[Mageia-dev] Mirror layout, round two

[andre999]

Thomas Backlund a écrit :
>
> ...
>
> One thing hit me now...
> I've only been thinking of current cooker and all of the old stuff 
> there...
>
> But since we are going to have to import/rebuild every package we 
> need, it gets real easy... We just dont import any unmaintained stuff.

Note that just because a package doesn't have an official maintainer, or 
hasn't been changed for several years, doesn't mean that it is 
non-functional.  So packages should be tested before being eliminated.
>
> That way we get a clean mirror start for Mageia.
>
> And if someone import a package, it makes him the maintainer.
>
> Then if a package loses it maintainer, we need a policy like "if its 
> not maintained for X months, we drop it from the mirrors...

I have some very nice small programs that work very well on my system, 
that haven't been changed/maintained for years.
It might be better to use unmaintained packages as a training ground for 
new packagers, as suggested elsewhere in this thread.
>
> So the mirror medias accordingly to all comments so far would be a 
> simple:
>
> * core
>   - enabled by default
>   - mirrors must mirror this media to be listed as a mirror
>   - only GPL stuff
>   - must be selfcontained

As already commented in previous posts, I would rather see this split 
into 2 parts :
1) core = really core (or very useful) to a fully functional desktop or 
server or developer system.
Examples include packages for the kernel, usual Linux utilities and 
development tools, drivers, drak* and associated tools, complete desktop 
environments (such as Gnome, KDE, LXDE), and common applications such as 
LibreOffice (successor to Go-Openoffice) and Firefox.

  This would essentially be a subset (most) of Mandriva main, with 
possibly some from Mandriva contrib.  These packages may not depend on 
packages in extra.
  Every effort must be collectively made to ensure that packages in this 
group are maintained.

and

2) extra = supplementary packages which, if they break, will not affect 
core.
  This is essentially all (or least all maintained) of Mandriva contrib 
and much of Mandriva main.
Typical examples include calendar printing programs, poedit (for 
translators), and games.

Extra would probably be much larger than main.  (After eliminating 
non-functional non-maintained packages.)
>
> * nonfree
>   - disabled by default, installer will ask to enable it if
>     it detects hw that need driver/fw from here...
>   - mirrors must mirror this media to be listed as a mirror
>   - contains apps/drivers/firmware that are free to redistribute,
>     but we dont have GPL source for
>   - for example ati/nvidia drivers/firmware, Oracle Java, ...
>
> * tainted
>   - disabled by default
>   - mirrors are free to not mirror this media
>   - stuff we think we can redistribute, but that may have some
>     patent issues or other restrictions in oter countries.

I would rather call it "restricted".  For most potential users, its 
content wouldn't be seen as "tainted".

Otherwise, it seems a good breakdown.
Note
>
> -- 
> Thomas

- André