Re: SEUL: Common SEUL/e-linux tools needed

[William T Wilson <fluffy@benatar.dunadan.com>]

On Thu, 8 Jan 1998, Loren S Osborn wrote:

> This is actually quite optomistic, I was hoping for 20:1, so if we can do
> 5:1, this would be great!

I was figuring 10:1 myself.  If our base system is a Pentium 166, then at
10:1 we can expect 486/33 performance.  Whee.  Don't count on playing
Quake in it.  It'd be purely for compatibility, and to show it can be
done.  :)

> I think you misunderstand:  I'm concerned (especially with end-users) of
> using something that is called an 'RPM' when what our system will install
> is a *SUBSET* of those rpm's availible (those which have our configuration

My guess is that our RPM's will be a completely different set from anybody
else's.  They won't work nicely with RedHat's RPM's, or probably with
RPM's from third parties either.  Note that a brand new package format
won't work with them at all, so this is hardly a problem.  However, as
long as we stay within the FSSTND, it shouldn't be a terrible problem.

> plug-in, and verification PGP stamp etc.) Calling our package an RPM would
> confuse the end-users as to which ones will work and which ones won't.

Ours will work, everyone else's won't.  This is hardly new.  5.0 Redhat
RPM's won't fit in a 4.0 RedHat distribtuion, and if they do, they
probably won't work.  Packages are just genearlly not very liquid things.

> Yes... A feature that not all RPM's have...

Ours will, which is what's important.  By creating a new package format,
you simply guarantee that our packages have these features.  Which is the
same as we'll do anyway.

> I admit that I need to be educated on rpm's, but my concern is we can't
> require something of all RPMs that all rpm's don't have..

This is why we need to decide, once and for all, whether we're going to
put up with RedHat's packages or just with their package format.  I just
don't believe in mixing and matching and hoping it works.  It's an
organizational nightmare, and I firmly believe that everything we
distribute should come from us.  This alleviates all manner of problems.