Wireshark · Ethereal-dev: Re: [ethereal-dev] What is the format of the various binary packages for Ethereal

[Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, Jul 29, 2000 at 03:06:45PM +0900, Richard Sharpe wrote:
> For example, the HP-UX, Digital UNIX, and so on, versions?

The AIX packages are AIX executables that are self-extracting Zip
archives (yes, self-extracting archives on non-Wintel boxes!); see

	http://www-frec.bull.com/docs/install_down.htm

I don't know what the Digital UNIX format is - Laurent?  (I may be able
to check the Digital^H^H^H^H^H^H^HTru64 UNIX documentation at work.)

Debian packages are UNIX archives containing various stuff including
gzipped tarballs of other stuff.  There're probably several documents on
it on the Debian Web site, e.g.

	http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/packaging.html/

and there are probably documentations on the various programs for
installing packages (including those that grab them from the Web and
install them).

The FreeBSD link takes you to an entry in the ports collection; see

	http://www.freebsd.org/ports/

and

	http://www.freebsd.org/handbook/ports.html

and

	http://www.FreeBSD.org/porters-handbook/index.html

However, they probably also have binary packages available; for some not
entirely obvious reason, binary packages appear not to get as much
publicity as ports, which are in source form - if I just want to grab
some program for my machine and don't expect to be hacking it, I'll just
grab the binary and not screw around with the port.  Binary packages are
built from the port source.

The NetBSD link takes you to an entry in the packages collection; see

	http://www.netbsd.org/Documentation/software/packages.html

for the NetBSD packages collection - it looks similar to the FreeBSD
ports/packages mechanism, but I don't know if it's the same.

The OpenBSD link takes you to an entry in the ports collection; see

	http://www.openbsd.org/ports.html

for the OpenBSD ports collection, which says:

	The port collection, originally borrowed from FreeBSD, fills
	this gap.  The concept is to have, for each third-party
	software, a Makefile that controls

	    o where to fetch it, 
	    o how to do the fetch, 
	    o what it depends upon (if anything), 
	    o how to alter the sources (if needed), 
	    o and how to configure, build and install it. 

	This information is kept in a directory hierarchy under the
	/usr/ports directory.

	Packages are the binary equivalent of ports.  A compiled port
	becomes a package that can be registered into the system using
	pkg_add(1).

	Packages look like simple .tar.gz bundles, but they should
	always be added using pkg_add(1), as there might be some extra
	information that only pkg_add(1) knows how to handle.  Tip: you
	can distinguish between packages and .tar.gz bundles using
	pkg_info(1).

RPMs are obviously RPMs:

	http://www.rpm.org/

The Solaris packages are SVR4 packages; see the man pages in section 1
and 4 of the Solaris manuals with names beginning with "package" or
"pkg", and the "Application Packaging Developer's Guide", on

	http://docs.sun.com/

for discussions of the format and how to produce packages, and man pages
in section 1m with names beginning with "pkg" for information on how to
install them.

The Slackware link takes you to the Package Central entry; Slackware
packages are gzipped tarballs of stuff to install under, I assume, "/".

The Win32 link takes you to a directory with zipped archives of stuff;
we don't currently wrap Ethereal in any Shiny Installation Tool. 
There's a GIMP/GTK+ binary distribution in a form created by an
installer called "Installer VISE" fro MindVision Software - see

	http://user.sgic.fi/~tml/gimp/win32/downloads-20000722.html

for the full discussion, or

	http://www.mindvision.com/index2.html

for information on Installer VISE for Windows - the page at

	http://www.mindvision.com/Pricing/shareware.asp

says

	MindVision Software started in 1987 as two friends doing
	shareware software.  We still remember those days.  In fact,
	we're still a small company.

	Oh, sure, we've got a great product, and it's used by all the
	biggest and best software companies, but you don't have to be
	big to be the best.

	It's tempting to try to act like we're big, but we're really
	just a small group of mostly programmers in a house out in the
	middle of a Nebraska corn field.  Almost all of our resources go
	directly into building great installer products.

	We could easily chase the big company dreams that many aspire
	to.  However, we aspire to enjoy our work, to keep our customers
	happy, and to build some right-fine products.

	Because we're small, we remember well what it was like when we
	were just getting started.  We remember just how hard it is for
	a shareware author to develop high quality products on a nearly
	non-existent budget.  It's a big challenge when you don't have
	enough money to buy the same high quality tools as the big guys.

	MindVision wants to encourage developers who need a leg up, and
	so we've established a program by which qualifying shareware and
	freeware developers can use Installer VISE for free.  If you're
	just getting started by pouring your energies into your
	shareware or freeware products, read on.

           1. Download the appropriate version of Installer VISE 
           2. Build your installer. 
           3. Fill out and submit the form below. Submit one form per
	      product. 
           4. Include the text below in your documentation. 
           5. We normally process requests on Fridays. 
           6. If all goes well, we will e-mail a serial number valid for
	      one year to you within two weeks. 
           7. Use the serial number to build your installer. 

(the text is the ad for Installer VISE found on the GIMP/GTK+ for Window
page cited above).

WinPcap also has, I think, a binary distribution built with some
installer.