Have you ever tried to add a Lintian override only to get it wrong? Fret not, with the “Lintian-overrider 2000” such are problems of the past! Simply feed the tag emitted by Lintian to the Lintian-overrider 2000 and it will show you the correct format for the override plus the file to put said overide in. Furthermore, it will show you variants that you may (or may not) want to use instead.
$ echo "W: login: setuid-binary bin/su 4755 root/root" | \
lintian-overrider --alternative-forms
--8<-- debian/login.lintian-overrides --8<--
# If you want to override all (present and future) variants
# of this tag, use:
# setuid-binary
setuid-binary bin/su 4755 root/root
# Alternative forms...
# login: setuid-binary bin/su 4755 root/root
# login binary: setuid-binary bin/su 4755 root/root
# For architecture specific overrides, use one of:
# login [i386-any amd64-any other-archs] binary: setuid-binary bin/su 4755 root/root
# login [!i386-any !amd64-any !other-archs] binary: setuid-binary bin/su 4755 root/root
--8<-- End of debian/login.lintian-overrides --8<--
No more fiddling with that stupid syntax. Just feed it to the Lintian-overrider 2000 and instantly you will get the overrides you want!
If you sometimes make a copy-waste mistake or just feel life is too short manually update those files, the Lintian-overrider 2000 is the tool for you! With its --source-dir command line option, your lintian overrrides are updated automatically!
The Lintian-overrider 2000 can also automatically maintain your Lintian overrides for you! It is simple, just do:
$ lintian -o <path/to/your/changes-file.changes> | \
lintian-overrider --there-are-no-issues --source-dir <path/to/unpacked/source-tree>
Alioth is ready to take your git clone (or HTTP GET) request, so go order your copy now!
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nthykier 
Why is the binary not called lintian-overrider-2000? I’m gutted.
That is a valid complaint; one would expect that. However, it retains its current name because I was lazy^W^W^W^W for backwards compatibility. I suppose one could make an alias or symlink for it.
I came to terms with it now, but it sure would have helped preserve the aura of modernity that is associated with the program.
That’s a great tool, but don’t you fear it makes unjustified overrides too easy ?
Hi Simon, thanks for the question. I have written my answer in a another cast, erh, blog post. 🙂
I would call it “Der Lintian-overrider 2000” instead. 🙂
Unfortunately, our PR department is not known for its German skills! However, they insisted that the usage of “das” (over “der”) would emphasize the quality and effeciency that is only found in German products! (Seriously though, the name wasn’t chosen for its grammatical correctness but for its onetime use in this a “TV-Shop Ad”-like post)
You were successful. The name adds a “TV-Shop Ad” quality feeling to the product. I would by the script instantly, but no expensive telephone number was provided. 😉
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