WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

Alad · 2014-05-30 20:39:58

Hi,

I didn't find any related articles, so I've decided to start work on one:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Us … tributions

Looking for any input (especially about Fedora/RPM). Even telling me such an article would be useless.

Cheers,
Alad

Last edited by Alad (2014-05-30 20:41:08)

karol · 2014-05-30 22:36:31

If you're creating packages for Fedora, I suppose you have Fedora installed (if only for testing purposes), so why not use the tools it provides?
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_c … PM_package

kynikos · 2014-05-31 00:38:33

I think it's a nice idea if the article ends up being a collection of links to the documentation maintained by the other distros, at most with some brief, generic instructions/examples where they fit. If instead the idea is "ArchWiki-fying" (merely duplicating) the docs that the other distros are maintaining, it's going to be a waste of time and resources.

Trilby · 2014-05-31 00:45:07

Interesting you should post this today. I just started working on 'porting' makepkg to debian (makedeb). My goal as described here is to have a tool that can turn something very much like a PKGBUILD (DEBBUILD, RPMBUILD) into a package for those distros.

My approach will currently run only on the target distro. So perhaps this is a bit of the inverse of your method (me using arch PKGBUILDs in debian to make a .deb rather than you using a tool in archlinux to make a .deb).

I have a bit of a "proof of concept" example that works as intended here and I've now modified the actual makepkg script from pacman to create a full featured (but yet untested) makedeb script.

I'd love to have a tool to make fully compatible .deb or .rpm packages from within archlinux, but I know very little about those packaging standards, and had grown a bit frustrated with their (lack of and/or confusing) documentation while I was trying figure it out.

Last edited by Trilby (2014-05-31 00:46:02)

kynikos · 2014-05-31 00:57:01

Uh that sounds like a fantastic project Trilby! Alad, your article seems to be a fertile idea, you should move it to the Main namespace now so that everyone can contribute more freely.

Alad · 2014-05-31 02:59:20

Thanks for the interest;

@karol: Thanks, I'll work from there

@kynikos: That's how I planned it (collecting links, AUR packages and brief instructions); the "Stub" article is now moved:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cr … tributions

@Trilby: Nice idea! It seems to me that especially the Debian packaging standards are hard-to-reach, with the infamous Debian Policy. If I may make a suggestion I'd use cowbuilder or pbuilder on the user's system, so they can build in a clean chroot (more chance the package will work for other users) and have no need to uninstall dependencies (though they then have the footprint of another base Debian system)

Last edited by Alad (2014-05-31 03:12:09)

Trilby · 2014-05-31 03:25:33

Thanks I'll have to look into that. The first search results I get from that are like most other debian documentation sources for building packages: it describes how to *rebuild* a package that has already been "debianized". Checkinstall was the first (and so far only) tool I've found that actually helped "debianize" an upstream source package.

Alad · 2014-05-31 05:27:06

Added some links + AUR packages for Debian

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cr … ons#Debian

For "debianizing", see:

dh-make — Tool that converts source archives into Debian package source

Arch Linux

#1 2014-05-30 20:39:58

WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

#2 2014-05-30 22:36:31

Re: WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

#3 2014-05-31 00:38:33

Re: WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

#4 2014-05-31 00:45:07

Re: WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

#5 2014-05-31 00:57:01

Re: WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

#6 2014-05-31 02:59:20

Re: WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

#7 2014-05-31 03:25:33

Re: WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

#8 2014-05-31 05:27:06

Re: WIP: Creating packages for other distributions

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