[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Debian -- tangent: RPMforge.net and "yum localinstall"

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Sun, 2005-08-21 at 19:07 -0700, Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> Dependency hell with "packages" distros is best avoided by
> sticking the a set of interoperable repositories (i.e.,
> repositories that don't step on each other) with the largest
> selection of packages.  It also helps if the repositories
> maintain packaging standards to help minimize needless
> dependencies. 
>  ...  
> But no, no package management front-end has anything to do
> with solving repository hell.
>  ...  
> A major issue with the Fedora Project continues to be the
> lack of coordination between repositories.  Although Fedora
> Extras has put forth the manpower to take submissions, most
> 3rd party repositories (e.g., DAT, FreshRPMS, etc...) still
> do not align themselves -- sans Livna.ORG (which is largely
> run by several Fedora Extra contributors, and is more about
> legally questionable things that can't go into Fedora
> Extras).  But one could argue that the Fedora Project has
> come a long way in 2 years.

Actually, I spoke too soon.  The major 3rd party repositories have just
recently gotten together and have decided to work more closely.  Billing
itself as "the 2nd party repository," hopefully this will end a lot of
repository hell in the Fedora realm.  http://rpmforge.net/about.php  

I'm sure much of it has been driven by two things.  One is the fact that
the Fedora Extras project is now very much "hands on" in formalizing its
submission and testing process.  Prior to Fedora Core 3 (basically turn
of the year), Fedora Extras was tested to the level of Red Hat's typical
process, and this left most people outside-the-loop.

Two is the fact that it is very likely that Fedora Core is going to
undergo a "de-bloating" in Fedora Core 5.  Many things are going to be
moved out of Fedora Core into Fedora Extras.  At least that is a leading
suggestion right now.  I don't know where Fedora Extras and RPMforge
intersect, but I'm hopeful.  There's a lot of knowledge in its SPEC
files for building for various disttags -- from as far back as RHL to
the latest FC.

BTW, a commonly little known option (and was still not in the man page
as of Fedora Core 3) to yum is "localinstall."  It tells yum to fetch
any dependencies from repositories that are required for a _local_ RPM.
This is very nice when you're installing 3rd party RPMs from vendors
that are built against Fedora Core, Extras, Livna.ORG, etc..., but are
not distributed for legal reasons.  E.g., Acrobat Reader.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith     b.j.smith at ieee.org     http://thebs413.blogspot.com
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