Best way to filter automated dependencies

Stuart D. Gathman stuart at bmsi.com
Thu Jun 9 18:38:20 UTC 2011


On Thu, 9 Jun 2011, Daniel Neuberger wrote:

> On Thu, Jun 9, 2011 at 12:21 PM, Stuart D. Gathman <stuart at bmsi.com> wrote:
>> Your dummy package omits BuildRoot, and actually includes files when
>> you "build" it (failing if they are missing).
>
> I don't think I follow what you're saying/showing.  If the dummy
> package actually includes the files, it's no longer a dummy package,
> right?  Also, wouldn't the files provided by the dummy package
> conflict or overwrite the files provided by the actual package?

The package just archives the existing files.  When you install it on
the same system (with the externally installed files), it replaces
the files with identical copies.  *BUT*, now RPM will track any changes
to the externally installed files (rpm -V) and you can install the package
on other binary systems - so the Provides is not a lie.

A variation on this is my rpms to take a firefox binary tarball, and
build an rpm from it by including the tarball as a "source", and installing
the tarball and then packaging it the RPM way.  This lets you conveniently
test firefox version others than what your distro provides, without having
to build them all yourself.

--
 	      Stuart D. Gathman <stuart at bmsi.com>
     Business Management Systems Inc.  Phone: 703 591-0911 Fax: 703 591-6154
"Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis" - background song for
a Microsoft sponsored "Where do you want to go from here?" commercial.


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