The process to create packages up to have them in the extra repository is more complex than developing the application.

This is even worse when you just want to share your small apps you developed for yourself as you do this time to time...and, of course, in the middle, tools have evolved and processes do not apply anymore.

This is my feeling today. I made my small application for me but I want to share it: open source is sharing no? The first release was like a battlefield: finding the info, testing , googling the errors...To release an application that took me 1 day to write, I spent 3 days to create a valid package. Even more disappointing, this package is stuck in extra-devel for months now.

As I use it, I found a bug. Correction: 1 hour but the process to battle to create the package starts again!!!.

Is there no simple way of creating those packages? I am working with QT but I am unable to find somewhere a complete and accurate description from start to end of the process. It is always information disperse on different forums with - "this works for me" info. When there is a new QT is it still valid??? Nobody knows. At the end of the day, is it worthwhile the amount of work for a casual developer? The egoist approach is much more easy: write for myself..no share!

If you can create a working deb file, some people like me will use it. Then someone will probably help you go further.

You are not the first one to complain about the process.

I am in the same boat. I have created my first application (a simple command line iCal importer/exporter using the api) and am at the packaging stage now. I used QtCreator to build my app.

I discovered this and plan on trying it out:
http://wiki.maemo.org/Packaging_Qt_C...r_Maemo_Extras

Hi,

This is the main reason i made sdist_maemo, a tool to create package for the autobuilder from a python setup.py script.

http://khertan.net/python_sdist_maemo

(Of course works only for python apps)

Hi mno@8,

I completely agree, having suffured the pain that is packaging I can agree it takes longer to figure that stuff out than it does to write an entire app, my first app for the n900 was de-lite which I wrote in a day (and a bit) , it took me nearly a week to figure out how to package it

Don't be discouraged too much though, I found once I'd cracked it, using the de-lite folders etc as future frame works for my apps made the next app much easier to do.

Khertan's fantastic work on py2deb allows for packaging of python apps and now I have figured it out is very easy to use, but it did take me while to get to grips with it.

Keep at it Buddy!

I am very much looking forward to explore your app. Therefore, please feel encouraged to go on!

The work to repackage comes from the installation of the new QtSDK from Nokia. It seems that I have more folders than before and it always gives me errors.

To be on the safe side, I completely rebuilt my application following the instruction on http://wiki.maemo.org/Packaging_Qt_C...mo_Extras...as you all advise me.

The dpkg-buildpackage command complains that there is no rule to make the target clean. This is normal: there is no makefile. When following the procedure we never copied any make file!!! I copy the one from the folder "appname-build-maemo". Everything works fine....but the extra devel gives me a compilation error: "no rule to make target ../appname/appname.pro!!!

Grrrrrrr!!!!

There are many others such as myself that really look forward to new apps. So plz, do not be discouraged. The community would really appreciate your contribution, as well as anyones else's.

This is why I want this to be sorted out: I also take profit of the others' work. It make sense that I share my work...

Sorry it doesn't work. I have yet to try this myself. My goal this week is to get my app packaged as well so perhaps the details can be ironed out and update the wiki or something.