How do I download a dsc file?

Question

I am trying to implement a work around with git. In order to do so I am going to this page LaunchPad Git and am attempting to download this file git_2.10.2-2.dsc. I need this specific file in order for the work around to work. However, when I click this file to begin to download I am redirected to a page that has this:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Format: 3.0 (quilt)
Source: git
Binary: git, git-man, git-core, git-doc, git-arch, git-cvs, git-svn, git-mediawiki, git-email, git-daemon-run, git-daemon-sysvinit, git-gui, gitk, git-el, gitweb, git-all
Architecture: any all
Version: 1:2.10.2-2
Maintainer: Gerrit Pape <[email protected]>
Uploaders: Jonathan Nieder <[email protected]>, Anders Kaseorg <[email protected]>
Homepage: https://git-scm.com/
Standards-Version: 3.9.6.0
Vcs-Browser: http://repo.or.cz/w/git/debian.git/
Vcs-Git: https://repo.or.cz/r/git/debian.git/
Build-Depends: libz-dev, libpcre3-dev, gettext, libcurl4-gnutls-dev, libexpat1-dev, subversion, libsvn-perl, libyaml-perl, tcl, libhttp-date-perl | libtime-modules-perl, python, cvs, cvsps, libdbd-sqlite3-perl, unzip, libio-pty-perl, debhelper (>= 9), dh-exec (>= 0.7), dh-apache2, dpkg-dev (>= 1.16.2~)
Build-Depends-Indep: asciidoc, xmlto, docbook-xsl
Package-List:
 git deb vcs optional arch=any
 git-all deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-arch deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-core deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-cvs deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-daemon-run deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-daemon-sysvinit deb vcs extra arch=all
 git-doc deb doc optional arch=all
 git-el deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-email deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-gui deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-man deb doc optional arch=all
 git-mediawiki deb vcs optional arch=all
 git-svn deb vcs optional arch=all
 gitk deb vcs optional arch=all
 gitweb deb vcs optional arch=all
Checksums-Sha1:
 2023975ae0061bd569b8529025428e3eca53be2e 4106108 git_2.10.2.orig.tar.xz
 00d7776b0dd941c4b5e7ee1041b860a3dce4697d 511468 git_2.10.2-2.debian.tar.xz
Checksums-Sha256:
 94802903dd707d85ca3b9a2be35e936a54ce86375f52c6a789efe7ce7e238671 4106108 git_2.10.2.orig.tar.xz
 6b39f43c310f756042769f7aa72e1f8a6859192f28f9fedc3435514977738cdb 511468 git_2.10.2-2.debian.tar.xz
Files:
 3cd1dca37be60668f482545716923b72 4106108 git_2.10.2.orig.tar.xz
 336a35cbe1f1d6b04375cd87a302eb06 511468 git_2.10.2-2.debian.tar.xz

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
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=ngpD
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

All it is is text on a webpage git 2.10 dsc file. Is this how this file is supposed to be? What exactly do I do with this?

Solution

A .dsc file is a file related to the packages created, and the relevant related files of, a Debian Source Package (which is just the type of package - it's ultimately a package for Ubuntu and not Debian itself), which is what is uploaded to the builders for the repositories. That's all it is - it contains no source code, only references, PGP signatures, and hash sums of relevant files that came with the source package.

I can only assume you are trying to download the Git source code from Ubuntu in order to build/customize/backport it. The utility to download a Debian source package from the .dsc file is dget.

You may need to use dget -u to download and unpack the source package so you can modify it.

---

Note though you may need to make sure the package gets built in a PPA or similar so you have all the build dependencies - this is so that you can build a version that will build for multiple architectures.

Note also that if you don't have all the build dependencies locally, you'll have to install them all for a package rebuild to work. (It's a lot more involved than a simple patch of code)

Comments

[Thomas Ward]

What are you trying to do? Edit the git source code so you can build a new package?

[Dan Rubio]

I am trying to follow the steps found in this stackoverflow answer askubuntu.com/questions/186847/… to rebuild git 2.10.2 with openssl instead of gnutls. In order to do so I need the .dsc file to run dpkg-source -x

[Thomas Ward]

Look at my answer, because you need more than just the .dsc to download and revise a package.

[Dan Rubio]

Thanks for the speedy reply. So in order to attempt this installation would I then need to do dget -u https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/git/1:2.10.2-2?

[Thomas Ward]

@DanRubio And then edit the source code, then bump the changelog version, then build the packages that the source package produces, then install all the relevant built binaries manually, then start over if it breaks. As I indicate in my answer, it's nontrivial to make source code changes for such packages and quickly implement a fix.

[Dan Rubio]

Thanks Thomas. I don't really have a choice so I'll git it a go.