I'm trying to re-package a piece of software for Fedora. The catch is that
this software depends about 15-20 specific versions of external libraries
that Fedora ships, but only in a newer version. In several cases, this
conflict is a deal-breaker--i.e., other installed software relies on the
official Fedora library package/version, so I can't just replace the
official RPM outright with a site-specific version.
I would like to stay as close as possible to Fedora's packaging best
practices. Even if I don't submit the resulting packages to Fedora for
review, it's important to get as close to the guidelines as possible.
From what I understand, the "right" way to package multiple
parallel
versions of one library is the 'compat-*' convention (
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/drafts/rpm-guide-en/ch18s02.html has an
overview). I took a look at the specs and manifests for a couple of
existing compat packages, and I think I understand the concept pretty well.
I think I can adapt the existing spec files and follow the conventions.
But I have a lot of questions, too, and I was hoping that anybody in the
know could help me.
* Is anything about the compat convention standardized, or a matter of
policy? I saw that the FESCO discussed about the issue, a while back, but I
feel like I may have missed something more recent.
* I can understand why large numbers of compat packages are frowned upon,
and 15+ compats to support one measly application seems excessive, even to
me. Is this the kind of thing that would torpedo a package review,
completely? Or is there room for discussion, given a commitment to improve
the situation (i.e., update the application) in time?
* What kinds of compat packages, and what specifically about them, are
considered bad? I've noticed that some compats don't appear to be included
in Fedora, like 'compat-python24'. It seems like a useful package, but I'm
seeing it in RPM Fusion--why didn't it pass review?
* In the future, what direction is Fedora taking the compat convention?
What kinds of long-term issues should I worry about, if I want to get ahead
of the curve?
If anyone can point me to existing resources on the compat subject, I would
appreciate the links, too.
Ryan B. Lynch
ryan.b.lynch(a)gmail.com