- Arch Linux is operating system that uses pacman package manager.
- pacman can install, remove and update packages and its dependencies and track what files belong to them so it can remove those or prevent conflicts where one package has same files as another package
- to create new package one writes PKGBUILD file that is simple bash script where one has to define few variables like name, version and where to get files to put in a package and some functions on what to do with those files
- finally one runs makepkg utility that goes over those defined functions and creates archive that contains all the files how they will be installed on system and has some metadata that was defined in PKGBUILD variables
- AUR package maintainer (me) submits PKGBUILD (by using git) which only contains instructions on where to get the sources and how to prepare them
- User searches for rvgl on AUR, finds my PKGBUILD, downloads it, reads and checks if it does not do anything malicious
- User runs makepkg and it creates a package that can be installed with pacman
Code: Select all
-> aur sync rvgl-bin
Code: Select all
-> pacman -Qi rvgl-bin
Name : rvgl-bin
Version : 19.0430-1
Description : Rewrite of Re-Volt, popular 3D RC car racing game from 1999.
Architecture : x86_64
URL : https://rvgl.re-volt.io
Licenses : custom
Groups : None
Provides : None
Depends On : sdl2_image openal enet libunistring
Optional Deps : rvgl-dcpack: dreamcast version frontend, cars, rooftops track [installed]
rvgl-soundtrack: community-made soundtrack [installed]
rvgl-soundtrack-orig: dreamcast version original soundtrack
Required By : rvgl-cars rvgl-dcpack rvgl-loadlevel rvgl-music rvgl-skins rvgl-soundtrack
rvgl-tracks
Optional For : None
Conflicts With : None
Replaces : None
Installed Size : 128.49 MiB
Packager : Unknown Packager
Build Date : Sat May 4 23:49:10 2019
Install Date : Sun May 5 00:14:05 2019
Install Reason : Installed as a dependency for another package
Install Script : No
Validated By : SHA-256 Sum
Code: Select all
~> sudo pacman -R rvgl-bin
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~> aur search rvgl
aur/rvgl-bin 19.0430-1 (+0 0.00%)
Rewrite of Re-Volt, popular 3D RC car racing game from 1999.
aur/rvgl-cars 19.0317-1 (+0 0.00%)
Additional RVGL cars used for official events.
aur/rvgl-cars-bonus 18.0916-1 (+0 0.00%)
Additional RVGL cars not used for official events.
aur/rvgl-dcpack 18.1126-1 (+0 0.00%)
RVGL dreamcast content pack.
aur/rvgl-loadlevel 18.0326-1 (+0 0.00%)
Loading screens for RVGL custom tracks.
aur/rvgl-music 19.0415-1 (+0 0.00%)
Extra music for RVGL additional community tracks.
aur/rvgl-skins 19.0414-1 (+0 0.00%)
Additional RVGL skins for default cars and more.
aur/rvgl-soundtrack 18.1126-1 (+0 0.00%)
RVGL community-made sountrack.
aur/rvgl-soundtrack-orig 18.0327-1 (+0 0.00%)
RVGL original Dreamcast soundtrack.
aur/rvgl-superpros 19.0414-1 (+0 0.00%)
Overpowered cars for RVGL special events.
aur/rvgl-tracks 19.0414-1 (+0 0.00%)
Additional RVGL tracks for official events.
aur/rvgl-tracks-bonus 19.0414-1 (+0 0.00%)
Additional RVGL tracks not used for official events.
All packages are installed system wide with read only permissions so if you want to add some content you can modify PKGBUILD or create new one depending if it modifies existing pack content or adds new content. This way you can't install conflicting files and you keep your changed or added files in your own packages pacman can then replace with original ones when needed, deleting all the files of previous package from the system. This is especially useful for me as I like to change classes of cars for offline races.
For Windows users: pacman package manager is available from MSYS2, you can use io packs PKGBUILDs from AUR as is, but for rvgl-bin one has to change source for Windows one. I can make this later if somebody is interested.
What's next?
I'm pretty new to the community, but anyway I'm interested in package management system for RVGL user content.
I believe RVGL as platform should be continued beyond making sure old content works and that all content is user made, to user and developer experience:
- RVGL game should include user interface to search, download, update and remove user content.
Possibly special level accessible from Frontend or modified Frontend. - Content creators should be able to push updates to their levels directly to users, and users should be able to check for updates and download them from game menus.
- Content should exist in version control system (git) and have useful metadata (see PKGBUILD and what you input on Re-Volt Zone) that can be exposed through UI and used for tracking updates and files.
- Content packs should be metapackages that depend on user content packages, so you will be warned when trying to remove content that is used for online races and get updates for that one car without having to redownload whole big pack.
- One should be able to join races and download missing user content from centralized repository.
- Package manager should keep information in database such as reason to install (as dependency or explicitly installed), so when removing metapackages content that was manually installed previously is not removed when metapackage is removed.
- If some packages have conflicting files they should not be able to be installed together so it does not lead to updates that break package without user notice and idea how that happened. For example depending on order in which you install bonus cars and superpros you might play or not superpros online using fd_s7 and fd_s9 because those parameters will be overwritten if you install bonus cars after superpros.
If you made it to the end of post thank you! More posts are coming, sending my regards form Ukraine
![sirblob :sirblob:](./images/smilies/sirblob.png)