Packaging applications

[Christian]

Reading the red book 'Developing and Porting C and C++ Applications on AIX',
it seems that mkinstallp is only provided from AIX 5.2. Is there any doc
about packaging from earlier versions ?

Thanks

Christian

[Andreas Schulze]

"Christian" <cgregoir99@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:bjq532$2j0$1@reader1.imaginet.fr...

> Reading the red book 'Developing and Porting C and C++ Applications on

AIX',

> it seems that mkinstallp is only provided from AIX 5.2. Is there any doc
> about packaging from earlier versions ?
>
> Thanks
>
> Christian
>
>

Hallo Christian,

I have used mkinstallp with both 5.1 and 5.2 successfully. However, the
first problem with mkinstallp is, that IBM included a little bit of
information about it in the AIX documentation but 'forgot' to put the
software on the AIX Media. Allegedly IBM intended to add it to the operating
system with some maintenance level. However, in fact it was neither added in
any ML for 5.1 (1-4) nor in the ML for 5.2 (1) yet. Hence it makes no
difference whether you have got the 5.2 media or not <grn>. So firstly you
need to ask IBM support to send it to you. Ask for bos.adt.insttools. (In
June I got version bos.adt.insttools.5.2.0.0.bff)
mkinstallp uses a shell and a perl script. Thus I would guess that it should
work with 4.3.3 also (but did not try this myself yet).
The documentation for packaging (and the packaging format itself) did not
change since at least AIX 4.3.3. You might find it here:
[url]http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/doc_link/en_US/a_doc_lib/aixprggd/genprogc/pkg[/url]
ing_sw4_install.htm This document contains almost all the information you
need to create installp packages in backup file format bff.

Having said that I must not forget to warn you: the mkinstallp scripts are a
bit faulty and somebody at IBM is still working on them. (Maybe that was the
reason to omit the tools from the media). So you need to know what an
installp package looks like to make the scripts work. Otherwise the script
generates empty packages and/or overwrite system directories. However, when
you know what you are doing (i.e. when you know the bff) and correct these
two little probs, IMHO mkinstallp is much easier to use than the mklpp
packaging tool from Bull.

Regards,
Andreas

[Christian]

"Andreas Schulze" <b79xan@gmx.de> wrote in message
news:bjrpn3$jom2@news-1.bank.dresdner.net...

>
> "Christian" <cgregoir99@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news:bjq532$2j0$1@reader1.imaginet.fr...

> > Reading the red book 'Developing and Porting C and C++ Applications on

> AIX',

> > it seems that mkinstallp is only provided from AIX 5.2. Is there any doc
> > about packaging from earlier versions ?
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Christian
> >
> >

> Hallo Christian,
>
> I have used mkinstallp with both 5.1 and 5.2 successfully. However, the
> first problem with mkinstallp is, that IBM included a little bit of
> information about it in the AIX documentation but 'forgot' to put the
> software on the AIX Media. Allegedly IBM intended to add it to the

operating

> system with some maintenance level. However, in fact it was neither added

in

> any ML for 5.1 (1-4) nor in the ML for 5.2 (1) yet. Hence it makes no
> difference whether you have got the 5.2 media or not <grn>. So firstly you
> need to ask IBM support to send it to you. Ask for bos.adt.insttools. (In
> June I got version bos.adt.insttools.5.2.0.0.bff)
> mkinstallp uses a shell and a perl script. Thus I would guess that it

should

> work with 4.3.3 also (but did not try this myself yet).
> The documentation for packaging (and the packaging format itself) did not
> change since at least AIX 4.3.3. You might find it here:
>

[url]http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/doc_link/en_US/a_doc_lib/aixprggd/genprogc/pkg[/url]

> ing_sw4_install.htm This document contains almost all the information you
> need to create installp packages in backup file format bff.
>
> Having said that I must not forget to warn you: the mkinstallp scripts are

a

> bit faulty and somebody at IBM is still working on them. (Maybe that was

the

> reason to omit the tools from the media). So you need to know what an
> installp package looks like to make the scripts work. Otherwise the script
> generates empty packages and/or overwrite system directories. However,

when

> you know what you are doing (i.e. when you know the bff) and correct these
> two little probs, IMHO mkinstallp is much easier to use than the mklpp
> packaging tool from Bull.
>
> Regards,
> Andreas
>
>

Thanks for the reply Andreas. I'm gonna contact IBM support.

Christian.

[Darren Tucker]

In article <bjrpn3$jom2@news-1.bank.dresdner.net>,
Andreas Schulze <b79xan@gmx.de> wrote:

>
>"Christian" <cgregoir99@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
>news:bjq532$2j0$1@reader1.imaginet.fr...

>> Reading the red book 'Developing and Porting C and C++ Applications on

>AIX',

>> it seems that mkinstallp is only provided from AIX 5.2. Is there any doc
>> about packaging from earlier versions ?

>I have used mkinstallp with both 5.1 and 5.2 successfully.

[snip]

> mkinstallp is much easier to use than the mklpp packaging tool from
> Bull.

I found the link at [1] useful.

There's also Jim Abbey's (GPL'ed) lppbuild (I'm not sure if that's what
you're referring to here).

If you're looking for something to bundle with non-GPLed software, I
wrote the LPP build scripts that ship with OpenSSH (see contrib/aix),
and those scripts have been placed in the public domain so you're free
to use and/or modify them for any purpose. They are known to work for
OpenSSH from AIX 4.2.1 to 5.2 inclusive.

[1] [url]http://publibn.boulder.ibm.com/doc_link/en_US/a_doc_lib/aixprggd/genprogc/pkging_sw4_install.htm[/url]

--
Darren Tucker (dtucker at zip.com.au)
GPG key 8FF4FA69 / D9A3 86E9 7EEE AF4B B2D4 37C9 C982 80C7 8FF4 FA69
Good judgement comes with experience. Unfortunately, the experience
usually comes from bad judgement.

[Casey J Brotherton]

"Christian" <cgregoir99@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<bjrtfm$9u0$1@reader1.imaginet.fr>...

> "Andreas Schulze" <b79xan@gmx.de> wrote in message
> news:bjrpn3$jom2@news-1.bank.dresdner.net...

> >
> > "Christian" <cgregoir99@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> > news:bjq532$2j0$1@reader1.imaginet.fr...

> > > Reading the red book 'Developing and Porting C and C++ Applications on

> AIX',

> > > it seems that mkinstallp is only provided from AIX 5.2. Is there any doc
> > > about packaging from earlier versions ?
> > >
> > > Thanks
> > >
> > > Christian
> > >
> > >

> > Hallo Christian,
> >
> > I have used mkinstallp with both 5.1 and 5.2 successfully. However, the
> > first problem with mkinstallp is, that IBM included a little bit of
> > information about it in the AIX documentation but 'forgot' to put the
> > software on the AIX Media. Allegedly IBM intended to add it to the

> operating

> > system with some maintenance level. However, in fact it was neither added

> in

> > any ML for 5.1 (1-4) nor in the ML for 5.2 (1) yet. Hence it makes no
> > difference whether you have got the 5.2 media or not <grn>. So firstly you
> > need to ask IBM support to send it to you. Ask for bos.adt.insttools. (In
> > June I got version bos.adt.insttools.5.2.0.0.bff)
> > mkinstallp uses a shell and a perl script. Thus I would guess that it

> should

> > work with 4.3.3 also (but did not try this myself yet).
> > The documentation for packaging (and the packaging format itself) did not
> > change since at least AIX 4.3.3. You might find it here:
> >

> [url]http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/doc_link/en_US/a_doc_lib/aixprggd/genprogc/pkg[/url]

> > ing_sw4_install.htm This document contains almost all the information you
> > need to create installp packages in backup file format bff.
> >
> > Having said that I must not forget to warn you: the mkinstallp scripts are

> a

> > bit faulty and somebody at IBM is still working on them. (Maybe that was

> the

> > reason to omit the tools from the media). So you need to know what an
> > installp package looks like to make the scripts work. Otherwise the script
> > generates empty packages and/or overwrite system directories. However,

> when

> > you know what you are doing (i.e. when you know the bff) and correct these
> > two little probs, IMHO mkinstallp is much easier to use than the mklpp
> > packaging tool from Bull.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Andreas
> >
> >

>
> Thanks for the reply Andreas. I'm gonna contact IBM support.
>
> Christian.

Easier than both of those is using rpm. I have used it to track
revisions
of sys maintenance scripts that we have placed on our systems, and it
has worked pretty easily for that, also have used it to change
applications
that were given to us by customers with a "Here, untar and run this
script"
to trackable entries in our software lists.

RPM is installed as part of the default
install for aix 5.1(which is why they put the "L" at the end) and you
can install it off of the aix toolkit for linux for aix4.3
Also, rpm's show up in the "lslpp -L all "output for aix5.1 (don't
have
a 5.2 system yet) and rpm documentation is readily availible at
[url]http://www.rpm.org/max-rpm/[/url]

my $.02

Casey

[Michael Plutt]

Hello All,

Let me preface this by saying that I used to support AIX for IBM, and I
wrote this document back in the 3.2.5 days. It should work fine for all
versions of AIX due to it's simplicity, but if you want more information,
you should consult the guide mentioned at the end of this. Following is the
FAQ on creating installp images:


How to create a basic install image installable through the installp command

================================================== ==========================

OVERVIEW

The following will have to be done in order to build an installp image:

- Create a lpp_name file

- Create a liblpp.a file which installp uses to install the image

- Applied List File

- Copyright Notice

- Lpp Size Information File

- Unique Product Id File

- Create a list of the files that need to be backed up and use the
backbyname

command to back them up into an installp image.



STEPS

1) Create the lpp_name file, following is an example:

4 R I custom.rte {

custom.rte 04.01.0004.0000 01 N U custom.rte Custom Files

[

%

/ 24

%

%

%

%

]

}

Following is the text book description:

4 R I FilesetName {

FilesetName FilesetLevel 01 N U FilesetName FilesetDescription

[

%

/ 24

%

%

%

%

]

}



2) Create the liblpp.a file:

- Applied List File

This is a file that contains the full list of files that are in your

installp image. The files in the list need to be their complete pathname

from the root directory, and must be in relative format. The file must be

called "FilesetName.al" For example:

custom.rte.al


Following is an example of what would be in a standard applied list file:

../lpp_name

../.profile

../.kshrc

../etc/security/login.cfg

../etc/resolv.conf

../usr/lpp

../usr/lpp/custom.rte

*NOTE* THE lpp_name FILE MUST ALWAYS BE THE FIRST FILE IN THE LIST

- Copyright Notice

This is a file that contains the copyright of your install image. The

filename must be called "FilesetName.copyright". For example:


custom.rte.copyright

Following is an example of a copyright file:

Licensed Materials - Property of IBM

576539300

(C) Copyright International Business Machines Corp. 1985, 1995.

(C) Copyright Regents of the University of California 1982, 1986, 1987.

All rights reserved.

US Government Users Restricted Rights - Use, duplication or disclosure

restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.

- LPP Size Information File

This is a file that contains the amount of space required to install your

product to the system, and the filesystems inwhich the space is needed.

The filename must be called "FilesetName.size". For example:


custom.rte.size

Following is an example of a size file:

/usr 24

*NOTE* THE NUMBER NEXT TO THE FILESYSTEM NAME IS DERIVED FROM THE du -sk
OUTPUT

OF ALL OF THE FILES INCLUDED IN THE INSTALLP IMAGE.

- Unique Product Id File

This is a file that contains the unique product id you have assigned to your

product. The filename must be called "productid", and must contain the name

of the fileset followed by the productid. For example:

productid

Following is an example of a productid file:

custom.rte 9999-99999

- Creation Of The liblpp.a File

Once you have created the necessary files for the liblpp.a file you need to

now use the ar command to create the liblpp.a file:

- Place all of the files into one directory. For example: /tmp/images

- Go to that directory (cd /tmp/images).

- Run the following ar command:

ar -vq liblpp.a *

*NOTE* YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN AS ROOT IN ORDER TO RUN THE ar COMMAND

SUCCESSFULLY.

- Once the liblpp.a file has been created, remove all of the files but the

liblpp.a file in the /tmp/images directory.

3) Create a list of the files that need to be backed up and use the
backbyname

command to backup the files. Following is an example of a list:

../lpp_name

../etc

../etc/resolv.conf

../etc/security

../etc/security/login.cfg

../usr

../usr/lpp

../usr/lpp/custom.rte

../usr/lpp/custom.rte/liblpp.a

../.profile

../.kshrc

- Run the following to backup the files to a installp image file:

cd /

cat list | backup -ivqf custom.rte.4.1.4.0.bff



If you need more information on building of installp images, you may open

a consult line item with aix supportline, or review the following guide:

General Programming Concepts:

Writing and debugging programs SC23-2533



"Casey J Brotherton" <MerlinAPD@excite.com> wrote in message
news:33690f9f.0309121514.12c9a132@posting.google.c om...

> "Christian" <cgregoir99@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:<bjrtfm$9u0$1@reader1.imaginet.fr>...

> > "Andreas Schulze" <b79xan@gmx.de> wrote in message
> > news:bjrpn3$jom2@news-1.bank.dresdner.net...

> > >
> > > "Christian" <cgregoir99@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> > > news:bjq532$2j0$1@reader1.imaginet.fr...
> > > > Reading the red book 'Developing and Porting C and C++ Applications

on

> > AIX',

> > > > it seems that mkinstallp is only provided from AIX 5.2. Is there any

doc

> > > > about packaging from earlier versions ?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks
> > > >
> > > > Christian
> > > >
> > > >
> > > Hallo Christian,
> > >
> > > I have used mkinstallp with both 5.1 and 5.2 successfully. However,

the

> > > first problem with mkinstallp is, that IBM included a little bit of
> > > information about it in the AIX documentation but 'forgot' to put the
> > > software on the AIX Media. Allegedly IBM intended to add it to the

> > operating

> > > system with some maintenance level. However, in fact it was neither

added

> > in

> > > any ML for 5.1 (1-4) nor in the ML for 5.2 (1) yet. Hence it makes no
> > > difference whether you have got the 5.2 media or not <grn>. So firstly

you

> > > need to ask IBM support to send it to you. Ask for bos.adt.insttools.

(In

> > > June I got version bos.adt.insttools.5.2.0.0.bff)
> > > mkinstallp uses a shell and a perl script. Thus I would guess that it

> > should

> > > work with 4.3.3 also (but did not try this myself yet).
> > > The documentation for packaging (and the packaging format itself) did

not

> > > change since at least AIX 4.3.3. You might find it here:
> > >

> >

[url]http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/doc_link/en_US/a_doc_lib/aixprggd/genprogc/pkg[/url]

> > > ing_sw4_install.htm This document contains almost all the information

you

> > > need to create installp packages in backup file format bff.
> > >
> > > Having said that I must not forget to warn you: the mkinstallp scripts

are

> > a

> > > bit faulty and somebody at IBM is still working on them. (Maybe that

was

> > the

> > > reason to omit the tools from the media). So you need to know what an
> > > installp package looks like to make the scripts work. Otherwise the

script

> > > generates empty packages and/or overwrite system directories. However,

> > when

> > > you know what you are doing (i.e. when you know the bff) and correct

these

> > > two little probs, IMHO mkinstallp is much easier to use than the mklpp
> > > packaging tool from Bull.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Andreas
> > >
> > >

> >
> > Thanks for the reply Andreas. I'm gonna contact IBM support.
> >
> > Christian.

>
>
>
> Easier than both of those is using rpm. I have used it to track
> revisions
> of sys maintenance scripts that we have placed on our systems, and it
> has worked pretty easily for that, also have used it to change
> applications
> that were given to us by customers with a "Here, untar and run this
> script"
> to trackable entries in our software lists.
>
> RPM is installed as part of the default
> install for aix 5.1(which is why they put the "L" at the end) and you
> can install it off of the aix toolkit for linux for aix4.3
> Also, rpm's show up in the "lslpp -L all "output for aix5.1 (don't
> have
> a 5.2 system yet) and rpm documentation is readily availible at
> [url]http://www.rpm.org/max-rpm/[/url]
>
> my $.02
>
> Casey