Re: SeaDAS <- SDP Toolkit <- HDF-EOS, HDF-EOS 5
SeaDAS is a very specialized package, but a decent installer
would be a big help -- I encounter many potential users who
gave up due to the difficulties they had installing SeaDAS (often
because they didn't know how to install missing libraries or
had old versions). Lack of a good installer also means many
people end up trying to use very old versions due to concerns
that updating may be too difficult.
SeaDAS is built using IDL and Intel Fortran, so few users will
be able to build it from sources. This puts it outside the
usual debian model -- more like the Java packages.
Do you plan to include the IDL runtime version NASA provides?
Are you going to rearrange the package according to debian rules
or keep the NASA structure?
Keeping up with all the updates will require a significant
long term commitment. Many people may be reluctant to
try debian packaging unless it is consistent with NASA
updates so they aren't dependent on your ability to keep
up.
It would be very useful if you could just wrap the NASA binaries
in a package that would handle dependencies, but still allow
updating via NASA's scripts so people who need updates
don't have to wait for new packages to be generated (not to
mention the savings in download volume, although it is hard
to see how people can do useful things with SeaDAS if they
don't have good network connections!).
I'm interested in packaging SeaDAS [1] as a Debian package, and
since it relies on SDP Toolkit and the HDF-EOS libraries [2],
I'm interested in packaging these as well.
I believe I've a decent experience in building both SDP Toolkit
and HDF-EOS and the only issue left unresolved is their legal
status. I'm now contacting developers in order to clarify it,
and I've got a preliminary reply that these qualify as free
software. (Actually, the HDF-EOS source is included in the GDAL
source package, which is in `main'.) Once the conditions will
be clarified I'll prepare the Debian packages.
I'm therefore asking, whether there're any interest in having
such a specialized software packages in Debian, and could anyone
review and sponsor these packages for me (I'm not a DD) once
they'll be ready?
[1] http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/seadas/
[2] http://newsroom.gsfc.nasa.gov/sdptoolkit/toolkit.html
--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-science-request@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org
--
George N. White III <aa056@chebucto.ns.ca>
Head of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
Reply to: