At the current time, there are three main packaging tools being used in the Linux environment.
tar(1)
file) of all files
in the package, relative to root. It does not contain a mechanism
to specify or enforce package dependencies, identification of
configuration files, or scripts to be run during installation or
removal. It is still used by the "Slackware" distribution.
RPM
is a special binary file
format, and the corresponding source file is a SRPM
file.
It is used by "Redhat" and all derived distributions.
tar(1)
, ar(1)
, and
gzip(1)
.Modern package managers serve several important roles. They ensure that all package dependencies (both "required" and "conflicting") are satisfied. They ensure that configuration files are overwritten when packages are upgraded. They can be used to identify unexpected files in the system area. They can be used with configuration management tools to ensure that development and testing environments can always be reconstructed.
This document is intended for system administrators and developers working with Debian packages, but not Debian packagers. (Debian developers will have their own tools.)
I must assume that the reader has basic Unix skills.
No Debian package development skills are necessary to understand
this document. The reader is referred to the dpkg-doc
and
debhelper
packages for more information.
"Linux" is a trademark of Linux Torvalds. "Debian" is a trademark of Software in the Public Interest, Inc.. I have no official connection with either group in any role other than that of user.
list of applications broken by 'stack guard' - I bookmarked the page listing problems... somewhere...