Difference between revisions of "Platform Team/Package Management System"

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== Summary ==
 
== Summary ==
  
−
Sweets is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_management_system Package Management System] based on [http://0install.net/ Zero Install], a decentralized cross-distribution software installation system. It is intended to distribute various software projects created in the Sugar ecosystem, such as libraries, sugar itself, and sugar activities.
+
Sweets is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_management_system Package Management System] entirely based on [http://0install.net/ Zero Install], a decentralized cross-distribution software installation system. It is intended to distribute various software projects created in the Sugar ecosystem, such as libraries, sugar itself, and sugar activities.
  
−
This new distribution method is initiated assuming that:
+
This new distribution method is initiated with these assumptions:
  
 
* The method to share software projects should to be as convenient as possible.
 
* The method to share software projects should to be as convenient as possible.
−
* It is important to stimulate users into becoming doers, to modify existing activities, and to share the results of their experiments with other people, i.e., a distribution method should handle different variants of the same project.
+
* It is important to stimulate users into becoming doers—to modify existing activities, and to share the results of their experiments with other people, viz., a distribution method should handle different variants of the same project.
 
* This distribution method is not intended to be the only one, but is targeted more towards direct distribution—from software creators to software users.
 
* This distribution method is not intended to be the only one, but is targeted more towards direct distribution—from software creators to software users.
  
−
The purpose is to create a new distribution method instead of reusing:
+
The goal is to create a new distribution method that goes beyond reusing the current methods:
  
−
# ''.xo bundles''
+
# [[Development_Team/Almanac/Activity_Bundles|''.xo bundles'']]
−
#* Work smoothly only for pure python activities, and only if all (and the same) dependencies are installed on all systems. They stop working smoothly if activities use non-standard dependencies or contain binaries.
+
#* Work smoothly only for pure python activities, though only if all (and the same) dependencies are installed on all systems. They stop working smoothly if activities use non-standard dependencies or contain binaries.
−
#* But, are not effective in supporting the use of multiple versions of software, e.g., the results of experiments (the work) of different doers, simultaneously. Users must manually handle the variety of activity versions, e.g., sort out all the local bundles or directories in {{Code|~/Activities}}.
+
#* But, are not effective in supporting the simultaneous use of multiple versions of software, e.g., the results of experiments (the work) of different doers, in one environment. Users must manually handle the variety of activity versions, e.g., sort out all the local bundles or directories in {{Code|~/Activities}}.
 
# ''native packages''
 
# ''native packages''
−
#* Not the shortest way to connect developers with users.
+
#* Are not the shortest way to connect developers with users.
 
#* In most cases, they don't support multiple versions of the same project.
 
#* In most cases, they don't support multiple versions of the same project.
 
#* They don't work at all for sharing results of experiments.
 
#* They don't work at all for sharing results of experiments.
  
−
At the same time, existing distribution methods are reused in Sweets:
+
And, at the same time, the existing distribution methods are available for reuse in Sweets:
  
−
# ''.xo bundles'' is a subset of the Sweets workflow
+
# [[Development_Team/Almanac/Activity_Bundles|''.xo bundles'']] are a subset of the Sweets workflow, from the usage point of view.
 
#* It is possible to bundle an entire directory as a sweet project to use it as a regular .xo file.
 
#* It is possible to bundle an entire directory as a sweet project to use it as a regular .xo file.
 
# ''native packages''
 
# ''native packages''
 
#* Sweets is not intended to create one more GNU/Linux distribution. It distributes only projects that people create within the Sugar community; all other software, i.e., dependencies, will be reused from native packages.
 
#* Sweets is not intended to create one more GNU/Linux distribution. It distributes only projects that people create within the Sugar community; all other software, i.e., dependencies, will be reused from native packages.
 
#* For cases like Sugar deployments, using the more centralized, regular repositories (third party or official GNU/Linux distributions with native packages) makes more sense. These native packages of Sugar software will be included in Sweets, as well. When people start using Sweets on top of these Sugar distributions, they will have the chance to choose between natively packaged Sugar components and components that came directly from software creators.
 
#* For cases like Sugar deployments, using the more centralized, regular repositories (third party or official GNU/Linux distributions with native packages) makes more sense. These native packages of Sugar software will be included in Sweets, as well. When people start using Sweets on top of these Sugar distributions, they will have the chance to choose between natively packaged Sugar components and components that came directly from software creators.
−
#* It is possible, when there is a need, to automatically package sweets into native packages. See [[Platform_Team/Sweets_Distribution|Sweets Distribution]], for example.
+
#* It is possible, when there is a need, to automatically package sweets into native packages. See [[Sweets Distribution]], for example.
 +
 
 +
See also the initial release [[Platform_Team/Sweets/1.0/Notes|notes]].
  
 
== Zero Install basis ==
 
== Zero Install basis ==
  
 
Sweets is entirely based on Zero Install. Sweets might be treated as a tools and infrastructure wrapper around Zero Install. See Zero Install's home page, http://0install.net/, for detailed information. And the [http://0install.net/injector-design.html design] page in particular.
 
Sweets is entirely based on Zero Install. Sweets might be treated as a tools and infrastructure wrapper around Zero Install. See Zero Install's home page, http://0install.net/, for detailed information. And the [http://0install.net/injector-design.html design] page in particular.
−
 
−
== Dictionary ==
 
−
 
−
A list of terms to understand the basic concepts of ''Sweets''.
 
−
 
−
=====Zero Install, 0install=====
 
−
:Decentralized cross-distribution software installation system that ''Sweets'' is based on.
 
−
 
−
=====Sweets=====
 
−
:Package management wrapper around ''Zero Install''.
 
−
 
−
=====sweet, sweet project=====
 
−
:Distribution entities in ''Sweets'', i.e., packages. In other words, software projects that have ''recipe'' files in their sources that are being released via ''Sweets''.
 
−
 
−
=====feed=====
 
−
:A file in [http://0install.net/interface-spec.html XML notation] that contains information about all possible variants of the software, i.e., ''implementations'', that can be launched.
 
−
 
−
=====interface=====
 
−
:This is the cornerstone of ''Zero Install'' and, thus, ''Sweets'', as well. To make a ''feed'' useful for other people, they are placed somewhere on the Internet to be accessible via HTTP/FTP ([[Platform_Team/Infrastructure|http://sweets.sugarlabs.org]] for the ''Sweets'' case). The full Web url, such as http://0install.net/2006/interfaces/ZeroInstall-GUI.xml, is a unique identifier of a distribution entity within ''Zero Install''/''Sweets''. This powerful identifier is named the ''interface''.
 
−
:This url is all that is needed to run software from everywhere there is a connection to the Internet.
 
−
 
−
=====implementation=====
 
−
:One or several bundles that contain one particular implementation of software projects that are being distributed via ''Zero Install''. ''Implementations'' are  [[Platform_Team/Recipe_Specification|attributed]] with versions, stability levels, targeted machine architectures, and OS types. It is possible to have several implementations for the same software version if there are differences between launching them on different OSes or machine architectures. Another important attribute of ''implementations'' are dependencies of this particular ''implementation'', formed as a list of ''interfaces''. ''Feeds'' contain information about all existing implementations in order to let ''Zero Install'' choose the right one on the client side, taking into account tons of details, like machine architecture, OS type, stability levels, or dependency restrictions.
 
−
 
−
=====recipe=====
 
−
:On the ''Zero Install'' level, developers work with ''feeds'' manually. In the ''Sweets'' case, the regular way is to [[Platform_Team/Recipe_Specification|use ''recipes'']] (but it is still possible to fallback to using ''feeds'' at any time). In short, it is an analog of spec files in GNU/Linux distributions, e.g., RPM {{Code|.spec}} files or {{Code|debian/}} directories in Debian. ''Recipes'' do not specify ready-to-launch ''implementations'' like ''feeds'' do, but rather, only describe the lastest software version. The ''feed'' will be generated automatically on [[Platform_Team/Infrastructure|a server]] (along with preserving the history of versions) after [[Platform_Team/Guide/Sweets_Packaging|releasing]] a new version of the software.
 
−
 
−
=====Short form for sweet interfaces=====
 
−
:Within ''Sweets'', it is possible to omit the {{Code|http://sweets.sugarlabs.org/}} prefix for sweet ''interfaces'' so as to make usage more expressive, e.g., in ''recipe'' files. It is always possible to use the full ''interfaces''.
 
−
 
−
=====Implemented interfaces=====
 
−
:One particular ''sweet'' implements one or several ''interfaces'' [[Platform_Team/Recipe_Specification#Common_options|according]] to its ''recipe'' files. The reason for having several ''interfaces'' is that the same ''sweet'' might represent itself, e.g., http://sweets.sugarlabs.org/~alsroot/browse, and the upstream ''sweet'' that was used as a basis for the current one, e.g., http://sweets.sugarlabs.org/browse. Furthermore, on the client side, it will be possible to get implementations from {{Code|~alsroot/browse}} while launching {{Code|browse}} ''sweet''.
 
−
 
−
=====Associated interfaces=====
 
−
:''Associated interfaces'' is the alternate way to setup upstream-downstream relations between ''interfaces''. If a ''recipe'' file [[Platform_Team/Recipe_Specification#Common_options|mentions]] some ''interfaces'' as ''associated'', ''implementations'' from these interfaces will be added to the ''implementations'' list of the current one. For example, if the http://sweets.sugarlabs.org/sdk/sugar ''interface'' (the pure ''sweet'' Sugar Shell) contains http://sweets.sugarlabs.org/base/sugar (an alias to the natively packaged Sugar Shell) as an ''associated interface'', it will be possible while launching {{Code|sdk/sugar}}, to run natively packaged sugar that came from {{Code|base/sugar}}.
 
−
 
−
=====local sweet=====
 
−
:It is an important high-level concept in ''Sweets'', which is intended to make the development process of ''sweet'' projects more comfortable. Technically, it is the source software of the ''sweet'' project (i.e., with a ''recipe'' file) placed somewhere in the file system and registered in the local ''Sweets'' instance as a single ''implementation'' for ''interfaces'' it ''implements''. It is always possible to run this ''local sweet'' directly by using the full filesystem path as an ''interface'', but its most useful feature is reuse of the ''local implementation'' in routine ''Sweets'' workflows. For example, if sugar-toolkit sources were cloned to the {{Code|~/src/sugar-toolkit}} directory, then while running a {{Code|sugar}} ''sweet'', it would become possible to reuse local sugar-toolkit sources as a regular ''implementation''.
 
−
 
−
=====sweet package=====
 
−
:Using the http://packages.sugarlabs.org Web UI, it is possible to create a repository with native packages from released ''sweets''.
 
−
 
−
=====Sweets Distribution=====
 
−
:It is a [http://download.sugarlabs.org/packages/SweetsDistribution:/ repository] with Glucose and Fructose ''sweet packages'' based on {{Code|sdk/}} ''sweets''.
 
  
 
== Further reading ==
 
== Further reading ==
  
 +
* [[Platform_Team/Sweets/Architecture|Sweets Architecture]] - A guide to basic Sweets concepts.
 
* [[Platform_Team/Guide/Sweets_Usage|Sweets Usage]] - A guide to know how to launch software using Sweets.
 
* [[Platform_Team/Guide/Sweets_Usage|Sweets Usage]] - A guide to know how to launch software using Sweets.
 
* [[Platform_Team/Guide/Sweets_Packaging|Sweets Packaging]] - A guide to know how to make your software accessible via Sweets.
 
* [[Platform_Team/Guide/Sweets_Packaging|Sweets Packaging]] - A guide to know how to make your software accessible via Sweets.
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== Getting involved ==
 
== Getting involved ==
  
−
* [http://bugs.sugarlabs.org/newticket?component=sweets Report] on bugs.
 
 
* Read the [http://git.sugarlabs.org/sdk/sweets/blobs/master/HACKING HACKING] file to know how to contribute with code.
 
* Read the [http://git.sugarlabs.org/sdk/sweets/blobs/master/HACKING HACKING] file to know how to contribute with code.
 +
{{:Platform_Team/Sweets/Feedback}}
  
 
== Resources ==
 
== Resources ==
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* [http://git.sugarlabs.org/sdk/sweets Sources].
 
* [http://git.sugarlabs.org/sdk/sweets Sources].
 
* Recipe files [[Platform_Team/Recipe_Specification|specification]].
 
* Recipe files [[Platform_Team/Recipe_Specification|specification]].
 +
 +
== Subpages ==
 +
 +
{{Special:PrefixIndex/{{PAGENAMEE}}/}}

Latest revision as of 14:51, 3 July 2012

Summary

Sweets is a Package Management System entirely based on Zero Install, a decentralized cross-distribution software installation system. It is intended to distribute various software projects created in the Sugar ecosystem, such as libraries, sugar itself, and sugar activities.

This new distribution method is initiated with these assumptions:

  • The method to share software projects should to be as convenient as possible.
  • It is important to stimulate users into becoming doers—to modify existing activities, and to share the results of their experiments with other people, viz., a distribution method should handle different variants of the same project.
  • This distribution method is not intended to be the only one, but is targeted more towards direct distribution—from software creators to software users.

The goal is to create a new distribution method that goes beyond reusing the current methods:

  1. .xo bundles
    • Work smoothly only for pure python activities, though only if all (and the same) dependencies are installed on all systems. They stop working smoothly if activities use non-standard dependencies or contain binaries.
    • But, are not effective in supporting the simultaneous use of multiple versions of software, e.g., the results of experiments (the work) of different doers, in one environment. Users must manually handle the variety of activity versions, e.g., sort out all the local bundles or directories in ~/Activities.
  2. native packages
    • Are not the shortest way to connect developers with users.
    • In most cases, they don't support multiple versions of the same project.
    • They don't work at all for sharing results of experiments.

And, at the same time, the existing distribution methods are available for reuse in Sweets:

  1. .xo bundles are a subset of the Sweets workflow, from the usage point of view.
    • It is possible to bundle an entire directory as a sweet project to use it as a regular .xo file.
  2. native packages
    • Sweets is not intended to create one more GNU/Linux distribution. It distributes only projects that people create within the Sugar community; all other software, i.e., dependencies, will be reused from native packages.
    • For cases like Sugar deployments, using the more centralized, regular repositories (third party or official GNU/Linux distributions with native packages) makes more sense. These native packages of Sugar software will be included in Sweets, as well. When people start using Sweets on top of these Sugar distributions, they will have the chance to choose between natively packaged Sugar components and components that came directly from software creators.
    • It is possible, when there is a need, to automatically package sweets into native packages. See Sweets Distribution, for example.

See also the initial release notes.

Zero Install basis

Sweets is entirely based on Zero Install. Sweets might be treated as a tools and infrastructure wrapper around Zero Install. See Zero Install's home page, http://0install.net/, for detailed information. And the design page in particular.

Further reading

Getting involved

  • Read the HACKING file to know how to contribute with code.
  • Submit your bug report or feature request.
  • Subscribe to the sugar-devel mailing list and email with the subject prefixed with [SWEETS].
  • Ask your question on IRC channels, #sugar (not logged) or #sugar-newbies (logged).

Resources

Subpages

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/index.php?title=Platform_Team/Package_Management_System&oldid=80472"