Projects :: Parcel

Parcel is a next generation package management system for embedded devices.

Features

• Client/server architecture which moves the processing and storage of package repository meta-data to the server, as opposed to the client as with current designs. This greatly reduces the storage, processing and memory requirements for the client device.
• Package repository meta-data will be stored in a database (probably MySQL) for quick retrieval and advanced querying. Using a database will allow complex querying of package meta-data and the creation of a web-based interface to this information for browsing, searching and maintaining of feeds.
• Server will be packaging format agnostic, while initial client library will support the ipkg package format.
• Client library will provide all functionality of the current ipkg command line tool, as well as provided additional functions for GUI clients like Opie Package Manager and GPE Package.

Overview

Parcel is composed of the following components:

• Server (parceld)
• Client (libparcel)
• Repository - database used by the server, stores the package meta-data
• Web interface - browse distro releases, IpkgFind type searching of meta-data, administrative backend for updating feeds
• Tools/utilities
  • repoload - command-line utility to load the Repository with an Ipkg Packages file

Status

2006/04/06

Back to working on Parcel again, and managed to change the completed database design :). Now a Distribution Release is a collection of Software, not Packages, which conceptually is more correct. Previously, one would have needed a separate Release for each Architecture. One area that might still need tweaking is the Session tables, and will be addressed when I determine what device information will need to be collected.

2005/11/08

Completed initial database design. Check out the Repository page for more information. Plus many other website updates to document my thoughts a little better.

2005/09/14

Work continues (slowly) on the server prototype. Have the socket and threading code written and tested (for the most part). Need to finalize the conversation protocol for client/server communication. Will also be adding design documentation here as time goes on...

2005/08/12

Begin work on server prototype. Developing the config file processing and logging functionality.

2005/07/30

Started brain dump of goals, functionality, etc.