[pacman-dev] Why can install files not be part of the sources?

[Dominik Fischer]

Am 26.01.2016 um 03:43 schrieb Allan McRae:
> On 26/01/16 00:30, Dominik Fischer wrote:
>> When a PKGBUILD specifies an install file that has to be downloaded as
>> part of the source array, makepkg complains about the missing file
>> instead of simply downloading it.
>>
>> The wiki page [1] states that ".install files should not be included" in
>> the source array, but I could not find and explanation why this policy
>> is enforced. To me, it would make sense to point to an external
>> installation script, for example to install desktop files, or maybe an
>> upstream maintainer provides a suitable file directly. Is this an
>> implementation issue or an explicit decision? Why are install files
>> required to be locally present?
>>
>> [1]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PKGBUILD#source
>>
>
> I'd say this is an explicit decision.  The files required to package an
> external source should all be locally available.
>
> A
>

An understandable reasoning. So most likely, I am trying to employ the
wrong approach with the case that raised this question for me. Perhaps
someone here could tell me how to handle the following otherwise.

There is a package "firefox-aurora" in the AUR to install the alpha
version of Firefox. It installs besides the stable release to make using
both side-by-side possible. Installing aurora only also works fine all
by itself. However, it leads to regular complaints about a missing
Firefox binary, desktop file or library directory from other
applications or even Firefox extensions themselves.

So I currently try to develop a package that silences these errors. It
is mostly a copy of the firefox package from the official repositories,
replacing any actual installation with symlinks to the aurora
counterparts. The desktop file from the firefox package and the related
installation script should also be included, so I tried specifying them
as sources, to have both follow changes made in the original package.
That is where my train of thought crashes, because the installation
script cannot be pulled in by the sources.

I am sure there is some better way to solve my case. What am I missing?