Re: package pool and big Packages.gz file

[Goswin Brederlow <goswin.brederlow@student.uni-tuebingen.de>]

>>>>> " " == Sami Haahtinen <ressu@uusikaupunki.fi> writes:

     > On Fri, Jan 05, 2001 at 03:05:03AM +0100, Goswin Brederlow
     > wrote:
    >> Whats the problem with a big Packages file?
    >> 
    >> If you don't want to download it again and again just because
    >> of small changes I have a better solution for you:
    >> 
    >> rsync
    >> 
    >> apt-get update could rsync all Packages files (yes, not the .gz
    >> once) and thereby download only changed parts. On uncompressed
    >> files rsync is very effective and the changes can be compressed
    >> for the actual transfer. So on upload you will pratically get a
    >> diff.gz to your old Packages file.


     > this would bring us to, apt renaming the old deb (if there is
     > one) to the name of the new package and rsync those. and we
     > would save some time once again...

Thats what the debian-mirror script does (its about halve of the
script just for that). It also uses old tar.gz, orig.tar.gz, diff.gz
and dsc files.

     > Or, can rsync sync binary files?

Of cause, but forget it with compressed data.

     > hmm.. this sounds like something worth implementing..

I'm currently discussing some changes to the rsync client with some
people from the rsync ML which would uncompress compressed data on the
client side (no changes to the server) and rsync those. Sounds like
not improving anything, but when reading the full description on this
it actually does.

Before that rsyncing new debs with old once hardly ever saves
anything. Where it hels is with big packages like xfree, where several
packages are identical between releases.

MfG
        Goswin