The Image Packaging System, also known as IPS or pkg(5), is a
cross-platform package management system created by the
OpenSolaris
OpenSolaris () is a discontinued open-source computer operating system based on Solaris and created by Sun Microsystems. It was also, perhaps confusingly, the name of a project initiated by Sun to build a developer and user community around th ...
community in coordination with
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
. It is used by
Solaris
Solaris may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
11, several
illumos-based distributions:
OpenIndiana, OmniOS, XStreamOS
and a growing number of layered applications, including
GlassFish, across a variety of OS platforms. IPS is coded in the
Python programming language.
Features
Features include:
* Use of
ZFS, allowing multiple boot environments and easy package operation rollbacks
* Transactional actions
* Support for multiple platform architectures within a single package
* Legacy support for SVR4 packages
* Extensive search grammar
* Remote search capability
* Changes-only based package updates
* Network package repository
* File and network-based package publication
* Package operation history
* On-disk package format (p5p)
* Multi-platform ports for layered applications:
** Broad platform support:
Windows,
Linux,
OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
,
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
,
Solaris
Solaris may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
,
OpenSolaris
OpenSolaris () is a discontinued open-source computer operating system based on Solaris and created by Sun Microsystems. It was also, perhaps confusingly, the name of a project initiated by Sun to build a developer and user community around th ...
,
illumos and
AIX
** Cross-platform update notification and package management
Graphical user interfaces.
Advantages
The fact that IPS delivers each single file in a separate shelf with a separate checksum, a package update only needs to replace files that have been modified. For
ELF binaries, it computes checksums only from the loaded parts of an ELF binary; this permits e.g. to avoid to update an ELF binary that changed only the ELF comment section.
Trade offs
Due to the fact that IPS delivers each single file in a separate shelf, slow operation is caused when the input source is on a medium with high latency (e.g. internet with higher round trip time or CD/DVD media with slow seeks).
References
External links
Github project: Image Packaging SystemMulti-platform Packaging for Layered Distros GlassFish Update Center Toolkit) Update Center 2.0 (multiplatform IPS)
OpenSolaris
Free package management systems
Sun Microsystems software
Unix package management-related software
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