On Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 10:10 PM, Sriram Narayanan <sriramnrn at gmail.com> wrote: > Hello list: > > I'm posting the various thoughts that we've had over the past year or > so with respect to a change in packaging. Some of these are points > that have come up in discussions. > > We need a new package format because: > - There are several serious issues (as per Moinak) that were pointed > out about SVR4 in the ARC case for IPS. > - There are widely known and accepted package formats from other > distros and communities (RPM, Deb, etc) which we could leverage. > - Formats that we could consider are RPM and Deb. > > RPM > RPM seems the most interesting format at the moment because: > - popular and widely known package format > - lots of tools (yum, smart, etc) which are RPM aware > - active maintenance, development and feature additions. > > > Deb > - We may explore this too > - Nexenta have done good work here > - Debian Community's opposition in the past is a matter of concern. > ? ? ? - Need clarity on their position. > ? ? ? - Need to make time and interact with the Debian community >
Hi, My 2 cents. I think it would make sense to use dpkg. Technically, it offers everything rpm does.. and equal if not more packages in the upstream repository. Is there any particular technical feature that makes rpm more appealing than dpkg for Belenix? * Nexenta's dpkg is tested, enhanced (system level checkpoints: apt-clone), and used in production. * There a significant number of packages already prepared in .deb format. It makes sense to have the same packaging format, if nothing else than for having some level of inter-distro compatibility. * Going with RPM would mean re-implementing/porting work already accomplished on an equivalent packaging format. * Belenix has been known for it's focus on the KDE desktop.. utilizing dpkg would mean you can concentrate more on this rather than on working out system/package architecture. As far as legal concerns go, there are none.. Nexenta's set of utilities are licensed under CDDL, and all repository packages are released under their own licenses. If there is perceived opposition with the debian community, I don't see a clear basis for it. Thanks, Anil
