[packagekit] Bundles

[Elliot Peele]

On Wed, Jun 04, 2008 at 04:55:41PM +0100, Richard Hughes wrote:
> We talked very recently about one click install files, and how people
> were much more comfortable installing distro provided packages when the
> distro provides a package natively.
> 
> There's one use case that I'm very interested in, and that is getting
> new users with the correct environment to build and start hacking on
> software.
> 
> For instance, on www.packagekit.org in the FAQ section, we can have an
> entry:
> 
> Q: What development files do you need to compile PackageKit?
> A: Click <a href="packagekit.bundle>here</a> to get started.
> 
> Now, this .bundle file would be handled by a PackageKit helper
> (gpk-install-bundle) that would parse this file and cause the
> appropriate packages to be installed if they are not already installed.
> 
> This rocks as we can get GTK+, Xorg hackers up to speed with the minimum
> of fuss. It also lets people put links on webpages to "install all the
> stuff you need" when writing a "how to use a scanner in GIMP" howto.
> 
> So, what does a .bundle file look like?
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> [PackageKit Bundle]
> 
> # Just a package on all versions of fedora that can provide the dependency.
> # If there are multiple packages then the user will be asked to choose
> InstallProvides(fedora)=audio/QCELP
> 
> # Just for Fedora 9, install two development files
> InstallPackages(fedora-9)=glib2-devel;PolicyKit-gnome-devel
> 
> # On any distro, install the package with this file
> InstallFiles=/usr/bin/fontinst
> 
> # For each architecture on Fedora 8, install one of the two different compat files
> InstallFiles(fedora-8-i686)=/usr/lib/pango/1.6.0/modules/pango-arabic-fc.so
> InstallFiles(fedora-8-x64)=/usr/lib64/pango/1.6.0/modules/pango-arabic-fc.so
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> 
> You'll notice the bit in the ()'s - this lets a distro fine tune the
> packagename, where for instance in Debian it's called policykit and
> Fedora PolicyKit.
> 
> The bit's in between the () is the distro-id - which we also use in
> other places already. PK will process all the entries that apply, with
> the depth specified by the number of dashes.
> 
> There's also no version checking - intentionally - the distro should be
> specified and have the correct data. If there's an optional package not
> in earlier versions then you can do something like this:
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> [PackageKit Bundle]
> 
> # Fedora 9 does not have Unique
> InstallPackages(fedora-9)=glib2-devel;gvfs-devel;dbus-glib-devel;NetworkManager-glib-devel;PolicyKit-devel;gtk2-devel;libsexy-devel;libglade2-devel;libnotify-devel;PolicyKit-gnome-devel
> 
> # Rawhide is fedora 9.90
> InstallPackages(fedora-9.90)=glib2-devel;gvfs-devel;dbus-glib-devel;NetworkManager-glib-devel;PolicyKit-devel;gtk2-devel;libsexy-devel;libglade2-devel;libnotify-devel;PolicyKit-gnome-devel;unique-devel
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> 
> There's also no description of the bundle that needs localising, or any
> kind of introduction that needs translating and verifying - they are
> just lists of packages, files and provides that might be useful. All the
> translations come from the distro metadata, and it's up to the user to
> verify the package lists that are asked to be installed.
> 
> Note: this isn't designed to replace one click install, it just does
> something that is similar in a different way. We can layer on a OCI
> layer later (if people want to) for stuff not in core repos when we add
> RepoAdd and RepoRemove.
> 
> Nothing is in git yet, although I have a working prototype in a local
> branch. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Why not just do pure file requires? Package names are in no way
consistent between distros.

Elliot

-- 
Elliot Peele
elliot at bentlogic.net