mkpkg

I recently came across a small toolkit for automating the process of building Slackware or OpenLab packages – mkpkg. This tool is useful for developers who need to streamline the package creation process for their projects. The tool's script was developed by referencing the instructions mentioned in "The perfect package" and automating the process using a script.

Mkpkg should work on most packages, but it won't work unless the source package contains a makefile. So, users need to write a simple makefile if their package doesn't have one. If the makefile handles "DESTDIR", then the tool will use it to make the package without actually installing the sources. However, if it doesn't handle "DESTDIR," then it will use installwatch (which comes with checkinstall) to install the sources. In this case, users would need to install the package separately. The tool creates a package that follows the Slackware standards.

Unlike checkinstall, mkpkg is more precise in following Slackware standards but only creates slack-desc (description) files. However, users can create other slack- files by modifying the package manually (by going to /mkpkg/$PACKAGE_NAME) and rerunning the mkpkg command. The tool logs the configure options used when building a package, which serves as a reminder when users want to build an update.

The newest release has made significant progress, with several bugs being resolved over several months of production use. This milestone release marks the addition of the package build numbering feature, which was previously absent. In conclusion, mkpkg is a useful tool for developers who need to automate the package building process while following the Slackware standards.