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createrepo-c package

Can we get createrepo-c backported to Focal?

Asked by Dan Mick

As noted in https://answers.launchpad.net/createrepo/+question/690448, createrepo was removed from Focal because it's python2-only. A C replacement exists in Hirsute (createrepo-c) but it has not been backported to Focal. Is there a chance createrepo-c could be made available for Focal? I'm not familiar with the process for Ubuntu, so if the question is misplaced I'm happy to ask/request somewhere else.

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#1

See the following FAQ for the rules with regard to backporting (and SRU):
FAQ #3037: “no rolling release”.

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#2

A quick check of the createrepo-c package for impish shows a dependency on libc6 (>= 2.33) and libmodulemd2 (>= 2.9.4). The firs is available in focal only in a lower version, the latter is not even available in focal. So it seems that making createrepo-c available in focal will require a considerable amount of work - if possible at all without much backporting work for other packages.

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Dan Mick (dmick-m) said : 		#3

Re: https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+faq/3037: yes, but, this isn't proposing to add a newer version of a package or an update, but rather restoring a tool that was present in prior releases and will be present in future releases; might that not change the application of this policy?

As for versions: I suspect the libc6 version dependency is simply because it was built on hirsute which has that later libc; certainly it builds on focal outside the package build system. The dependency on libmodulemd2 is, I believe, optional; see https://github.com/rpm-software-management/createrepo_c/issues/300. I was able to build (with cmake) using -DWITH_ZCHUNK=OFF and -DWITH_LIBMODULEMD=OFF, and I believe both are optional. So while it would involve a patch to debian/rules, I think it would be acceptable, especially compared to the absence of the tool.

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Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#4

I suggest that you try creating a working version for focal in a PPA.
If you are successful, then this can serve as the first step for a backport.

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Dan Mick (dmick-m) said : 		#5

Sigh. well, I'm certainly a long way from a packaging guru, and every time I've tried to actually follow the steps, I end up finding obsolete and contradictory docs....but I can try again. Maybe there are usable modern docs somewhere now.

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