Re: data.debian.org -- requirements for packages

[Peter Samuelson <peter@p12n.org>]

[Yaroslav Halchenko]
> for HUGE DBs with frequent updates -- may be we could come up with data
> package chains -- i.e. with some base package version + sequence of
> dependent packages with binary deltas which get applied upon
> installation? e.g.
> 
> data-blob-1.0.0
> data-blob-1.0.0+1
> data-blob-1.0.0+2

Sounds like you want a dpkg mode where you can pre-depend on a prior
version of your own package, and _not_ delete files that are shipped by
the base package that are not shipped by the 'delta deb'.  Because of
this pre-dependency, you would not be able to install this deb as a new
install, it would have to be an upgrade.

Tool support for being able to install a base deb in order to install
an updated deb would be pretty hairy, I expect, as would infrastructure
support for providing both in the same Packages file.
-- 
Peter Samuelson | org-tld!p12n!peter | http://p12n.org/