Debian-based packaging - was PostgreSql Version

[David Tangye <..hidden..>]

On Mon, 2006-09-25 at 20:18 -0400, Alejandro Imass wrote:
> I have Ubuntu 5.10 in my client machines and Debian Stable on
> the servers, and only one Debian Testing on a test server. In Ubuntu
> 5.10 the most recent PostgreSql you can update to without pinning is
> 8.0.3. 

> You would also have to check if Dapper "server" version has
> 8.1.4. 
Yes it does. All the different CD variants of Ubuntu (Desktop, Server,
or Alternative CD), irrespective of version (5.10 Breezy, 6.06 Dapper
and I think the upcoming 6.10 Edgy) link to the same versions of all
packages within them. The different CDs simply contain different
combinations of packages to be initially installed. This is simply done
via 'pseudo packages' (I think that's what they call them) eg the
Desktop pseudo package points to/gets ('depends on' in their package
terminology) the X and Gnome (real) packages. So if you install the
Desktop package, you get the packages necessary to give you a GUI and
other stuff.

After initial install, adding other packages is independent of what when
before. So if you install or upgrade postgres (ie the postgres package)
you get the latest postgres irrespective of whatever pseudo or real
package are already installed. Moreover installing that package will
automatically cause the latest versions of dependent packages to also be
installed/upgraded without you even having to know about it.

Actually that's why I would like to see LSMB being released via
debian/rpm package management, as it automates:
1. installation of all related software - via additional packages
2. running the setup/upgrade scripts;

so makes it automatic for users to ensure that the latest LSMB is always
on their machine.

I currently have 1287 packages installed under package management, and 0
under tarball/ make-hack-etc these days. Of them:
 - 1286 are semi-automatically kept up to date by the package manager. I
get to click to initiate the upgrades, or should I want to, deselect
some first.
 - only 1 (sql-ledger) needs to be upgraded by my own script. It gets
the sl debian file from a non-standard place and does a non-standard
hack to it via a script I wrote. I would not want it in with the other
1286, as it is the one package of all them that has proven to get
released with serious bugs in it, eg 2.6.18.

ps. Background info, if you dont know: Ubuntu uses the debian package
management system. Ubuntu official repositories (of packages) are in the
ubuntu website.
 - Many packages are based on apps that have (minor?) porting changes
for running correctly on ubuntu. These package names are suffixed
ubuntuN (N is usually '1').
 - Other (most) packages are unchanged from as per released for debian
distros in general. The SL package at
http://packages.debian.org/unstable/web/sql-ledger is one example.