xpkg

xpkg is a package and package management system designed for the DarwinPorts ports collection. The goal of the xpkg project is to create a lightweight system that makes use of xar and relies on a few components to ensure painless installation, even during OS installs. Additionally, xpkg provides library functionality, making the creation of GUI front ends simple and easy.

One of the key features of xpkg is its robustness. It ensures an atomic installation with a rollback in case of errors. Every package installed must have a unique name, consisting of a name, version, and revision, as well as a major and a minor build number. The version and revision numbers are for the users' reference, while the major and minor numbers are used for dependencies.

xpkg's dependencies are simple, making use of items that consist of a name (string), major number, and minor number. Packages can request and provide items, and the use of items makes virtual packages unnecessary. The major and minor numbers are used to show the state of the item, with the minor number increasing with each build of the package, and the major number increasing if there are serious changes that make the provided features incompatible.

This software update comes with xpkgcreate(1), a tool that makes package creation from catalog files a breeze. Overall, xpkg is a reliable, robust, and efficient management system that simplifies the installation and management of packages.