-dbg packages never shipped full binaries (with a few exceptions for unusual libraries); they always shipped detached debug symbols. This change just makes them automatic and puts them in a separate archive.
Did not know that, thank you. Do you know happen to know how it is done? When I pull the debian tarball for nginx (which has a -dbg package with symbol files) I see:
> dh_strip --dbg-package=nginx-$(*)-dbg
Which is the exact same command I use in my rules file. But instead of giving me a -dbg package with symbol files debuild gives me a -dbg package with the unstripped binary. Not sure what I am missing. I am following the DebugPackage guide on the Debian Wiki[1].
With current Debian, you don't need to do anything at all, and in particular you should not pass --dbg-package. Instead, dh_strip will automatically create a -dbgsym package containing detached debug symbols, if your package contains a library or binary.
Also, make sure that you build with debug symbols enabled in the first place; the default CFLAGS should do that.
Sorry, I'm not asking about current Debian. In your previous comment you mention that the symbol packages are not new. I'm wondering how people have been creating them on Debian 8.
Base docker image? Sounds like you are using docker to run a complete OS.. not sure if that's the best way to do either thing. (Container: run the app, not the OS. Need a virtual OS? run a vm..)
No, I use Docker to run a single process. You still need a base image. Some people use Alpine, some Ubuntu, some Debian and some roll their own. Here are the Debian base images:
