From: Massimiliano Mirra <list@...>
Date: 2002-02-27T11:22:29+09:00
Subject: rpkg 0.3 pre-release and beta testers

I've just uploaded rpkg 0.3 to www.allruby.com/rpkg/rpkg-0.3.tar.gz
(thanks Curt for letting me use the space).

Before making a real [ANN], I'd be grateful to who tries it from their
system and spares me some blushing.  Because of the nature of the
tool, the amount of testing I can do here with one platform only is
limited.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about: rpkg is a Debian's
dpkg/apt-like package management system for Ruby modules.  Translated,
this means that you will be able to query a database of modules by
typing `rapt search <pattern>', show entries with `rapt show
<modulename>', and go online and type `rapt install <modulename>' to
have the module installed and ready for require, along with binaries,
docs and tests.

Changes from the previous versions include support for system wide
package bases as well as local (per user) ones, so you don't have to
use it as root anymore if you don't want to; replaced *nix-specific
hardcodings like "dir/file" with File.join('dir', 'file') so as to run
on non-*nix platforms; removed dependence on GNU tar for reading
(thanks Thomas Hurst for Archive::Tar::Reader).  tar executable is
still needed for creating packages, as well as gzip for uncompressing
them, as long as zlib crashes in gunzipping.

In the examples you'll use the packages I've uploaded to the
repository on www.allruby.com/rpkg/main (they are two small
applications and a module I have written).  A few more packages are
needed to get things going, so if you want me to package your modules
and put them online please tell me so.

Massimiliano