🚀 go-pugleaf

Manfred Bartz (mbartz@werple.net.au) wrote:
: david@brucehall20.anu.edu.au (David Gibson) writes:

: > [Snip]

: > Yes, they _could_ put these into files in a .tar.gz, but you'd need a
: > special tool - ie. other than tar - to make use of them. ......

: You need a special tool as it is now --- the Redhat Package Manager.

I don't dispute this. What I'm saying is that RPM being a nonstandard format
(although its catching on in quite a few places) - is no argument against
Redhat as opposed to Slackware. Slackware's "packages" are .tar.gz - but these
tars have extra crud in them so if you're not running slackware they're
little better than an RPM.

: > In short .tar.gz is _not_ a package format. ..........

: OK, so if you want those extra features, RPM has got something to
: offer :-)

: It would still have been nice if they would have come up with a
: solution that is readily usable by anybody, not just people who happen
: to have RPM :-(

I don't think its possible. I know of no "standard" system which has the
necessary abilities. Tars are OK for source bundles, but to my mind
they're a very poor solution for binary packaging.

The best you can do is have freely available software to extract stuff from
the rpm. As there is, either rpm, or if you just want to yank the data out
from an RPM, then rpm2cpio will do the trick.

--
David Gibson @ The Lorax	| New from Microsoft...
david%brucehall20@anu.edu.au	| 	THNEED 95
				| Which everyone, Everyone, EVERYONE needs.