"Jeremy C. Reed" <reed@reedmedia.net> writes:

> I think it would be useful to have a small dependencies database that
> would contain information about all available built packages on the
> download sites (not just locally installed) and how they require each
> other.

For an example of prior art in this area, have a look at the
ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/{main,contrib,non-free}/binary-$ARCH/Packages.gz files. 

They're flat text files that contain the package name, section, size,
version, dependancies, download file, and description - much the same
information as we keep in our pkgsrc Makefile and DESCR files. The
Debain tools use this file to resolve dependancies and figure out what
and where to download things, as well as to present possible packages
to the user.

        - Nathan