XML for Packages.gz

[Toni <avieiva@arrakis.es>]

Hi all,

I think it would be great to use XML to describe package contents.

Everybody could parse the huge "Packages.gz" quite easily, either
from C, C++, Java, Perl, Guile, gnome-xml, etc.

Furthermore, we could use sophisticated XML tools to build
documentation, or even web pages with full package details
quite easily, or installation tools, or (huge) XML-DOM trees
for handling package dependencies using cross-references, or
lots of other interesting things.

What's your opinion to this? Don't you think this will improve
Debian's quality? Any other interesting applications to a
XML description of Debian packages?

Cheers,
Antonio

P.S.: A ~100 line awk script transforms my Packages.gz into
something like this...

<?xml version='1.0' ?>
<DEBIAN version='2.2' release='r0' name='potato'>
<package 
 name='debconf'
 id='1'
 version='0.2.80.16'
 maintainer='Joey Hess &lt;joeyh@debian.org&gt;'
 architecture='all'
 section='admin'
 priority='optional'
 xmedium='Debian GNU/Linux 2.2-stable (potato), disk 1
[2000-08-25/15:09]'
 filename='dists/stable/main/binary-i386/admin/debconf_0.2.80.16.deb'
>
  <description short='Debian configuration management system'>

    Debconf is a configuration management system for 
  debian packages. It is  used by some packages to prompt 
  you for questions before they are installed. installed-size: 
  352
  </description>
  <suggests>
    <pkg-ref refs='libterm-readline-gnu-perl' />
    <pkg-ref refs='whiptail | dialog | gnome-utils' />
  </suggests>
  <conflicts>
    <pkg-ref refs='debconf-tiny' />
    <pkg-ref refs='apt (&lt;&lt; 0.3.12.1)' />
    <pkg-ref refs='menu (&lt;= 2.1.3-1)' />
    <pkg-ref refs='gnome-utils (&lt;&lt; 1.0.13-2)' />
    <pkg-ref refs='libgtk-perl (&lt;&lt; 0.6123-1)' />
    <pkg-ref refs='dialog (&lt;&lt; 0.9a-17)' />
    <pkg-ref refs='whiptail (&lt;&lt; 0.50-1)' />
  </conflicts>
  <depends>
    <pkg-ref refs='perl-5.005' />
    <pkg-ref refs='fileutils (&gt;= 4.0-5)' />
  </depends>
  <recommends>
  </recommends>
</package>
<package>
...
</package>
</DEBIAN>