Hi,
Here is a summary of the proposal for a common source file format:
- Good idea!
- Waste of time, Use configure; make; make install, Most packages are for Unix, not
only Linux.
- Source management problems, no-one is interested in BOTH .rpms and .debs! What about
experimental versions?
- For experimental packages, use dselect to put a hold on the new version.
- For debian, directory structure is important, not .dsc files.
- Good suggestion, decision is up to the package author!!
- How to ensure the .spec files are valid and functional?
- Reducing incompatibility between the variants of the GNU/Linux OS'es is a useful job.
- Hard to build good rpm's and deb's. Install to standard directories? What about FHS??
- GNU people participating in LSB work?
- Debian is not GNU!?
- After rms comments about LSB/GNU/Linux/... this thread turned into a flame war!! No
more comments of technical nature any more. Sorry I thought it was an idea worth a
better faith!!
Binary formats:
- Alien can be used, at least from .rpm to .deb
- rpm format to be used for binary packages in LSB.
People who replied:
Iain Wade <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
George Toft <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Oliver Elphick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Adam C Powell IV <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
cyberclay <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Richard Stallman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Chris Siebenmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Daniel Quinlan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Flaming replies not included!!
PS.
This mail has been written using GNU Emacs and VM. Wonderful software. What about
gemacs,
a gnomified version!?
DS.
Happy New Millennium to everybody!
Best regards,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Svante Signell writes:
> Greetings,
>
> What do you think of the following proposal:
>
> I order to simplify for package authors/maintainers and to reduce
> duplication, distribute the source file packages in .tar.gz (or .tar.bz2)
> format. This avoids the need to provide both .tar.gz, .src.rpm and
> debian source files.
>
> Included in these tarballs add .spec and .dsc files together with
> the original .tar.gz package and .diff.gz files. Then everybody
> interested can build source/binary files for their own preferred
> distribution using the same source files!!
>
> Also the GNU packages could contain .deb and .spec files, as is
> already the case (.spec-files) for gnome packages.
>
> Advantages
> ==========
> ++ Enables convergence towards Linux Standard Base (LSB)
> ++ Simplifies a lot for package maintainers, distribution specific
> files, .spec, .dsc etc could be supplied by the different vendors.
> ++ Faster feedback to package authors for patches incorporated into
> the main distribution.
> ++ Reduces the risk for patch divergence. (A lot of
> distribution-specific patches)
> + Useful for all .rpm-based systems, rpm -t? is already there.
> + Useful for all .deb-based systems, with minor changes in relevant tools.
> + Useful for .tar.gz-based systems, no changes necessary.
> + ...
>
> Drawbacks
> =========
> - No easy way to see if .spec and .dsc files are included in the
> .tar.gz package (except using tar, but that requires a download)
> - Distribution profiling more difficult :-(
> - Package naming has to be agreed upon!!
> - ...
>
> Another issue is to merge the binary file formats .deb and .rpm :-(
>
> I'm currently running Rawhide, Redhat 6.1, Debian 2.2, Suse 6.3 and
> Mandrake 6.1 on different computers and disks, and would really
> appreciate a common format at least for source packages. Most often I
> recompile the sources myself.
>
> Please feel free to forward this mail to other interested parties not
> reached by the list here. I would like to start the discussion on this
> subject. No flame wars please!
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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