Distributing custom-compiled binaries/libraries

[Matt Good]

I've started using slack recently and have found it quite nice, but I
wanted to get some thoughts on distributing custom-compiled packages.
I use encap/epkg to manage these packages (similar to stow, you
install each package with PREFIX like /usr/local/encap/something-1.2.3
and epkg symlinks the contents into /usr/local)

I currently have all my encap packages in one rsync module that gets
distributed to all the slack roles, but as I'm adding more stuff it's
obvious that I shouldn't need to install everything on every role.

I'm considering putting the relevant packages in files/usr/local/encap
for each role where they're needed. This seems like it could work,
but feels slightly out-of-place with using slack for "config"
management, not "package" management.

Anyone have a nice alternative they'd recommend?

[Alan Sundell]

Let's back up a bit...maybe you have some unstated reason for this, but how about using a package manager? :)

For example, I usually make .debs and distribute with apt.  Works quite well.

--Alan

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[Steve Atwell]

Oh man, epkg. Obscure package manager meets obscure configuration manager. :-)

I assume you're already building .tar.gz packages with mkencap or by
tarring up your encap/pkg-ver directory. If not, I'd start by doing
that, so that you have single files per app that you can transfer
around.

Once you've done that, it's just a matter of figuring out a way to
move them around that works for you, and you can install them in your
slack preinstall or postinstall script. Since epkg has built-in http
support, you could just drop them on a web server somewhere if that's
convenient.

Or you could serve them alongside your slack source. E.g., if your
slack source is rsync://slack-master/slack, you can add another rsync
module called encap that contains your encap packages. Then write a
simple script to fetch just the package you want and install it.

If you're on a platform that already has modern package distribution
tools like apt, I'd recommend ditching epkg and moving to whatever's
used on your platform. I think you'll find it's less work in the long
run.

On Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 5:08 PM, Matt Good <matt...@matt-good.net> wrote: