PackMan package manager 0.9.1 beta released

PackMan version 0.9.1 beta is now available.

The main reason for this release is to allow PackMan to run on the
Raspberry Pi 3.

New to this version:

- Recompiled with a new version of the GCCSDK for Raspberry Pi 3 compatibility.
- Fixed bug where it was impossible to exit PackMan when it was first run
without installing the Packages directory.

If you already have a previous version of !PackMan or !RiscPkg
installed you can install it or upgrade it from either of
these programs.

The latest versions of PackMan are now distributed via the ROOL packaging
sites. RiscPkg and the older versions of PackMan may not have these
sources in the list of sources. If this version of PackMan doesn’t appear
as an update in your browser you probably need to add the following url
to the PackMan sources.
http://packages.riscosopen.org/packages/pkg/programs-armv5

Otherwise go to https://sites.google.com/site/alansriscosstuff/packman
for download and installation instructions.

PackMan is a package manager front end for packages distributed
using the RISC OS Packaging Project (see http://www.riscpkg.org).

Its features include:

- Summary and detailed description of the packages
- Filters to allow display of packages for a specific category,
what’s installed, what’s new or upgrades to already installed
packages.
- Search for a package.
- Single buttons to start an install, upgrade or removal of a package.
- Menu option to upgrade all your packages at once.
- Automatically install dependencies for you, always showing what
is going to be installed.
- Install multiple packages at once.
- Install the components from a packages to your own location.

System requirements

RISC OS 4.0 or greater with long filenames
Internet connection for downloading packages

I have updated my link file to point to !Cat version 0.24 vice 0.22 (on 13 Sept) but PackMan still shows version 0.22 even after fetching using ‘Update lists’. Has something changed please?

Chris,
I’m not an expert, but I think it may be that the pointer file that ROOL uses to get your list of applications isn’t available/accessible at the moment.
I did a quick test with wget and it returned a 404 error [NOT FOUND].

Yes – there seems to be something odd going on. It is definitely there (I can view my web space using ftp: and see the file ‘pointer.url’) but it returns a 404 error when looked for in a browser. I’m baffled.

Unrelated, but this has jogged my memory about hosting my own software distribution point.

Is there an app to build the distribution list from a directory of packages? I’m talking hundreds here, so manually isn’t really an option.

When you have your package list, what filename is PackMan expecting on the package URL?

It is definitely there (I can view my web space using ftp: and see the file ‘pointer.url’) but it returns a 404 error when looked for in a browser. I’m baffled.

I have now changed the filename to ‘pointer.txt’ as it appears that some time after 2014 my ISP started treating a ‘*.url’ file specially and making it invisible. At least that’s my guess and Theo’s. We’ll see if it worked tonight…

Jon,

The gccsdk/autobuilder has a program called pkgindex that builds an index from packages. It’s called from a shell script called build-index. The source is in the toolsrc subdirectory.
If you want to look at it The WebSVN url is http://www.riscos.info/websvn/listing.php?repname=gccsdk&path=%2Ftrunk%2Fautobuilder%2Ftoolsrc%2F&#a467bcd81627f39d685188f886e263986.

PackMan doesn’t mind about the file name on the package url, so you can use what you like.
The convention for the package zip files in <PackageName>_<version>-<package_version> e.g. PackMan_0.90-1, but this isn’t critical.

I’ve been wishing for packages of your software for quite a while, but haven’t had time to talk to you about it. If you need any help, please let me know – my email is in the PackMan !Help file.

We’ll see if it worked tonight…

It didn’t…