## hpr0733 :: Linux Packaging Systems (too many)

 Packaging systems:
   rpm, rpm5,  deb/dpkg,  ebuild,  compressed files (archlinux),  pisi,  .tgz (tar.gz file)  slackware/vector linux,  .tlz (Vector Linux)
Package managers:
   Program		Distro(s)	website		notes
   apt 		debian 
   conary		Foresight Liux/rPath company 	handles distributed repositories, commit/rollback
   entropy		Sabayon				consists of Equo client (textual), Sulfur client (graphical) 
   kpackagekit	kubuntu				uses policykit (any problems if booted computer from a live cd and mounted and chroot'd?)
   opkg		openmoko			lightweight; based on ipkg
   pacman		archlinux
   pirut		fedora				it calls yum so it's just a gui wrapper? not sure how widely used...?
   pisi		pardus (Turkish distro)		was based on gentoo. as far as I can tell it now uses its own pkg format
   poldek		Fedora				RPM
   portage		gentoo				ebuilds,
   slapt		slackware			tgz
   slapt		vectorlinux			tlz;
   smart		UnityLinux			RPM5
   synaptic	ubuntu				DEB; graphical frontend to apt
   urpmi		mandriva			RPM
   yum		redhat/fedora			RPM
   zypper		opensuse			RPM
Other useful links:
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software_package_management_systems
   https://www.packagekit.org/pk-matrix.html
apt - https://wiki.debian.org/Apt
   conary - https://wiki.rpath.com/wiki/Conary
   entropy - https://wiki.sabayon.org/index.php?title=En:Entropy
   kpackagekit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPackageKit, https://www.packagekit.org
   opkg - https://code.google.com/p/opkg/
   pacman - https://www.archlinux.org/pacman/
   pirut - https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/F8_User_Guide_-_Managing_Software_with_Pirut
   pisi - https://en.pardus-wiki.org/Making_Pisi_Packages
   poldek - https://poldek.pld-linux.org/
   portage - https://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=1
   slapt - https://vectorlinux.osuosl.org/docs/vl58/manuals/vl5_slaptget_en.html
   smart - https://niemeyer.net/smart
   synaptic - https://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/ 
   urpmi - https://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Tools/urpmi
   yum - https://yum.baseurl.org/
   zypper - https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Zypper

Concerns:
   1) package burn out - will it get to the point where only either large distros or commercial distros have large repos due to the effort involved?
   2) I've lost track of the number of times i've heard from people  'our distro doesn't have enough manpower to package ...'
   wouldn't it be helpful to not have to use our limited manpower in building redundant packages?
   3) in 10 (or less) years when non-technical people take over at Redhat/Ubuntu/other large distro,  will they use the package system as a club to beat the other distros with? I'm not sure how, but where money is involved, you can feel assured it _will_ happen.
   4) current state of packaging systems in linux is like sound systems were 10 yrs ago.
   remember esd vs arts vs vs ...? each desktop environment had its own system.  sound in linux was painful and a complete joke.  it still has a ways to go but it's _SO_ much better now that it was.  does anyone want to go back to that?
   pulseaudio isn't perfect but it's so much better than what we had before.  and it's ONE system!
   can you image if printing and authentication were like the packaging systems?   image if everyone had their own printing system instead of CUPs?   imagine if there was no pam.d?
   5) I believe packaging systems are NOT about choice. the exact opposite. it's about vendor lockin and NIH. 
   (we'll do it OUR way because we can do it better or the 'proper' way.  "so-and-so does blah, which is
   completely stupid")
   choice is being able to write a script in php,perl,python,bash,csh,... on the SAME system. 
   that's choice 
   because I can CHOOSE.  If I have a debian box I can't choose to use RPM or ebuilds, same for those other systems.
   of the systems I've used: deb,  rpm, rpm5, portage,  (and tarballs if you count linuxfromscratch)
   and the managers I've used: yum, urpmi, smart, kpackagekit, synaptic, apt-get, emerge
   each system has little features the others don't. but there is nothing that one system has that couldn't be added to the others. 