[Rpm-metadata] Be careful with the format tag

[Darrin Thompson]

Jeff Johnson wrote:
> Darrin Thompson wrote:
>> The difference between RPM and .deb goes beyond file formats and into 
>> a mode of thinking about how to maintain an installed distribution. 
>> Debian is different. It's not because of .deb.
> 
> 
> 
> FIle formats are a mode of thinking? Tar vs. cpio? Gzip vs bzip2? Vi vs. 
> emacs? *.deb vs *.rpm?
> 
> What thought is there? All of the above formats have demonstrable 
> utility in known contexts for
> significant number of users.
> 

I agree. Perhaps I could have written that "difference goes beyond" 
sentence better...

Clearly you have been thinking about the different roles of the file 
format (deb/rpm), the package system (rpm/dpkg), and the management 
tools (apt/yum/red carpet etc.). The semantics of package metadata are 
shaped by the behavior of tools and their interactions.

What I didn't like at the time was lumping all the not-in-common data 
under a tag called "format". Seth seems to be moving in a direction I'm 
happy with now.

-- 
Darrin Thompson
Progeny