[CLUE-Cert] package managers

[Dennis J Perkins]

I did some quick reading of OpenPkg.  RPM was used as a starting point but it 
looks like it was modified and some additional functionality added.  It also 
prefers source packages to binary packages due to its cross-platform nature, so 
it can be used to build packages.  I don't know if Red Hat's RPM can build 
packages??

It looks like Linux has the following package managers available:

RPM family
================
Red Hat (Red Hat, Mandrake)
OpenPkg

Debian

Rock Linux (doesn't contain source.  Uses wget to download packages as needed.  
Uses shell scripts to build packages.)

Gentoo (I'm not sure, but I think it also uses wget.  Uses Python and possibly 
shell scripts.)

Slackware

Sorcerer

------------------------
I understand the LSB wanting a common package manager.  However, this and the 
init process will probably be the hardest areas to get compliance on.  And the 
two are interrelated, since installing CUPS means installing an init script for 
CUPS.  And I'm not sure how well RPM or OpenPkg work with self-building distros.
To complicate matters more, there is a new project that aims to replace the 
init program.

     It might be interesting to try to build the distro using different package 
managers simultaneously and see how they compare, but that is probably too much 
work unless others get involved, even if they cannot attend the meetings.
     Personally, I'm interested in creating a package manager and build engine 
just to learn how it's done.  I like to know how and why my tools
work.