Re: main pkg(8)/synth development complete, but ...

[John Marino <netbsd%marino.st@localhost>]

On 12/13/2016 02:22, Thomas Mueller wrote:
> from John Marino :
>
> > As of right now, and to the best of my knowledge, the pkg(8)-driven
> > pkgsrc work is complete.  The synth program
> > (https://github.com/jrmarino/synth) has been ported to support both
> > pkgsrc and NetBSD (with significant forward work for Linux and
> > SunOS also done)
>
> Does this mean I can now use synth on NetBSD with pkgsrc in place of
> pkg_rolling-replace, or would I have to start on a clean base
> system?
>
> I believe I remember you saying there was nothing comparable to
> pkg2ng, for converting from old package format to the new pkgng.

Ideally, this would be the process assuming there was already a 
repository published:

1) gather list of desired primary packages that are installed on the 
target system (skip dependencies)
2) remove all currently installed packages
3) install pkg(8) from the bootstrap script
4) using the list from step 1, get pkg(8) to download and install the 
primary packages (it will take core of deps)

If somebody updates the repository (say weekly or twice per month) then 
you would just "pkg update" and pkg(8) would take care replacing the 
installed packages.

In other words, most people don't need synth at all.  Who would need it?
1) those that must have packages with non-default options
2) those that need a newer version than is published in the repository

in that case, you would install synth from a binary package and then use 
it to generate a custom local repository.  You then use pkg(8) just as 
you would with a remote repository.  Pkg(8) also works with multiple 
repositories so you could have it set up that the custom one has the 
higher priority and it would fall back to the "official" one if it can't 
find a package.  Most people just prefer that their custom one has 
everything needed though.

The key to seeing the great convenience of pkg(8) is having a complete 
repository available that is periodically updated.  Once people are 
accustomed to that luxury, they can use synth to customize their 
experience.  pkgsrc/NetBSD people really need that "official" repository 
to see what this is all about though, which is binary packages, not 
building it yourself.

John

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus