Laszlo (Laca) Peter writes:
> (cc'ing install-discuss)
>
> On Fri, 2007-01-05 at 16:15 +0000, Darren J Moffat wrote:
> > exactly which needed features are those that rpm has that pkgadd does
> > not ?
>
> One feature that's missing, and would be infinitely useful for
> online package repositories, is >= style version checking in
> dependencies. E.g. if I have an xchat package that was compiled
> against GNOME 2.16, I'd like to say in the depend file that it
> needs SUNWgnome-base-libs >= 2.16.0.
It's not missing from the underlying packaging standards -- see
pkginfo(4) and depend(4).
What's missing is that (a) we don't use it ourselves so you generally
won't find such dependencies in Sun-produced software and (2) the
tools themselves generally don't use the information.
So, you can say it in the depend file if you want, but some work will
be needed to make it actually _do_ something useful.
Historically, we've taken a different approach here. Instead of
attempting to handle these microscopic dependencies (which, at least
in my experience, although "obvious" from the outset, quickly become
quite unwieldy in practice), we rest the software stability on a set
of architectural rules. Among those are:
- If you rely on something special, then it's up to you to arrange
for simultaneous delivery of that 'something' so that customers
aren't left scrambling to figure out how to use your software.
(E.g., by patch dependencies and/or by special install scripts.)
- Incompatible and disruptive change occurs only in particular kinds
of (relatively infrequent) releases.
I think the process we've been using has a more robust and predictable
result in general, but I suppose I'm willing to be proven wrong by
some really snazzy inter-dependency checker. :->
--
James Carlson, KISS Network <james.d.carlson at sun.com>
Sun Microsystems / 1 Network Drive 71.232W Vox +1 781 442 2084
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