[Gnumed-devel] GNUmed packaging help needed

[Sebastian Hilbert]

Hi all,

GNUmed has started to become usable and is in production mode at a few 
settings. 

It is currently know to Work on 

Debian, openSUSE, Ubuntu, Gentoo, (Sidux,Fedora,Mandriva,PcLinuxOS), Windows 
XP (standalone, modular, USB-mode), MacOSX.

All those operating systems and Linux distributions established their own 
preferred way of how to deliver software to their users.

Every time a new release comes out we build packages for at least 7-10 
different settings.
 
That is a lot of work and currently handled by only two people.

This is a call for help. We need more people helping out with the packaging 
stuff. How much work is that for an individual ?

Depending on your experince it takes roughly 60 minutes per setting. Details 
below.

1.) Debian. Unless their are major structural changes packaging involves 
changing a few lines in a configuration file and uploading it to the Debian 
infrastrucuture. If new stuff needs to be implemented such as smarter user 
interaction more packaging skills are required. Their is plenty of 
information on the interweb on how to become a maintainer. This is currently 
handled by Andreas. Thanks a lot. 
1.1) Debian backports. Discussion on the mailing list indicates that if might 
be helpful to get GNUmed into Debian backports. Andreas lacks the ressources 
to do this so we are in need of someone who will take this over. Work 
involved is limited as the packaging stuff is done by Anreas and it is mostly 
about testing and interacting with the backports team.

2.) openSUSE. I currently use their buildservice. This means when a new 
release comes out one needs to use their web interface or commandline tools, 
upload the tarball for the server and client , make changes to the spec file 
and trigger a rebuild. Point releases are handled withing 30 Minutes. Major 
version changes such as 3.x to 4.x require more time for testing and 
adapating the spec file. Testing involves testing GNUmed on openSUSE 10.3, 
11.0, 11.1 currently. Vmware or other virtualization products help a lot.

3.) Fedora.Mandriva. I am not aware of any GNUmed users running those 
distributions. Both are rpm-based and are handled by the openSUSE build 
service. If you have carefully crafted spec file for openSUSE you can build 
for Fedora and Mandriva as well. If the need arises specific modifications 
might become neccessary.

4. Ubuntu. This mainly invloved building on the work of the Debian people. 
This is currently handled by having Ubuntu 8.04 in a virtual machine. 
Launchpad is the buildservice for Ubuntu. Re-Packaging basics are shown in a 
set of youtube videos and got me started in roughy a day. Time involved per 
release is 30-60 minutes. Launchpad will build packages for different Ubuntu 
versions. Contact me to get you started.
 
5.) Windows XP. FOSS is not Linux only. We have quite a few people trying 
Windows versions. Up to now it was challenging to get GNUmed running. This is 
mainly due to the facht that Windows cares s**t about how users install 
software. Their is no central repository where you could apt-get foo from. 
The user needs to install python,wxpython, postgresql ... That is where most 
failed. We now have crafted packages which will do the above installation for 
you. Windows packagers are asked to produce three versions of both client and 
server. First is the GNUmed-only version. Second is the GNUmed-including 
dependencies-version. Thirs is the Run-every-thing-from-USB-drive version. If 
you want to take this over I can provide a complete toolchain including build 
environment you can copy to your system and get running within 60 minutes. 
The three releases mostly depend on each other. So if you build the 
GUmed-standalone version it is a matter of calling a few batch scripts to 
produce the other ones. A licensed Windows system is recommended (e.g. in a 
virtual machine)  but short of testing the build stuff can be achieved in a 
Linux only environment.

6.) MacOS X. has not been given a lot of ressources latetly as we have no 
hardware. There are oudated packages which can serve as a base. It was fairly 
straightforward as MacOS seems to throw everything in a bundle. To enhance 
the user experience you might want to take a look at the packaging for the 
KDE4Mac project and their use of macports.

7.) Live-CD. You need a Debian-Box and internet connection. I can provide a 
working configuration.  One simply runs lh_build and uploads the resulting 
iso for a new release.

Given you have read the above you might decide to step in and take over one 
build or so. Let Andreas or myself know if you need help to get started. I 
would really appreciate it as I am currently looking for ways to get into 
conding again.

-- 
Sebastian Hilbert 
Leipzig / Germany
[www.gnumed.de]  -> PGP welcome, HTML ->/dev/null