Customization

yalpack-0.1.8 Customization Guide

By default, the compilation DESTDIR directory for yalpack is under
/tmp, and the data, library information and package tarball directories
can be found under /var/yalpack.

Although probably suitable for most needs, these locations can be
customized by editing the file at /etc/yalpack.conf. Altering yalpack's
internal directory structure through direct editing is possible, but
not recommended.

Discussions of each variable in /etc/yalpack.conf follow, as well as a
note about libcheck and libprecise.

***********************************************************************
                                HEAD                         
***********************************************************************

Default value:	HEAD=/var/yalpack

HEAD is the location of the yalpack data directory. All generated
information about .new files, library usage, installed programs, and
package trees can be found here. In addition, package tarballs are
placed in $HEAD/packages by pkgmake prior to installation.

Considerations:

  * Placing HEAD in a location not owned by root is discouraged.
  * Except for genuine first-time installations, HEAD and VARBKUP (see
    below) should not be changed at the same time. Instead, do the
    following:

    1) Check the primary backup to make sure it is complete and up-to-
       date.
    2) Change HEAD in /etc/yalpack.conf.
    3) Copy the directory to the new location, or alternatively use
       /usr/share/yalpack/restore-yalpack.
    4) Once the new HEAD directory is in place, change VARBKUP in
       /etc/yalpack.conf. VARBKUP should not be an existing directory.
    5) Run /usr/share/yalpack/backups to generate the new backup.
       backups will not make a new backup if a directory is already
       present at the backup location.

Except for first-time installations, do not attempt any package
operations (including upgrades or installations of yalpack) until the 
new directory in HEAD is complete, whether through copying or
restore-yalpack.

***********************************************************************
                          VARBKUP and ROOTHOME
***********************************************************************

Default values:	VARBKUP=/var/log/yalpack
		ROOTHOME=/root

They say everything is a file on Linux systems. This is both good and
bad: unfortunately, files can be lost. Fortunately, files can be
restored! By default, yalpack stores parallel copies of the package
trees in /var/yalpack/pkgdata/TREES in the following locations:

  * /var/log/yalpack
  * $ROOTHOME/.yalpack-backup

When editing, the new VARBKUP should not point to an existing
directory. If ROOTHOME is changed, ensure that no ".yalpack-backup"
exists under the new directory.

If either of these variables is changed after installation, run
/usr/share/yalpack/backups to generate the new backup location or
locations. backups will not make a new backup if a directory is already
present at the backup location.

If changes to VARBKUP and HEAD are both wanted, see the instructions
in the "HEAD" section above.

***********************************************************************
                                TMP                         
***********************************************************************

Default value:	TMP=/tmp

When building packages to be installed with yalpack, use 
DESTDIR=$TMP/[NAME]-[VERSION]/dest. pkgmake will make packages from
compiled software in such locations.

No special action is required when changing TMP; simply make sure to
use the correct DESTDIR when building software.

For pre-installation changes, pass TMP to Makefile, e.g.
"TMP=/tmp/yalpack make package." If Makefile's TMP does not match the
TMP in /etc/yalpack.conf, the config validation script will offer to
change the value in yalpack.conf to match.

If changing TMP after yalpack is already installed, please note that
the repair of absolute symlinks to the build directory will fail if the
software was packaged using a different value of TMP. To avoid this
problem, try to refrain from changing TMP until all installations and
upgrades are complete. Alternatively, TMP can be changed to match the
old value temporarily. Packages without absolute symlinks to the build
directory will install correctly in any case.

***********************************************************************
                              SBINDIR                         
***********************************************************************

Default value:	SBINDIR=/usr/sbin

With Linux From Scratch set to move to a merged-usr setup from version
11.0, root-only yalpack scripts have been installed to /usr/sbin since
yalpack-0.1.5.

Changing the value of SBINDIR without also upgrading or reinstalling
yalpack is not supported. Instead, follow the following steps:

   1) In the yalpack source directory, change the value of SBINDIR at
      src/etc/yalpack.conf.
   2) Reinstall. Pass the new SBINDIR value to Makefile when running,
      e.g. "SBINDIR=/sbin make package." 
   3) At the start of the installation process, the config validation 
      script will offer to change the value of SBINDIR in
      /etc/yalpack.conf. Accept the offer, and the installation or
      upgrade will proceed.

If upgrading from a version of yalpack without /etc/yalpack.conf (any
version through 0.1.7), it will be sufficient to change the value
in the source directory and pass SBINDIR to Makefile as above.

***********************************************************************
                        libcheck and libprecise
***********************************************************************

libcheck and libprecise are special cases, in that they rely on "cut"
instructions to display results. If, against recommendations, the
internal structure of the yalpack directory is changed, the following
lines might have to be edited in addition to the edits made to change
the directory itself:

  * libcheck: lines 120 and 121
  * libprecise: lines 107 and 108

Specifically, the "2" in $((*NUM + 2)) refers to the number of
trailing backslashes following $PKGDEPS and $BINDEPS. Provided that the
internal structure of $BINDEPS and $PKGDEPS has not been changed, no
further editing will be necessary.