sniffit

Blake Barnett plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
Mon, 2 Jul 2001 12:05:25 -0700


Besides, since the LSB (www.linuxbase.org) has decided on RPM as the
standard format, in the future you should nearly always be able to get an
RPM for a linux package.  Regardless of distribution.  RPM is a good package
format, it has it's strengths and weaknesses.  I'm just glad the LSB finally
got a standard out the door.

from Chapter 13 of the Specification:
"Applications should be provided in the RPM packaging format as defined in
the appendix of Maximum RPM, with some restrictions listed below. [1]

Distributions must provide a mechanism for installing applications in this
packaging format with some restrictions listed below. [2]"

What worries me is that distributions like Slackware and Debian which have
their own dependancy system, will not integrate the RPMs into the system
which will lead to conflicting RPM/DEB/TGZ packages.  I hope someone
addresses this quickly and gets it added to the spec.

* Blake


-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Bradford [mailto:bradford@dbxmlgroup.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2001 12:41 PM
To: plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
Subject: Re: sniffit


Eric Van Buskirk wrote:
> It is good to have it installed, but I don't feel as good about it as I
> could.  Just as I don't like being spoon fed by Bill Gates, I don't like
> being spoonfed by rpm.  Hence I wish I knew why it would not work the
> old-fashioned way.

At the same time, RPMs are partly why Linux is as popular as it is
today.  There is a good cross-section of the Linux community that uses
Linux to actually get stuff done, and sitting around waiting for builds,
and/or trying to get builds to actually work is incredibly
non-productive.  I'd rather install an RPM or use apt-get than waste
time with source tarballs any day.  

-- 
Tom Bradford --- The dbXML Project --- http://www.dbxml.org/
We store your XML data a hell of a lot better than /dev/null
________________________________________________
See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post
to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail.

PLUG-discuss mailing list  -  PLUG-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss