OpenPKG released version 1.0!!!

[Killer_Penguin]

Now released and also available for Linux; OpenPKG, the world of cross-platform RPM-based Unix software packaging.

A flexible and powerful software packaging facility, OpenPKG eases installation and administration of Unix software across several platforms. It primarily targets the Unix platforms FreeBSD, Linux and Solaris, but is portable across mostly all modern Unix flavors. Consolidating different vendor approaches into a unified architecture, it assists in administration of large networks previously complicated by nonconformant systems.

OpenPKG leverages proven technologies like Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) and neatly provides an additional system layer on top of the operating system. It is a fully self-contained with minimal external dependencies (no RPM pre-installation required), and installs itself by means of a tricky bootstrapping procedure with minimal operating system intrusion. OpenPKG especially supports multiple installation instances on the same system.

OpenPKG was created in November 2000 and after over one year of development it is already a mature technology in production use. It is available as Open Source and is further maintained by both Ralf S. Engelschall's development team at Cable & Wireless Germany and their contributors.

For more details visit:
http://www.openpkg.org/ftp://ftp.ope...lease/1.0/SRC/

[ndogg]

When I heard about this, I thought that this was Open Packages, but this is wholly seperate. Open Packages focuses on unifying varying *BSDs packaging system and looks like it will be a cross between FreeBSD's ports system and Debian's apt.

YAPS (Yet Another Packaging System)

[Killer_Penguin]

Yeah, this one is based on RPM, and looks to unify packages across Linux/Solais/BSD, with the usage of src.rpm's and heafty spec files. I'm going ot install this on my LFS box and see how it operates...

So much effort lost... I mean, who's gonna use that? The BSD's will soon get the unified ports and packages, so they won't be needing this, Debian users have dpkg and RedHat and Mandrake users have facilities to easily install and upgrade software. What's truely needed, is a tool that will make these 3 kind of packages very easily and we could probably also use a central package location (all BSD, RPM's and DEB's packages are on the same server).

So much effort lost... I mean, who's gonna use that? The BSD's will soon get the unified ports and packages, so they won't be needing this, Debian users have dpkg and RedHat and Mandrake users have facilities to easily install and upgrade software. What's truely needed, is a tool that will make these 3 kind of packages very easily and we could probably also use a central package location (all BSD, RPM's and DEB's packages are on the same server).

I disagree, what is needed is a central system like the OpenPKG - a neat way of installing stuff (....... yes Ralinx, I love source balls to, but not anyone is like that ya know)

[Killer_Penguin]

You can still love your source balls, src.rpm's are there for you. Not only that, but it's cool for LFS sytems, a good package manager to install/use. All you have to do is add a spec file to your source tarball, and whamo, it's now an rpm.

Plus for a SA's standpoint, it would be very nice to have a unified package system across all the platforms. Ship the source off to a compile box, then install the various rpm's across the servers/workstations. Pretty cool if you ask me.

I don't see how it can become the "standard" package format though. Dpkg and apt are so tighly closed with Debian that it would seem impossible to seperate them. The same goes for RPM's and RedHat and Mandrake.

[Killer_Penguin]

I'm more concerned with using the same packages across the board with Solaris, Linux (any distro), and BSD's. A mixed platform network could really benifiet from this.

Sure dpkg and rpm are central to Redhat/debian, but for further software ontop of those, even CUSTOM sofware, with package management capability, that r0x....

Nobody says you have to use it, or even like it though...

As a secondary package manager, maybe.

[stryder144]

I'm more concerned with using the same packages across the board with Solaris, Linux (any distro), and BSD's. *A mixed platform network could really benifiet from this.

Sure dpkg and rpm are central to Redhat/debian, but for further software ontop of those, even CUSTOM sofware, with package management capability, that r0x....

Nobody says you have to use it, or even like it though...

I can definitely see an advantage to using this program (though, not to me at the present time). I think it will allow IT shops with a mixed bag of *nix machines a little bit of relief. I will definitely check it out and possibly play around with it.