On 26 Feb 2005, Hubert Feyrer wrote:

> Please check out
>  * bpm(1)

I have never used bpm. I read it is "menu-based" and I don't see how it
provides any quick functionality for properly checking dependencies (which
includes actual shared libraries used).

>  * pkgsrc-wip/pkg_select

And according to pkg_select DESCR and from reading its man page, it
appears to maybe only work with building and installing via pkgsrc (and
not binary packages).

> before wasting time.

I had explained how it works over a year ago on one of our lists.
Basically it is like this:

- update = fetch available packages data files. A available packages data
file provides various meta data about all available pre-built packages
which can be queried for descriptions, dependencies, etc.

- upgrade = compare the currently installed packages with the available
packages listed in the data files. Only starts when all dependencies are
available, no conflicts, etc. Then it fetches the needed packages. And
deinstalls and installs in order as needed.

- install = install a new package and any dependencies as defined in the
available packages datafile. Fetches needed packages.

The basic data file is already ready.

And one other thing added to the above is that it lists the shared
libraries provided and needed so they can be clearly checked before any
attempts to fetch packages or deinstall or install. (Because of our
open-ended dependencies, having the shared libraries check is a nice
double-check.)

Our current way is slow, because we have to download the packages (at
least partially) to get some of the metadata. And also we don't have any
checks for shared libraries, so it is possible (and frequent for me) to
install a package or dependency that has or needs the wrong libraries.

Being able to know all this before even downloading or extracting a single
package is a time saver. (I have used apt-get since it was available and
it has been a great time saver.)

 Jeremy C. Reed

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