[1677] in SIPB_Linux_Development
Re: Making system packs an option in the RedHat 4.2 install procedure
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aaron Ucko)
Sun May 25 21:11:25 1997
To: Erik Nygren <nygren@MIT.EDU>
Cc: Salvatore Valente <svalente@MIT.EDU>, linux-dev@MIT.EDU
From: Aaron Ucko <amu@MIT.EDU>
Date: 25 May 1997 18:24:35 -0500
In-Reply-To: Erik Nygren's message of Sun, 25 May 1997 14:47:16 EDT
Erik Nygren <nygren@MIT.EDU> writes:
> > This is a nice little system that's easy to create, not too difficult
> > to maintain, and allows people a lot of flexibility about what they
> > install locally and they run off the system packs. As they say in
> > action movies, "let's do it."
>
> Sal's plan sounds good to me. Maybe now that classes are
> over, we should schedule a linux-dev meeting to talk
> about where we are going and what we want to do and change?
I'm out of town now, and won't return until June 8; I'd be interested
in a meeting after my return, though. Sal's model makes some sense,
but also means we still have to worry about making sure every file is
in a package and about issuing new versions of packages when we make
changes. I've been thinking of a different model, which replaces
those problems with different ones.
My model involves a program tentatively named spm (for "system pack
manager"). It would have a number of operations, including the following:
localize: replace symlinks to file(s), group(s) of files, or
'everything' on the system pack with copies of the files; record an
MD5 checksum of the copied files in some local database.
delocalize: replace copies of file(s), group(s) of files, or
'everything' on the system pack with symlinks; if the local version
does not match the checksum, rename it to something based on the name
and possibly the time rather than simply unlinking it.
update files: basically equivalent to delocalizing and relocalizing
them.
update symlinks: remove stale symlinks and add symlinks to files which
exist on the system pack but not locally.
As I mentioned, it would also involve named groups of files;
information about the groups' (pseudo-packages') contents would be
stored somewhere on the syspack.
Thoughts?
--
Aaron M. Ucko (amu@mit.edu) | For Geek Code, PGP public key, and other info,
finger amu@monk.mit.edu. | "Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous.
Do not attempt it in your home." -- T. Pratchett & N. Gaiman, _Good Omens_
