Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

Deadmalc, thank you for your answer.
I really haven't got much experience with Linux. I try some of them every now and then (Fedora and Ubuntu more recently), but I haven't noticed any difference between them on the surface.

(Also, because of my job, I must use Windows, so I didn't give a try to any of them for more than a couple of hours, but they seemed good enough to me.)

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

Many people have already expressed their take on this...

This is entirely an end-user perspective. Drop to a shell and start doing some configurations and tuning of everything and you'll quickly see a difference between Fedora and Ubuntu... or rather Fedora and Anything.

While many commands are the same, many of the configuration files are in completely different locations.

I haven't met an RPM-based system that felt "normal" to me, yet. So I'm hoping MeeGo works out. I still haven't spent much time looking around the Moblin I setup on my Netbook just to see it.

But I tend to do more on my system than click on buttons.. which puts me into the minority and makes me not the target market when dealing with mobile platforms. :(

(Keep in mind that I say it's not "normal" doesn't mean an Ubuntu admin can't stumble his way around an RPM system - most the commands are still there - it's just not.. right. Hard to explain.)

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

I agree completely, I've been using linux for over ten years now - and I am definitely NOT a normal user.
And I get what you mean about being not "normal" - but try using AIX! ;-)

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

Oh I have... HP-UX just isn't right either :D. *BSD and Solaris (10) are a little better... but I would be equally put off had MeeGo decided to base on any of the above just as much as Fedora ;).

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

i think, from following the debate when the info was released, the reasons for rpm package format are:

The moblin bootstrap stuff is way better than maemo and is what will be used for booting future devices and this is some of the hardest to repackage(I say yay for faster boot times!)

In order to make it easier on developers across a wide array of devices and platforms, it has been mutually decided to use the SUSE open build service.(yay for this, ask most any maemo developer about packaging for maemo and getting in repository and I think you will find that the process needs MUCH improvement)

it has been mutually decided to use zypper for rpm pacakge management which is very apt-like but also supports delta updates which is especially important on a mobile device with potentially constrained file space and bandwidth. (Yay for this so everytime we need to download an update for a package, you just need to download th changes and no the entire package)


these are very valid considerations IMO and I am sure the debate between the moblin team and the maemo team did not take the shape of a religious war.

I would say it would still be possible, even with the use of RPM for a package format to maintain a somewhat debian like filesystem layout. the two are not mutually exclusive.

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

rpm is not a package _manager_, it is a package _format_. yes, in some distros(redhat) RPM has been the name of both the package format and the package manager, but in the sense of meego this is not the case.

portage is not a package _format_ it is a package _manager_. Ebuild is the package format for gentoo, Portage is the package manager.

there are various package _managers_ for packages in any format, deb, rpm, ebuild whatever. In the case of meego, we will be using the rpm package _format_ with the zypper _manager_

hope that helps

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

I see the problem is Debian, which still stubbornly use deb-package format, although in LSB it was agreed RPM is the package format used in LSB compliant systems.
This Maemo -> Meego thing is just an another example how things get difficult as one system have been excused before not to follow the agreed standard. Standards are good(tm) and makes eventually lots of things easier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_S...package_format

Also I like the RPM's standard way to GPG-sign the packages so we know who to blame when package has Trojans or viruses.

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

The LSB is backed by the Linux Fondation (a consortium of private compagnies). The decision to choose RPM was arguably driven by the interest of its members.

That being said, Debian is a community driven distro. Debian was never "excused" to continue using deb. The community decided to do so and they were free to do so. Please.

The LSB failed to account for a great deal of very popular distro (Ubuntu, Debian and Mint to name a few).

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

please read the updates: MeeGo is not Fedora based! it's not based on any of the major distributions. IMHO that's the real problem..

Re: Fedora based MeeGo = NoGo!
 

For all intents and purposes the two formats (can) provide the same level of functionality. While this wasn't communicated well, RPM wasn't chosen, it is a consequence of other choices (OBS and others hinted, probably more clear after the MeeGo - or Harmattan - SDK is released).


Let's get a few facts straight.

The standard does not dictate what package format the software system must use for its own packages, merely that RPM must be supported to allow packages from third-party distributors to be installed on a conforming system.

Debian has been using strong crypto to validate downloaded packages. This is commonly called "secure apt" (or "apt-secure") and was implemented in Apt version 0.6 in 2003, which Debian migrated to in 2005.

Now, stop the format bickering, it's pointless.