The path to a standard package manager starts with a standardized protocol for package management.
A service protocol that is able to serve a repository of packages over http and ftp. A client protocol that can keep track of installed packages and can index, search and look for updates on installed packages.
Split package management into layers and only try to standardize bit by bit. People will never agree on deb vs rpm. People will never agree on using json vs python vs Makefile vs ruby vs shell vs whatever else - they'll always want their most familiar language for their package manager, which in domain-specific packaging means the domain-specific language.
So don't try to standardize those. Standardize the rest. Give us the protocol that can power all of this and increase interoperability. Separate the repository layer, the package format (deb, rpm), the packagefile format (setup.py, Makefile, PKGBUILD) and the package manager (interface: yum, apt-get, aptitude, pip, npm) from the rest of the protocol.
Make this potentially usable for things such as browser extension repositories, android package management, vim bundles and what not.
Someone please work on this. I'd do it but it just occured to me I have to clean my oven.
Yes, I think this is the right approach. Most package managers use the same command functionality under different synonyms. I don't mind all the different applications so much as the lack of a standard that they are built too.
A service protocol that is able to serve a repository of packages over http and ftp. A client protocol that can keep track of installed packages and can index, search and look for updates on installed packages.
Split package management into layers and only try to standardize bit by bit. People will never agree on deb vs rpm. People will never agree on using json vs python vs Makefile vs ruby vs shell vs whatever else - they'll always want their most familiar language for their package manager, which in domain-specific packaging means the domain-specific language.
So don't try to standardize those. Standardize the rest. Give us the protocol that can power all of this and increase interoperability. Separate the repository layer, the package format (deb, rpm), the packagefile format (setup.py, Makefile, PKGBUILD) and the package manager (interface: yum, apt-get, aptitude, pip, npm) from the rest of the protocol.
Make this potentially usable for things such as browser extension repositories, android package management, vim bundles and what not.
Someone please work on this. I'd do it but it just occured to me I have to clean my oven.