Package management (was Re: GNUstep repository)

[Tim Harrison]

Stefan Urbanek wrote:

> Well, as far as I have read the LSPM documentation and seen some LSPM 
> examples, it is not so similar, just the idea of package management and 
> dependencies. I was speaking about something more than that. I was 
> thinking not just about a package repositories and their mirrors, but 
> model similar to those file sharing networks like gnutella, with added 
> some kind of 'trust' for the reasons I have mentioned in my mail.

LSPM does network installation, via a remote package list.  The sites 
are specified from the main LinuxSTEP download site.  There are no 
"trust" relationships at this point, as the download sites would 
basically be mirror sites.

> Moreover I haven't seen something like ability to install LSPM packages 
> by ordinary users into their home domain.

Regular users can install into the Users domain all they wish, as well. 
 You can override the domain specified in the package.

> Also I was mentioning something more than just plain package management, 
> like making it transparent to the user sometimes (when installing some 
> apps or required not-installed services).
> See http://wiki.gnustep.org/index.php/Package%20Management.

LSPM is designed to be transparent to the user, or manipulated via 
utilities.  The code core is simply the methods for manipulating the 
packages, with an lspm binary to use.  You could call any LSPM method 
from whatever GNUstep app you're using (for example, LSPM functionality 
will be inherent in the LinuxSTEP workspace, so you'd never have to 
"see" the package management taking place).

>  From the documentation it seems to me that LSPM is just basic 
> traditional package management, or I have missed something. (This does 
> not mean, that I think of LSPM as bad)

I think you missed some things. :)  Right now, I don't think there's a 
posted version of the documentation explaining the network installation. 
 We should probably change that.  There's much more to LSPM than just 
adding, removing, and querying packages.  I think Eric's done a 
tremendous job of designing it.

If you're very interested, and want to get a good idea of what it can 
do, check the source.  I know, I know, I hate the "read the source" 
answer, in response to a call for documentation.  We'll see if we can 
fix that, and post more accurate info on LSPM on the 
developer.linuxstep.org website.  I'll probably add a link in the wiki 
as well.


--

Tim Harrison
tim@linuxstep.org
http://www.linuxstep.org/