User:Kr/Packaging

Requirements

Version Software provided to a customer typically has a version, describing timely variant. Typically older variants have smaller version the younger variants. Versions may be differentiated into Major, Minor and Micro.

Release

Is a set of features (an application) to be made available to a consumer.

Variant

A variant of a Release ads or removes some features.

Product

A product is type of how a Release is to be provided. A Release may be provided as

• a patch - generally only applicable to a limited set of Releases (sharing the major and minor version numbers), seeking to be small in size,
• an update - typically applicable to a bigger a set of Releases (sharing the major version numbers only), still seeking to be smaller in size as
• a respin - being complete and independent.

Medium

The bits of a Products are provided via a medium. These may be a concrete medium like

• a CD or an abstract medium like
• a download-self-extracting file, as well as a link to
• a repository (e.g. APT).

Support for Changes:

• updated package(s)
• (automatically) remove package(s)
• add package(s)
• rename package(s)

• remove file(s)
• add file(s)
• move file(s)

Package System Capabilities

.deb/apt

Relations:

• "depends"
• "recommends"
• "conflicts"
• "suggests"
• "replaces"
• "pre-depends"
• "breaks"

Tags:

• "priority"
• "section"

Features:

• "manual install"

.rpm

Relations:

• "provides"
• "requires"

.msi

Features:

• installation on demand
• advertisement ("assigning" / "publishing")
• customization
• patching / updating
• usage metrics on features - automagic de-installation
• Incorporated installations == ? "dependencies" ?
• Resiliency
• User / Machine wide installation
• Installer functions (API for MSI)
• Administrative Installation

Links: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372866.aspx