D.1 Syntax of control files

See `Syntax of control files' on page

27

.

It is important to note that there are several fields which are optional as far as

dpkg

and the re 

lated tools are concerned, but which must appear in every Debian package, or whose omission

may cause problems.

D.2 List of fields

See `List of fields' on page

30

.

This section now contains only the fields that didn't belong to the Policy manual.

D.2.1

Filename

and

MSDOS Filename

These fields in

Packages

files give the filename(s) of (the parts of) a package in the distribution

directories, relative to the root of the Debian hierarchy. If the package has been split into several

parts the parts are all listed in order, separated by spaces.