[NTLUG:Discuss] .debs versus RPMs

[A.L.Lambert]

	So as I understand your post, basically, the differences lie in
the availability of more mature tools for working with *.deb packages,
that make installation of dependencies easier, and try to help prevent
idiots from making crappy/nonstandard packges.  For me, I'll stick with my
RPM's (hey, they do what I want, and I know how they work :), but I
suppose it satisfies some of my curosity as to why some people are so
religious about *.deb's being better than rpm's.  Thanks.

	--A.L.Lambert
<SNIP>
> > but what on earth do *.deb's do that *.rpm's don't?  I've been building my
> > own rpm's for years, and hacking other folks's spec files and such for
> > longer than that, and I have never come across anything I wanted to do
> > with a packaging system that couldn't be done with rpm's.  I don't know a
> > whole lot about *.deb's, but I would be interested to know if there's some
> > really cool thing or something that they'll do that rpm's won't.  Thanks
> > in advance.
> 
> Inherently? While there might be a few bits of functionality back and
> forth that one or the other does a little better, the point is _NOT_
> that there is anything better about the two packaging formats.
<SNIP>
> The _differences_ are in two directions:
> 
> a) The "apt" tools provide a coherent way of dealing with _groups_
>    of packages, both vis-a-vis:
>      1.  Those that may have been collected together in a particular
>          "archive," and
>      2.  Those that are more directly related due to dependancies.
>    The former provides a "multiplexing" way of getting at lists of
>    packages to consider for installation.
> 
<SNIP>
> b) The debian "dpkg toolset" provides tools (notably "lintian") for
>    validating that what you get, after generating a package, you
>    have something that conforms to the General Requirements of
>    Fitting Well With The Distribution's Policies.  Having man pages, 
>    locating stuff in appropriate locations, and the likes.  Probably
>    lots of other stuff; I'm not quite sure what.
<SNIP>