Arch Linux

Gingko

Member

Registered: 2015-07-04

Posts: 17

Accessory files in packages

Hello,

Is it possible to include files in a package which would not be installed anywhere, and which would be not one of the .PKGINFO, .INSTALL or .MTREE files, but which would be made available to the .INSTALL script for its own usage and which would be deleted afterwards (or maybe kept in the installation directory)?

For example reference files for comparisons, special scripts written in other languages (python, perl, php, awk, etc), files to be installed very conditionally by the script itself, etc.

Otherwise I suppose that I can include some (base64 encoded if binary) heredoc files inside the script, and have the script extract the files from that, but I hope that this kind of hack will not be necessary...

Regards,

Gingko

Allan

Pacman

From: Brisbane, AU

Registered: 2007-06-09

Posts: 11,392

Website

Re: Accessory files in packages

No.

---

PGP Key: F99FFE0FEAE999BD

Gingko

Member

Registered: 2015-07-04

Posts: 17

Re: Accessory files in packages

No one could express more clearly a limitation.

Gingko

Trilby

Inspector Parrot

Registered: 2011-11-29

Posts: 29,530

Website

Re: Accessory files in packages

For example reference files for comparisons, special scripts written in other languages (python, perl, php, awk, etc), files to be installed very conditionally by the script itself, etc.

I appreciate the effort to provide an example, but all of these are far to vague to actually see a possible use case.  Can you please describe what you really want to accomplish?

Otherwise I suppose that I can include some (base64 encoded if binary) heredoc files...

Upon reading your first line, I was pondering *short* heredocs in an install file as a possibility.  But if you put base64 encoded binary - especially executable - into an install file and try to run it on user's systems, you should most definitely expect flaming bags of dog crap to show up on your door step (or worse) - and some of them will be from me.

---

"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

Gingko

Member

Registered: 2015-07-04

Posts: 17

Re: Accessory files in packages

For example reference files for comparisons, special scripts written in other languages (python, perl, php, awk, etc), files to be installed very conditionally by the script itself, etc.

I appreciate the effort to provide an example, but all of these are far to vague to actually see a possible use case.  Can you please describe what you really want to accomplish?

Otherwise I suppose that I can include some (base64 encoded if binary) heredoc files...

Upon reading your first line, I was pondering *short* heredocs in an install file as a possibility.  But if you put base64 encoded binary - especially executable - into an install file and try to run it on user's systems, you should most definitely expect flaming bags of dog crap to show up on your door step (or worse) - and some of them will be from me.

This was just a vague idea about something not yet clearly defined.

The idea was about providing a fake "repair" package for transitioning between two install methods, pacman being the new one, thus possibly needing to include files to restore if they were deleted.
And about binary files, I was not especially thinking about executables, but rather something like small compressed tarballs (tarballs can keep file dates and permissions, which is not possible with textual heredocs).

Anyway, right now I am only developing for a private repository limited to the company I am working to, so whatever I do, you will likely never see any of my packages.

If ever in the future I decide to develop publicly available packages, I will certainly follow different guidelines.

Regards,

Gingko