Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: RPMTAR - tar.gz files that are RPMs
Message-ID: <pycola.863723739.26688@liw.clinet.fi>
From: Jim Lowe <jhl@richmond.infi.net>
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 19:15:39 GMT
Organization: Erol's Internet Services
Approved: linux-announce@news.ornl.gov (Lars Wirzenius)
 comp.os.linux.announce
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Xref: nntpfeed.doc.ic.ac.uk comp.os.linux.announce:7309

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Date: May 5, 1997

   RPMTAR -- It makes RPMs that are tar.gz files
           
     From: Jim Lowe <jhl@richmond.infi.net>

It's actually a patch to Red Hat rpm version 2.3.10, although,
since it is not endorsed by Red Hat, I am calling it `rpmtar'
for now.

It looks and acts just like Red Hat rpm except the package 
format is tar (the whole file is tar), one of the POSIX 
interchange formats and de facto internet standard for packages. 

The idea here is to decrease and unify not increase the number 
of package formats in use an thereby make it easy for application
vendors to support all distributions; and, make it easy for other
POSIX implementations to use Linux packages; and, leverage the 
great source management idea (pristine sources with patches) of 
rpm and Debian's dpkg onto a standard format.

COOL! Where do I get it?

I've aimed it at /pub/Linux/system/admin.
There are two files:
    rpmtar-2.3.10.0.bin.i386.tar.gz
    rpmtar-2.3.10.0.src.tar.gz

These are actually RPMs. You can rename them if you want, to:
    rpmtar-2.3.10.0.i386.rpm
    rpmtar-2.3.10.0.src.rpm

No Chicken-and-Egg problem here, just UN-tar them.
You may want to exclude the `.rpminfo' file with the
- --exclude option on GNU tar.

The binary distribution only contains
  bin/rpmtar
  usr/doc/rpmtar/README.tarformat
to avoid wrecking your rpm installation. You will need to
install rpm-2.3.10 or higher (configuration files are shared).


But due to Murphy's Law:

I will be out of touch starting May 15 for several weeks; 
however, Albert FitzPatrick <ajf_nylorac@acm.org> will be 
monitoring my mailbox.

Also infi.net is upgrading and downgrading my Unix shell
account so my mail may be unreliable for the next few days. 
If it appears so use  ajf_nylorac@acm.org.

Below is the README.tarformat file. [ Deleted by moderator due to
length. --liw ]


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