🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <35184@adm.brl.mil>, chouinar@centrcn.umontreal.ca (Chouinard Luc) writes:
|> Is it possible to extract a single hardware-dependant file from a software
|> distribution package from SGI?.

The best way I know of currently to extract a single file
requires you to install the subsystem containing that file,
perhaps in a subtree of a scratch disk using the inst -r <root>
option, then copy out the file you need.  If the subsystem you
need has significant prerequisites, this can be expensive.  And
I've not actually personally done such an extraction, so there
might be other complications that I am unable to predict.

|> What would be perfect is if the next version of inst(1) could install software
|> on machines that have some of their package files on a rdonly-NFS mounted
|> filesytem. It could skip over NFS mounted files that are tagged has being
|> rd-only( i.e. not host private files).
|> It would give a warning for files that are not up to date (this
|> should not happen if the upgrade is started from the top of the cascade down).
|> ** This feature is also needed by other sysadmins then me ***

We are working on significant improvements in a number of areas
involving inst, including this.  I don't yet know when you will
receive the benefit of this, but we realize that it's important.

|> Ideally, a complete description of the distribution package format would
|> be greatly apreciated (Oops, what did I just said ? :-) ...

Sooner or later our distribution format should be at least one of
(1) more easily reverse engineered, (2) better documented (like,
at all :-) or (3) based on portable industry recognized
standards.  Though format changes take longer to fold into
production than do other sorts of changes.

-- 

				I won't rest till it's the best ...
				Software Production Engineer
				Paul Jackson (pj@sgi.com), x1373