Re: New package managment

[alan@pcmagic.net]

I see a couple of gaps to fill into autoconf/automake.  I'm sure
someone will comment I'm misguided.

1) You could add packaging hints to autoconf/automake so that RPM spec
files and whatever DEB's use would be automatically generated as part of
the configure, make process.  

2) You could write some sort of meta-RPM package search engine. 
(although rpmfind does some of this)  Debian packages (I've gathered)
can search out and download their dependencies. 

That said, if you have your heart set on remaking a packager from the
ground up, I've been mulling over what it would take to flatten the
complexity of the whole configure; make; package; install; process into
one (or a few) XML dtd's.  if the XML specified a few basic items
1) environment tests (configure tests..)
2) build dependencies -- local and external
3) installation directions
you could support a gradual switch over from the current systems by
writing conversion utilities that would go from a bld-pkg-XML spec to
configure make, RPM, DEB...whatever. 

BTW. I think that to get the most universal usage out of a new
build-package system it would need some way of keeping distribution
specific configurations as well as architecture dependent packaging
configurations separately.  It would also be nice to have a method of
combining partial specs into larger specs.  Ie one person does the i386
redhat config someone else takes that and adds i386-debian install
details, etc.  

Of course, its easier to speculate than code...
Alan


-- 
Alan Chen
Aerospace Simulation Engineer and Recovering Linux Newbie
Now Running: Redhat 6.0 + Tweaks