We would like to propose the pkgfactory project, an automated open source build and packaging environment.
This project aims to create an automated/semi-automated "factory" capable of collecting open source through web crawling and web submission techniques, building and self testing that source, when possible, and delivering the resulting IPS packages into a 'pending' IPS repository for review and approval into a 'contrib' repository. This project will work in parallel with the other ongoing efforts that are currently creating/defining the contrib/pending repositories, improving the pkgbuild tools set used in the JDS project, and managing the overall package submission/management processes for OpenSolaris. We would like to request that the Installation and Packaging community sponsor this project. The initial project team will start out as Nico Williams and Doug Leavitt, with others to join shortly. I, Doug Leavitt, can serve as the preferred point of contact for the project. Details: The main goal of this project is to eventually build a factory that will automatically collect, build and deliver as much open source as possible. This includes refreshing and adding new open source projects as changes are found. This includes eventually monitoring all known repositories and building the maximal amount of legitimate open source that can be found using the build environment/tools applicable to the source. This project also expects to work with the other ongoing repository creation and arc/project management efforts to make sure that the factory does not duplicate work of, or conflict with other OpenSolaris efforts. We currently estimate there to be between 125,000-250,000 existing open source projects that have been developed or are under developent today. A vast majority of those components are not getting attention by someone in the OpenSolaris community. They run the gamut of languages including, C, C++, Python, Perl, Java, php, C# (Mono), fortran, et cetera. Many are built today, on other Linux/*BSD platforms, using a variety of automated tools such as rpmbuild (spec files), ebuild (portage), debian(dpkg/buildd), *BSD (pkgsrc/ports). In this project we plan to use Open Solaris technologies and the ongoing work of others to help deliver as much open source as possible to the OpenSolaris project IPS repositories, in a similar automated manner. A very simple prototype using Python, the JDS pkgbuild system, currently generates and uses spec files to build greater than 800 libraries/tools using the Automake "configure" model for builds, about 9000 Perl components, and hundreds of python or other components. We hope to increase that number substantially as the tools get better.
