Package: release.debian.org User: [email protected] Usertags: transition Control: affects -1 + src:gdk-pixbuf X-Debbugs-Cc: [email protected]
In the middle of last year, gdk-pixbuf switched its default image loaders to use glycin. [1] The Debian GNOME team has prepared packaging in experimental and is ready to upload this change to Unstable. This isn't a typical transition: there is no soname bump and nothing needs to be rebuilt. Since gdk-pixbuf is fundamental to graphics for everything that uses GTK, I thought it best to keep the Release Team informed and to ask for approval to proceed. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (devel) is switching gdk-pixbuf to glycin now also. Generally speaking, glycin supports as many image formats [2] as the legacy gdk-pixbuf loaders. It actually supports a few more (like OpenEXR). There are some obscure formats that are not supported, like qtif (QuickTime) and icns (historically used by macOS but Apple is recommending Asset catalogs instead). Both of those formats were moved to gdk-pixbuf's "others" category in 2024 and disabled by default upstream since they weren't well supported. (Debian had been continuing to include those loaders until now.) Debian's gdk-pixbuf continues to support the xbm/xpm format which is still used for older X apps. There is one format supported by glycin upstream that Debian's glycin doesn't yet support: JPEG2000. This format hasn't been supported by Debian's gdk-pixbuf for a decade, but will be supported soon (waiting on NEW queue processing). [3] glycin is already used in Debian 13 for GNOME's new default image viewer, loupe. We have enabled glycin for all Debian release architectures (excluding loong64 because it is still being bootstrapped). For simplicity, we are still using the legacy loaders instead of glycin on all Debian ports. glycin requires rustc. glycin's packaging also currently requires up-to-date gtk4 but that can be fixed later. A few Debian packages will need adjustments in their build tests for gdk-pixbuf+glycin. Examples: - mat2 needs a Debian upload to disable 2 tests https://salsa.debian.org/pkg-privacy-team/mat2/-/merge_requests/7 - webp-pixbuf-loader is an example of a package whose only purpose was to extend gdk-pixbuf's native loaders. It needed its autopkgtests and build tests disabled. I expect we'll keep this package in unstable only since it can be used by ports but otherwise is useless in Debian. - denemo has a build test and autopkgtest failure [4] but denemo is not in Testing All other triggered autopkgtests appear to pass. Some other autopkgtests may fail because their packages indirectly depend on gdk-pixbuf through gtk. [1] https://blogs.gnome.org/sophieh/2025/06/13/making-gnomes-gdkpixbuf-image-loading-safer/ [2] https://gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org/glycin/#supported-image-formats [3] https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=815612 [4] https://bugs.debian.org/1127039 On behalf of the Debian GNOME team, Jeremy Bícha
