This is an (incomplete) list of currently provided APIs by dpkg, and
their supported status.


What: libdpkg.a (C static library)
Status: volatile
Description:
 The API provided by this library is highly volatile, still in the process
 of being cleaned up. It's only supposed to be used internally by dpkg for
 now. Header files, functions, variables and types might get renamed,
 removed or change semantics. If you still have a need to use it, which
 you'd be doing anyway, say by locally building dpkg to get the library,
 then define the C preprocessor macro LIBDPKG_VOLATILE_API in your build
 to acknowledge that fact.

What: libdpkg-perl (perl modules)
Status: stable
Description:
 Among the perl modules provided by libdpkg-perl, you can safely rely on
 those that have $VERSION set to 1.00 (or higher). Note however that the
 API is defined by what's documented in the corresponding manual pages and
 nothing more. You can't assume anything else based on what you read in
 the source code. If you feel the need for further refinements in the
 documented API, don't hesitate to file a wishlist bug against
 libdpkg-perl.
 .
 In case of API-breaking changes, the major number in $VERSION will be
 increased. For API extensions, the minor number will be increased.

What: custom changelog parsers in /usr/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog
Status: stable
Version: 2.0
Description:
 Since dpkg 1.14.16, the set of command line options that custom
 changelog parsers must support has been expanded (see
 dpkg-parsechangelog(1)). For compatibility, changelog parsers supporting
 only the old options are supported in lenny. In lenny+1, that support
 will be dropped.
 .
 For reference, only the -v option was supported in version 1.0 of this
 API.