Performant Package Management for Solaris
Overview & Guidelines

We went through quite a bit of thinking recently, around the package management topic. I (Julien) made a presentation to sum up our thoughts and brainstorm a little.
Here's an HTML version of the slides.

What's a Package? - slide 1

• a coherent (atomic) set of software
  e.g. GNU Bison, version 1.33
• the form in which this set is distributed
  e.g. bison-1.33-src.noarch.rpm

Package Relations - slide 2

• complex boolean relations:
  • dependencies
  • mutual exclusion
• provides
• recommends
• virtual packages
• ...

Package Distribution - slide 3

three options for package maintainers:

• as a source tarball
  (plus platform- and OS-specific patches)
• as a ``source'' or ``binary'' package object
• opaque (only via a package manager)

Actions on Packages (1) - slide 4

the abstract (high-level) package operations are :

• install a package
• remove a package

the end-users / admins need it that simple!

Actions on Packages (2) - slide 5

the actual (low-level) ops :

1. find and get it (download ; copy ; unpack)
2. recursively install dependencies
3. build it (option) (patch ; compile ; move file tree)
4. configure it
5. remove it

Package Management Systems (1) - slide 6

they perform the low-level ops, transparently

sample one-liners:

• pkgadd package(Solaris / SVr4)
• apt-get install package(Debian GNU/Linux)
• fink install package(GNU/Darwin)

Package Management Systems (2) - slide 7

need to perform several choices to design a PMS:

packaging format	deb, rpm, pkg, ... ?
local file hierarchy	sandbox or mixed ?
dependency graph	centralized or not ?
patch maintenance	...
package distribution	...
bug-tracking	...

Discussion: Package Formats (1) - slide 8

several quality criteria:

• rich metadata (signatures, checksums, dependencies, ...)
• embedded package programs (auto configuration)
• scalability (no hard-coded limits, format extension)
• usablility by standard tools (GNU fileutils, GNU tar, etc.)
• ... (see solarpack.sf.net)

Discussion: Package Formats (2) - slide 9

conclusion: 
deb (Debian) and tgz (NetBSD) formats meet the criteria
but the choice depends on the PMS

Discussion: Local Hierarchy (1) - slide 10

two options:

• mixed with system (in /usr and/or /usr/local)
• in a ``sandbox'' (e.g. in /opt)

Discussion: Local Hierarchy (2) - slide 11

	sandbox	mixed
pros	secure optional (add-on) shareable ?	zero user setup no redundancy
cons	need to setup filesystem complexity	risk of conflicts unclear fs structure

Discussion: Centralization - slide 12

	centralized	not centralized
pros	non-redundant one-line maintenance	easy for upstream     developers balances load
cons	requires a very active     maintenance	risk of conflicts redundant efforts slow maintenance

Case Study: Redhat - slide 13

• package format: RedHat rpm
• package manager: rpm
• advantages:
  widespread; well-known commands; known by upstream maintainers; huge community
• drawbacks:
  no standard, no build-from-source support, no centralization

Case Study: Debian - slide 14

• package format: Debian deb
• package manager: dpkg / apt-get / dselect
• advantages:
  widespread; dependency tree & binaries fully centralized; huge community; well documented
• drawbacks:
  lacks a decent build-from-source support; complex

Case Study: Solaris - slide 15

• package format: SVr4 pkg
• package manager: pkg*
• advantages:
  uses existing Solaris PMS
• drawbacks:
  dispersed community; zero build-from-source support; little centralization; OS-specific

Case Study: *BSD - slide 16

• package format: enhanced tgz tarballs
• package manager: pkg_*
• advantages:
  centralized; multi-platform; sandboxed; bulk-build support; large community
• drawbacks:
  incomplete binary distribution system

Case Study: GNU/Darwin - slide 17

• package format: Debian deb
• package manager: fink / dselect
• advantages:
  fully centralized, ease of use, ``add-on'' system
• drawbacks:
  mono-platform (though portable), medium-sized community

Comparative chart - slide 18

Current Solaris Packaging Efforts - slide 19

• pkg-based: SunFreeware, iBiblio,...
  binary SVr4 package repositories; dispersed though well maintained
• tgz-based: Zoularis
  uses NetBSD's source package tree, well maintained, not Solaris-specific (multi-os)
• deb-based: SoftAgency
  ported dpkg and apt; binaries only; not maintained