Launchpad is default Ubuntu build system. It allows us to register own project and let build server build our application. But web interface is overcomplicated and it is not easy to setup build of Lazarus project. Here this wiki pages can help.

It is not simply possible to get own application package immediately directly to standard Ubuntu packages. Such package needs to comply with several rules to be accepted as standard distribution package. But Launchpad also supports PPA (Personal Package Archives) which is place where non distribution packages can be prepared.

Build package on Launchpad

• First register new user account or login to your existing user account
• Register new project for your application
• After the project is created you can import source code from external repository to Launchpad Bazaar project repository. Go to Code section and click to Configure code link. Then fill required fields and click to Update button.
• Create debian directory under your project. It doesn't need to be in branch root directory. It will be appended to branch from specified location. The directory need to contain several debian package specific files.

control file:

Source: project-name
Maintainer: Username <email@email.xx>
Section: utils
Priority: optional
Standards-Version: 1.0.0
Build-Depends: fpc, lazarus, lcl, lcl-utils, debhelper (>= 8)

Package: project-name
Architecture: any
Depends: ${shlibs:Depends}, ${misc:Depends},
Description: Short description of package.
HomePage: http://project-homepage.xx/

For section you can use only predefined strings. See question here http://askubuntu.com/questions/722597/what-packages-sections-are-available-for-trusty

rules file:

#!/usr/bin/make -f

# Set temporary HOME for lazarus primary config directory
export HOME=$(CURDIR)/tmphome

ROOT = $(CURDIR)/debian/project-name

override_dh_auto_clean:
    $(RM) -r lib
    $(RM) lib *.res project-name

override_dh_auto_build:
    lazbuild --build-mode=Release project-name.lpi

override_dh_auto_install:
    install -d -m 755 $(ROOT)/usr/bin
    install -s -m 755 project-executable $(ROOT)/usr/bin
    install -d -m 755 $(ROOT)/usr/share/applications
    install -m 644 project-name.desktop $(ROOT)/usr/share/applications
    install -d -m 755 $(ROOT)/usr/share/pixmaps
    install -m 644 project-name.png $(ROOT)/usr/share/pixmaps
    install -d -m 755 $(ROOT)/usr/share/project-name/i18n
    install -D -m 644 i18n/*.po $(ROOT)/usr/share/project-name/i18n

%:
    dh $@

changelog file:

project-name (1.0.0-1) precise; urgency=low

* Original version 1.0.0 packaged with lazdebian

-- Username <email@email.xx>  Sun, 27 Nov 2016 00:51:08 +0100

copyright file:

Format: http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/copyright-format/1.0/

Files: *
Copyright: 2016 Creator name
License: GPL-2+
 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
 at your option) any later version.
 .
 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
 GNU General Public License for more details.
 .
 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
 .
 On Debian systems, the full text of the GNU General Public
 License version 2 can be found in the file
 /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL-2

compact file:

8

source/format:

3\.0 (quilt)

• Now also in Code section of the project click to Import a branch link on right panel. Fill branch name with debian-packaging and as source select import from location where debian directory for the application is stored. If you create multi-platform application then usually debian directory is not stored in root of your application branch but rather in some subdirectory. Then click to Request import.

• Create recipe for branch:

  bzr-builder format 0.3 deb-version {debupstream}-0~{revno}

  lp:custom-app nest packaging lp:~user/application-name/debian-packaging debian

• Click to Request build(s) link to start build process

Build package locally

You can also build your deb package locally outside of launchpad. Just create script called for example build.sh. This script will copy your project files with debian subdirectory to temporary directory where build process will be started and new deb package created.

#!/bin/bash

BUILD_ROOT=/tmp/build-root/application-name
mkdir -p $BUILD_ROOT
cp -r -f . $BUILD_ROOT
cd $BUILD_ROOT
dpkg-buildpackage -b -rfakeroot -us -uc

After execution new package will be placed in /tmp/build-root.

LazPackager

Is Lazarus IDE extension which helps to create and build deb packages.

Download: https://github.com/prof7bit/LazPackager

See also

• How to setup a FPC and Lazarus Ubuntu repository#The debs

External links

• Required files under the debian directory

From the Free Pascal wiki, page "Publish project on Launchpad", as it stood on 2020-02-29 after a change by Trev, out of the wiki's dump of 2024-05-26. Copyright stays with the author who wrote it, according to the old wiki's Licensing page. If you have concerns about this material, message the admin.