src and pkgsrc (Was: RCS Discussion)

[Justin C. Sherrill]

On Wed, August 6, 2008 4:24 pm, Samuel J. Greear wrote:

> An over-the-wire format efficient enough that the RCS could be used as the
> sole means of obtaining and keeping up to date the source and pkgsrc
> trees. This just seems like a good idea, and could eliminate the multitude
> of ways it is done now, rsync, cvs, cvsup, etc., as well as potentially
> eliminating future need for something like FreeBSD's portsnap.

Here's an idea that may seem strange but could make things a bit easier,
tangentially related to SJG's RCS conversation:

It's always bothered me that pkgsrc is a separate download/update process
from the main DragonFly system.  It also bothers me that it doesn't come
with DragonFly - you have to figure out how to install pkgsrc after the
fact, unlike on NetBSD or with FreeBSD ports.

Right now, I'm building packages from the most recent pkgsrc quarterly
release.  That's on a 3 month cycle, and we're on a 6 month release cycle.

Here's my idea: why don't we create release CDs with /usr/pkgsrc populated
with the corresponding quarterly release of pkgsrc?

The advantages:
- applications can be added immediately
- binary packages are available that match the installed system
- People who want to go to pkgsrc head can do so without restriction
- bulk builds of pkgsrc tell us what works and what doesn't for the release
- DragonFly 'ships' with a known set of applications.

The disadvantages:
- ISO size goes up
- People eventually start asking how to switch to a new pkgsrc branch
instead of how to install pkgsrc.

This could have some future benefit in terms of binary packaging; it's
possible now to set BINPKG_SITES, I think it is, and have pkgsrc download
binaries whenever possible and build from source when the binary isn't
available.  However, this breaks down if the binary repository is using a
different release of pkgsrc.

(You could grit your teeth and go with pkgsrc HEAD no matter what, but I
don't think that's entirely useful, especially given that upgrading
installed pkgsrc programs is not yet wholly straightforward.)