Software to take care of source packages
 

I am running Ulteo, an Ubuntu based system that uses apt and .deb. I was wondering if there is a tool that will manage packages in tar.gz format (source).

Is there such a tool? Does it resolve dependencies? If so, what is the website?

Thank you.

I can think of two such packages off the top of my head: stow and encap.

Neither one has dependency handling.

Both work in similar fashion. A folder is created under /usr/local (called stow or encap depending on which one you use). When you install a .src package, you run ./configure and make normally, then invoke the package handler to finish the process: stow <packagename> or epkg <packagename>. Each will create a sub-folder of /usr/local/stow (encap) with all components of the package, then symlink to the standard locations for the components. Upgrading src packages can be done: the package handler detects the installed version, and upgrades to the newer version.

The most notable user of encap is LFS (Linux From Scratch).

You can find out more here:
http://freshmeat.net/projects/gnustow/
http://www.encap.org/

Are you sure there are no tools like this that resolve dependencies?

just make a .deb package out of them using checkinstall. However, if you want it to handle dependencies you have to add that manually. Apt cannot know the dependencies if you don't tell it ...

The tool that resolves dependencies is the package manager. When you use the distro's package manager to install SW, it keeps track of what is installed, and goes to the repository to get any required files for whatever you want to install.
In general, if you want to install SW without using the package manager, then you have to go find all the files needed (dependencies)

In the nitpick department, .tar.gz is not synonymous with source code---that format could contain anything.

I thought Ulteo was based on Mandrake/Mandriva (maybe because is it Gael Duval's project??) Does it use the Ubuntu/Debian repositories?

Is that similiar to me thinking PCLinuxOS is the ;) "unnatural" offspring of Debian and Mandriva because of the DrakXtools and Synaptic they used?
[ I checked, PCLinuxOS is Texstar based. ]


Dependencies, the number one bane of all *x users, made worse by automatic dependency checking tools. I'm sorry, stupid things like saying the optional kde-edu package is an absolutely required package to have KDE installed because some twit packager for the distro can't live without the children's educational games on his [ or her ] computer does not make automatic dependency checking a good thing. It actually makes any automatic package management tools extremely bad things in my book.
[ LFS is the best, no bloatware dependencies unless YOU want them ]

Huh?????
Texstar (pseudonym) is the AUTHOR of PCLOS

then you probably installed a meta-package (like kde-base, kde-extras, kde-desktop or whatever they are named). They show you all packages they are going to install beforehand, if you don't like what they install you still have the option to install all single packages manually.
If dependencies for a package are 'bloated' with stuff that is not required, then the corresponding package mantainer is the one to complain to, because he determines, what's required, recommended ... for his package, the package-manager-tool just reads that out.