package-manger : proposed upgrade

[Sean Champ <s-champ@postoffice.pacbell.net>]

hello.

I'm new to Debian & relatively new to linux, finally have a replacement
for the winmodem that Gateway 2k plagued me with, and glad to be digging
around the http://debian.org/Packages/stable .

i'd like to build some sort of an add-on for the package-browsing
system, for folks to be able to find out more info about the software in
each package, perhaps with some HREFs to a home-page &/or screenshot,
for each of the download-able packages.

I'm not sure if the HTML package-lists are maintained in a database or
as HTML files, but if i can find out the specifics about it, i should be
able to mirror the package-browser locally, and start hacking on it
here, if/when I can get the FS-juggling taken care of. 

(planning on running a dual-boot system, w98 and the better. 
  no PartitionMagic. 
  FIPS works rather well, 
     even better when in-comparison with
      no-budget-for-anything-right-now)



( plans for the package-browser hacking include:

	-- an easy-to-(use & manage)
		 (gen.info and home-page)-links-submittal system

	-- maybe some trying-out of rendering XML-wrapped data 
		eg:
		    with later work
			to build non-HTML Pkg-DB pages,
			  (TROFF)?, etc. 

	-- maybe some vamping of info from DaveCentral's pages. 

	-- online manual-pages ? 
	   [ have already come across an online manpage viewer.
		:  http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/cgi-bin/rman.pl 

	      ...maybe a mirroring of that would be in-order ?]
)




so, if you can point me to where the main Pkg-DB files are stored, and
perhaps some tips on how the web-interface works, then I'll put it on
the table for post-installation work.




rolling the sleeves up,


-- sean