Bug#1136306: debian-policy: Proposing new wayland-terminal-emulator alternative and virtual package

On Wed, 13 May 2026 04:05:44 +0200 Guillem Jover <[email protected]> wrote:
> Control: reassign -1 debian-policy
> Control: retitle -1 Bug#1136306: debian-policy: Proposing new wayland-terminal-emulator alternative and virtual package
> 
> Hi!
> 
> On Mon, 2026-05-11 at 22:08:35 +0200, Thierz wrote:
> > Package: dpkg
> > Version: 1.22.22
> > Severity: wishlist
> > X-Debbugs-Cc: [email protected]
> 
> > I was looking for an update-alternatives group for a simple terminal,
> > but only found x-terminal-emulator. That reference to "x" seems now
> > outdated.
> 
> dpkg only provides the mechanism, it does not implement nor defines
> alternatives for other packages.
> 
> I initially thought this had already been filed in Debian Policy, but
> I only see a request for wayland-session (#1004522).
> 
> > This is why I wondered if any of these updates would seem useful to you:
> > * Add a wayland-terminal-emulator counterpart, so people could benefit
> >   the two different terminals
> > * Or, mix both x and wayland terminal emulators in a single group named
> >   "terminal-emulator"
> > * And possibly shorten the group name to "term"?
> > 
> > Thanks for considering these ideas please :-)
> 
> I think it makes sense to have both a virtual package and an
> alternative for wayland-terminal-emulator, as using x-terminal-emulator
> for wayland ones seems wrong to me.

>

Hi,

I tend to agree. As I also mentioned in #1004522 this would greatly 
improve discoverability of "wayland-ready" terminal emulators.

best,

werdahias