Re: SEUL: TurboLinux

[jfm2@club-internet.fr]

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   Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 00:41:09 -0700
   From: Erik Walthinsen <omega@aracnet.com>
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   > Doesn't RPM do that as well in later versions? (I don't know in what extent
   > this is implemented in current RPM-packages though.)

   Exactly the problem.  RPM has dependencies, but they appear to be used 
   incorrectly in many (read: most) cases.  In some packages (gpm-devel for
   example), dependencies are given in the form of a package (gpm).  In others
   (NetKit-B), dependencies seem to be a list of library files (libpam.so.0,
   etc.).  And very few packages seem to include the obvious one, libc.so.X.

When building an RPM you can include a list of provided and required
features.  Also a package automatically provides its own name.  If you
have shared executables or libraries in your file they automatically
require or provide the libname.so.X feature.  You can put conditions
on versions ie libc >= 5.3 and libc < 6.0.

If you use interpreters then you must require them by hand.

In my experience redhat RPMs tend to be good but some of the RPMs in
the redhat-contrib are so broken I have ended to download only SRPMs
so I can hack them and produce correct RPMs.

   If we are going to implement a viable form of dependency tracking for our 
   packages, we must decide on one form or another, stick to it, and use it 
   verbosely.  If something compiles and uses libc in any way, we need to track 
   that fact.  Nevermind that libc is a standard thing, it's a standard thing 
   that is still changing (try running Netscape with the wrong libc...).  Thus
   versioning is important as well.

RPM provides versionning, and it is samrt enough to automatically
detect the shared libraries needed or required by your package.


I do not know how easy or difficult it is to build packages with dpkg
so far the only alternative to RPM.

-- 
			Jean Francois Martinez

==================== The Linux.  Use the Linux, Luke! =======================

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