[packagekit] Zero Install now using PackageKit

[Thomas Leonard]

Hi all,

You might be interested to know that 0launch can now (version 0.49)
use PackageKit to install missing dependencies using the distribution
package manager.

As you may know, Zero Install is a distributed, cross-distribution
installation system in which packages are identified by globally
unique URIs. 0install shares libraries between programs and users
without conflicts, placing each package in its own directory and using
dependency injection to let each program find its dependencies.

However, 0install packages can also depend on distribution packages
and, now, can use PackageKit to install them too.

For example, if a program declares a dependency on
"http://services.sugarlabs.org/graphviz" then 0launch will use
PackageKit to install the "graphviz" package (on Debian or Fedora
systems) or the "media-gfx/graphviz" package (on Gentoo).

Dependencies can be a mixture of distribution packages and 0install
packages. They get downloaded at the same time, with progress of both
shown in a single window. Authorisation is handled through PolicyKit.

You can also have a single dependency that can be satisfied either
through a distribution package (if available and new enough), or
through a 0install download.

So, please add us to the "What projects use the PackageKit system
API?" list on the site!

For more information, see http://0install.net/

Cheers!


-- 
Dr Thomas Leonard        ROX desktop / Zero Install
GPG: 9242 9807 C985 3C07 44A6  8B9A AE07 8280 59A5 3CC1
GPG: DA98 25AE CAD0 8975 7CDA  BD8E 0713 3F96 CA74 D8BA