Re: Goals for first release (June/USENIX)

[Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

:James Frazer wrote:
:
:> I'm wondering if this first release is going to include much in the way
:> of pre-compiled packages?  Because my old box just doesn't have the
:> steam to compile everything from ports.
:
:as soon, as we have a real package system, i will build binary packages.
:
:~ibotty

    You know, actually when I think about it, we do not really need to
    have a fully working packaging system in order to have fully working
    binary packages.

    If we use the /opt idea as a basis, then a binary package is simply
    a tar of /opt/<packageandver> directory.  The ONLY thing we really need
    to be able to use such a tar file is a parser for 
    /opt/<pkgandver>/ENVIRONMENT which builds the symlinks and varsyms.

    Installation of the binary package would simply be untar'ing it into
    /opt and running a utility that parse ENVIRONMENT and builds (or unbuilds)
    the softlinks/varsyms.

    Most packages would have really simple environmental rules, allowing
    the ENVIRONMENT file to be written manually.

    Hmm.  The more I think about this, the fewer roadblocks I see to 
    actually making some binary packages available to people.  We don't
    VFS environments to make basic packages work, we do not need a build
    subsystem to make binary package tars work if we use the /opt methodology,
    and we need only construct a minimal parser for
    /opt/<pkgandver>/ENVIRONMENT to do the hookups.

					-Matt
					Matthew Dillon 
					<dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>