Re: gnu packaging ideas

[Alfred M. Szmidt]

   (gnu-package
           (name "foo")
           (version "1.2")
           (description "This is the latest foo package")
           (dependencies ( (>= "bar" "1.2")
                           (>= "bla" "0.3")))
           (post-install (system "echo hello world")))


I know that this is just a proposal, and that the real thing will look
vastly different, but I'd like to note a couple things.

- No post/pre install/deinstall hooks (if they are needed in the
  future, then we add them)

- Dependency list, it should support something lispish.  For example,
  it would be very useful to write:

  (when (eq arch 'i386)
    (require 'foo))
  
  or 

  (when (< arch 'i686) ; Where i386, i486, i586 are all valid, but
                       ; i787 (a fictious CPU) isn't.
    (require 'bar))

  Debian has been having troubles with packages that are for specific
  architectures, and have made it really hard to express such
  relations with their syntax.

- Description, we should be able to get this directly from the Free
  Software Directory.

- A small tag that defines the `version' of the sexp-package-format;
  so if we do incompatible changes, we can fallback in a sane manner.

That is just what poped into my head, comments are as always welcome.