[Rpm-metadata] groups storage - some common ground here too?

[Jeremy Katz]

On Mon, 2003-11-03 at 14:08, Joe Shaw wrote:
> On Mon, 2003-11-03 at 01:06, seth vidal wrote:
> > I was thinking about the other files outside of just package metadata in
> > the lists and I was wondering about grouping metadata. Right now yum can
> > read the comps groups xml file, as can redhat-config-packages. I know
> > apt uses the idea of task-oriented groups and I know rc has a grouping
> > mechanism as well. Would there be any interest in seeing if we could
> > agree on a groups format as well?
> 
> Is the purpose to group similar packages together for ease of
> presentation, or to actually create some relationship between packages? 
> For grouping, Red Carpet just maps various RPM "Groups" (and the dpkg
> equivalent, I don't remember what it is exactly now) into friendlier
> categories for end-user presentation.

Ease of presentation and to provide logical groupings in a way that's
not in the package (so that it can be changed without rebuilding every
package or doing weird implanting magic).  FWIW, doing anything with RPM
groups is almost certainly a bad idea -- the granularity there just
isn't good enough (and it's too free form and therefore easily abusable
or just plain accidentally breakable)

Jeremy