On Sat, 8 Oct 2005, Martin 'MC' Brown wrote:
> >
> > Unfortunately, we can't update that when we deliver new versions in
> > patches, so relying on the DESC field is not useful. There is no
> > generic way to find the "upstream" version of software in a Solaris
> > package - you have to rely on the software to have a -v or --version
> > or equivalent.
>
> And that is precisely my point. Or at least one of them.
>
> The problem with the package management system as it stands is that
> it has changed little since Solaris 2 was first released and it is
> almost entirely geared towards installing Sun-sourced software. This
> is why we have the mismatch between the package version (which is the
> version of the package, not the version of the software you are
> installing) and the actual version of the software.
>
> If you only ever install strict Sun packages (i.e. those purely
> pertaining to the OS and the core Solaris group) then the package
> versioning and management features make sense. Once you start
> including third-party products (including those bundled by Sun as
> well as those from SunFreeware and Blastwave) it starts to get
> confusing.
>
> I've been using Solaris since it was first released, I know the
> issues and the history. But for a user migrating from Linux or even
> BSD, the package management and version information, combined with
> multiple potential sources for pre-packaged software, and even the
> same versions of a product (Perl say) from multiple sources, all of
> which install into different locations, is just a complete and
> confusing mess.
>
> This is only going to get worse with OpenSolaris as we're going to
> get more people providing and supporting the package installation
> method and more and more users wanting to install pre-packaged
> versions of popular FOSS software.
>
> We need some coherence, some improvements to the package management
> software and the data that it stores, and a service that can combine
> together the efforts of all the groups into a reliable way of finding
> and ultimately installing the software.
Agreed. Your post(s) was well written and well reasoned.
> As far as I know the package management tools aren't out there yet,
> but they will certainly be on my list of things to investigate and
> hopefully improve or extend.
Excellent.
Regards,
Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT
OpenSolaris.Org Community Advisory Board (CAB) Member - Apr 2005
_______________________________________________
opensolaris-discuss mailing list
[email protected]
