Re: dpkg binary dbase (was Re: Debian vs. Red Hat)
On 7 Sep 2000, John Hasler wrote:
> Bruce Sass writes:
> > I want to be able to manually add and edit entries in the DB (i.e., given
> > the freedom to royally screw things up if I feel so inclined), and it
> > doesn't matter if it is via a text editor or a special bin editor.
>
> I'm not convinced that you can write a special bin editor that you can
> guarantee will be able to fix all the ways that a bin database could get
> screwed up.
Hmmm, ok. I guess it depends on what is meant by "binary database";
I have been (rather loosely) interpreting the phrase as, `anything but
the existing DB composed of verbose printable lines'... and thinking
along the lines of encoding some of the information.
e.g.:
Status: install ok installed
becomes
111
at a specific location in the entry for the package it refers to.
or
Maintainer: John Hasler <jhasler@debian.org>
becomes
999
etc.
The result is still human readable and editable with any text editor,
if you know the codes. The "special dpkg editor" would just make life
easier for those not wanting to look up or learn any codes.
later,
Bruce
Reply to: