[osol-discuss] Re: rpm vs pkgadd (again!)

[a b]

>If there's one way in which I've been fortunate recently, it's that I no
>longer
>have to deal with the monstrosity that is inst. Anything that can get so
>tangled up that it cannot allow you to install some software because of
>irreconcilable dependencies is something I'm glad to be rid of. (Although
>I have seen rpm based machines go into the same abyss.)

`inst` is an extremely intelligent and elegant software management 
subsystem, but it still doesn't have the kind of intelligence that 
automatically detects and corrects the oversights made by the packager; I 
should know, since I used to create IRIX dists and .tardists.

Did you ever look at the packaging mechanisms and architecture employed in 
`inst`? It's mind blowing, to say the least, how SGI solved some of the most 
complex problems in a simple, elegant way.

The tool is almost 20 years old, but it's so ahead of its time that it can 
still be *the* standard against which all other software subsystems are 
measured.

If you don't believe me, look at the nitty-gritty details at 
http://techpubs.sgi.com/.

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