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List:       familiar-dev
Subject:    Re: [Familiar-dev] simple ipkg questions so i can start documenting
From:       Jamey Hicks <jamey.hicks () hp ! com>
Date:       2003-11-20 13:47:31
Message-ID: 1069336050.11557.31.camel () vimes ! crl ! hpl ! hp ! com
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On Thu, 2003-11-20 at 08:24, Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>   in my attempt to clarify some aspects of ipkg (and actually make a
> start on documenting some of it), i have a number of, in some case
> trivial, questions, but i'm going to ask them anyway.  if there's a better
> forum for user-level queries, feel free to point me there.
> 
>   first, as i read it, ipkg supports three formats of .ipk file:
> 
>   1) gzipped tar file
>   2) ar-wrapped file
>   3) official .deb file

2 and 3 are actually the same format.  I think format 1 was introduced
because we did not have an small 'ar' implementation that would run on
the iPAQ.

>   i'm aware that some have complained about the first format, pointing
> out that it's fairly wasteful to gzip/tar in this case.  but, in any case, is this
> the complete list of .ipk formats?

This is the complete list, unless someone adds support for RPM format.

>   (and related to the above, i noticed that the current ipkg-build utility
> creates specifically the gzipped tar format, which is why i've written 
> my own version of ipkg-build which incorporates a switch for that,
> uses "mktemp" for grabbing a temp directory for the build, etc.  just
> some personal enhancements.)

Only the old ipkg-build creates the gzipped tar format.  The new one has
used the ar/deb format for at least a year.

Most recent release of this:
ftp://ftp.handhelds.org/packages/ipkg-utils/ipkg-utils-030915.tar.gz
In CVS: cvs.handhelds.org:/cvs co ipkg-utils

>   next, of all the possible values in the "control" file, is it true that only
> six are required?  (these is the list from what i read in the current
> ipkg-build.)
> 
>   Package:
>   Version:
>   Architecture:
>   Maintainer:
>   Description:
>   Section:
Also the following two are required:
    Priority:
    Source: 

>   regarding other directives, i see the list:
> 
>   Depends:
>   Provides:
>   Conflicts:
>   Replaces:
> 
> is there any detailed description of the format of these directives, 
> particularly with respect to version numbering?  should i just download
> and rip apart some existing ipk's to see how it's done properly?

The semantics of these field is specified by the Debian Policy Manual,
in particular this section:
  http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-controlfields.html

>   regarding /etc/ipkg.conf, beyond the "src" and "dest" directives, what
> else is allowed there?  can someone explain that "arch" directive?  i'm still
> not clear on how it works.

  option <name> <value>

Most command line flags are available as options, using the long forms
of their names.

  src <name> <url>

  src/gz <name> <url>
(like src but fetches Packages.gz)

  dest <name> <dir>

  arch <name> <priority>
  
>   regarding the control file, i notice also from ipkg-build that there's a choice
> of looking for either a DEBIAN or CONTROL directory.  why DEBIAN?  is
> there some historical precedent for this?  is it to be compatible with the 
> debian .deb construction?  just curious, since i'm an RPM person.
> 

I think there must have been some historical precedent for it.  I would
say that it is a deprecated option, along with .tar.gz ipk files.  In
fact, with Familiar 0.8 I would like to set a policy that none of the
packages in the Familiar distribution are in .tar.gz format, and to drop
.tar.gz support from ipkg in Familiar 0.8 or 0.9.

Jamey


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