Re: Splitting the distribution for CDs
On Thu, 19 Mar 1998, Ian Jackson wrote:
> > If you just install without considering the above you get something
> > like
> > Unpack xlib6-2
> > Unpack Chimera
> > configure xlib6-2
> > configure chimera
> >
> > Woops. By unpacking the new xlib you have wrecked the existing version
> > of chimera and this -might- cause problems, it certianly isn't
> > desirable. The solution of course is to reverse the unpacking order
> > so it doesn't happen. But this makes a low priority package unpacked
> > before a higher priority package..
>
> I think it's fine to leave chimera unconfigured while we wait for the
> second CD. Remember that if we split the CDs well this will only
> break with low priorities.
Is that a request to unconfigure chimera before unpacking xlib6-2 instead
of using the unpack of chimera to clear the depends? I have no issue with
unconfigured packages that are broken, I have simply made a big effort to
minimize configured packages that are broken.
> > Well, three choices,
> > - Reduce the agressiveness of the ordering, order specifically to
> > reduce disc swapping
> > - Copy some files to the hard drive to reduce disk swapping
> > - Disc swap all you want
>
> Please adopt the first of these, if at all possible. It is essential
> for (for example) installation from tape ! Perhaps you don't support
> that yet, but you ought to in the future and the package system was
> designed with it as a possibility.
>
> How soon can this be implemented ? (Ie, don't do disk swapping unless
> absolutely required by a Pre-Depends, if necessary by temporarily
> deinstalling a conflicting package.)
I will have to see, hopefully no crises will come upon us this weekend,
last weekend was a waste with master crashing.. Doing #1 to the ordering
code is trivial, just disable the two passes that provide the effect above
and you are left with only conflicts+predepends ordering. But the ordering
code is still incomplete as it does not handle conflicts+predepends or
removal+conflicts looping which turns out to be very important. I need a
few hours to sit down and write that.
How to actually make the rest of things work is going to take alot of
thought to get right - there a few issues that can all be solved with a
carefull solution to this specific problem.
I will say that having a single package file with both cd's contents will
complicate things. I would like to have a single package file per-cd. This
means to start things going the user will have to pop in two CD's but that
is okay. The two CD bit is needed to get a unique handle on the CD so it
can be determined which is which..
Don't expect this all by the end of the month..
Jason
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