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The idea of having packages installed in different directories is very convenient for development, you often need to install several versions of the same packag

by ot 16y ago

The idea of having packages installed in different directories is very convenient for development, you often need to install several versions of the same package and don't want to clutter /usr/local (or don't have root permissions) Some months ago I have written a small tool that automates installing apps in separate directories and then symlink them to a directory in the path. It also supports disabling/reenabling/removing single packages (by removing the symlinks) and has a PIP fork to simplify installation of Python packages (also an "autobuild" for standard configure/make build systems) It was written for development but actually it became my preferred system to install packages in Mac OSX, packaging systems (fink, macports...) are terrible there. It's on pypi and doesn't require any installation, if you want to give it a try: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/bpt/ http://pypi.python.org/pypi/bpt/

eeperson 16y ago
Doesn't this do roughly the same thing as the Debian alternative system? EDIT: I should have read your link first. It appears that your system allows for greater isolation and the ability to relocate different versions.
- ot 16y ago
  Yes, and also everything is contained in a single user directory, a "box". You can have multiple independent boxes.
  - theBobMcCormick 16y ago
    Is this similar to Gnu Stow? Or does it do something significantly different?
    - ot 16y ago
      Stow installs packages in /usr/local, bpt in a directory specified by the user (for example under the home directory) BPT uses the pair (name, version) as install directory, so it is possible to install several versions of the same package and switch between them. The "boxes" (directories with packages) created with bpt are relocatable, so it is possible to prepare a box with all the applications and their dependencies and deploy it without needing root privileges. It has first class support for python packages (through PIP) and "autobuild", which is similar to checkinstall. I couldn't find these features anywhere else.
      - endgame 16y ago
        > Stow installs packages in /usr/local No, it doesn't. I've used stow heaps of times in my home directories on various university machines. The common case is for managing /usr/local, but you can ./configure --prefix=$HOME && make && make install prefix=$HOME/stow/foo-3.14 && cd $HOME/stow && stow foo-3.14 without trouble.

by ot 16y ago

eeperson 16y ago

Doesn't this do roughly the same thing as the Debian alternative system? EDIT: I should have read your link first. It appears that your system allows for greater isolation and the ability to relocate different versions.

ot 16y ago
Yes, and also everything is contained in a single user directory, a "box". You can have multiple independent boxes.
- theBobMcCormick 16y ago
  Is this similar to Gnu Stow? Or does it do something significantly different?
  - ot 16y ago
    Stow installs packages in /usr/local, bpt in a directory specified by the user (for example under the home directory) BPT uses the pair (name, version) as install directory, so it is possible to install several versions of the same package and switch between them. The "boxes" (directories with packages) created with bpt are relocatable, so it is possible to prepare a box with all the applications and their dependencies and deploy it without needing root privileges. It has first class support for python packages (through PIP) and "autobuild", which is similar to checkinstall. I couldn't find these features anywhere else.
    - endgame 16y ago
      > Stow installs packages in /usr/local No, it doesn't. I've used stow heaps of times in my home directories on various university machines. The common case is for managing /usr/local, but you can ./configure --prefix=$HOME && make && make install prefix=$HOME/stow/foo-3.14 && cd $HOME/stow && stow foo-3.14 without trouble.