RISC OS Packaging Initiative
Alan Buckley
The RISC OS Packaging Initiative is an attempt to increase
the number of packages available for download from the RISC
OS Packaging Project (www.riscpkg.org).
To do this I need non-technical help from RISC OS users.
I am also offering to help developers to package their own
works.
An application doesn't have to provide source code or be
free to be packaged, it just needs to be able to be
distributed via the packaging project.
To help all you need to do is follow the following steps.
1. Identify an application to package.
For selfish reasons, if I am going to package it, it
must run on RISC OS 4 and RISC OS 5.
2. Check how it can be distributed.
This should be in the documentation somewhere.
3. Check for dependencies.
Does this application need something else to be run?
If so, if that is not already packaged, you need to
see if that can be packaged as well.
4. Check for a clear statement of copyright.
To package anything we need the copyright and
distribution rights.
5. Contact the author and see if it is OK by them to
package it.
It may be that copyright or distribution aren't clear
or there is some restriction that the author may wave
to allow it to be packaged.
If the author has left RISC OS and attempts to locate
him to ask fail, the application can still be packaged
if its documentation allows it to be distributed in this
way.
6. Optionally make my job easier by providing a summary,
description and suggested category for the application.
7. Send to me the information you have gathered
(email address below).
Remember to send me;
- a link to where I can download the application from
- what the dependencies (if any) are.
- where I find the copyright in the application.
- the text from any email received from the author.
- any other useful information you have gathered.
8. I will then look at the information you've sent,
download the package and attempt to package it.
9. I will send you an email to let you know I've received
your email and downloaded the package.
10. If all goes well I will then upload the package to the
package site and send you another email to let you know
it's there so you can test it.
11. Though not essential, it would be nice if you emailed
me in the future if you saw the original application
had a new version so I could update the package.
If you are a developer, contact me (email address below)
and I can;
1. create and maintain a package for you.
2. or create a package and turn it over to you to upload
and maintain.
3. or just give help and advice on how to do it all
yourself.
If you have written or contributed to a StrongHelp manual
please also get in touch as I can't find a copyright in
them so I'm unable to package them at the moment and would
like too.
You can contact me, Alan Buckley by email at
alan_baa in the hotmail.com domain.
--
n.g.b...@durham.ac.uk, Backup Moderator of comp.sys.acorn.announce
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