Devel Packages(draft)

mschwendt notes that people still misinterpret what files need to go into -devel. In particular, plugins are getting placed into -devel. Here's a proposed update.

Review guidelines update
MUST: Library files needed only at build-time must be put into a -devel package. See the Devel Packages Guideline if you are unclear on what these files are. [19]

Devel Packages
If the software being packaged contains files intended solely for development, those files should be put in a -devel subpackage. The following are examples of file types which should be in -devel:


 * Header files (e.g.  files)
 * Symlinks for the linker name of libraries (e.g. ).

These types of files are often mistaken for development files but are needed at runtime so they should NOT be in the -devel subpackage:

  Symlink for the library SONAME (e.g. )  The file that actually contains the library (eg )  Shared objects which are plugins. These usually end with  like the library linker name but  are not placed directly within  are not symlinks often do not start with    

A good rule of thumb is if the file is used for development and not needed for the base package to run properly, it should go in -devel.