man pages section 4: File Formats

pkginfo(4)

Name

pkginfo– package characteristics file

Description

pkginfo is an ASCII file that describes the characteristics of the package along with information that helps control the flow of installation. It is created by the software package developer.

Each entry in the pkginfo file is a line that establishes the value of a parameter in the following form:

PARAM="value"

There is no required order in which the parameters must be specified within the file. The PKG, NAME, ARCH, VERSION and CATEGORY parameters are mandatory. Other parameters are optional.

pkginfo provides optional parameters and an environment variable in support of the zones (multiple Solaris environments) feature. See zones(5).

The following paramaters are mandatory:

ARCH

A comma-separated list of alphanumeric tokens that indicate the architecture associated with the package. The pkgmk(1) tool can be used to create or modify this value when actually building the package. The maximum length of a token is 16 characters and it cannot include a comma.

Solaris's installation software meaningfully uses only one architecture token of the form:

<instruction_set_architecture>[.<platform_group>]

where platform_group is intended only for Solaris installation packages. Third party application software should restrict itself to ARCH values from the following Solaris-supported instruction set architectures (uname -p): sparc, i386, and ppc. Examples of Solaris' platform groups (uname -m) are sun4u for the SPARC instruction set and i86pc for the i386 instruction set. See uname(1) and isalist(1) for more details.

CATEGORY

A comma-separated list of categories under which a package can be displayed. A package must at least belong to the system or application category. Categories are case-insensitive and can contain only alphanumerics. Each category is limited in length to 16 characters.

NAME

Text that specifies the package name (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters). Use the NAME parameter as the foundation for describing the functionality and purpose of the package; spell out any acronyms and avoid internal product/project code names. The DESC parameter can then be used to expand the descriptive information. Use the NAME parameter to state as specifically as possible the use of the package, why a user would need to load it, and so on.

PKG

Abbreviation for the package being installed. All characters in the abbreviation must be alphanumeric. You can also use the - and + characters in the abbreviation. The first character cannot be numeric, a + or a -.

The abbreviation is limited to a maximum length of 32 characters. install, new, and all are reserved abbreviations. It is customary to make the first four letters unique to your company, such as the company's stock symbol.

VERSION

Text that specifies the current version associated with the software package. The maximum length is 256 ASCII characters and the first character cannot be a left parenthesis. The pkgmk(1) tool can be used to create or modify this value when actually building the package. Current Solaris software practice is to assign this parameter monotonically increasing Dewey decimal values of the form:

<major_revision>.<minor_revision>[.<micro_revision>]

where all the revision fields are integers. The versioning fields can be extended to an arbitrary string of numbers in Dewey-decimal format, if necessary.

The following parameters are optional:

BASEDIR

The pathname to a default directory where “relocatable” files can be installed. If blank, the package is not relocatable and any files that have relative pathnames are not installed. An administrator can override the default directory.

CLASSES

A space-separated list of classes defined for a package. The order of the list determines the order in which the classes are installed. Classes listed first are installed first (on a media by media basis). This parameter can be modified by the request script.

DESC

Text that describes the package (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters). This parameter value is used to provide the installer with a description of what the package contains and should build on the description provided in the NAME parameter. Try to make the two parameters work together so that a pkginfo -l provides a fairly comprehensive textual description of the package.

EMAIL

An electronic address where further information is available or bugs can be reported (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).

HOTLINE

Phone number and/or mailing address where further information can be received or bugs can be reported (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).

INTONLY

Indicates that the package should only be installed interactively when set to any non-null value.

ISTATES

A list of allowable run states for package installation (for example, “S s 1” allows run states of S, s or 1). The Solaris operating environment supports the run levels s, S, 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. Applicable run levels for this parameter are s, S, 1, 2, and 3. See init(1M) for details.

MAXINST

The maximum number of package instances that should be allowed on a machine at the same time. By default, only one instance of a package is allowed. This parameter must be set in order to have multiple instances of a package. In order to support multiple instances of packages (for example, packages that differ in their ARCH or VERSION parameter value), the value of this parameter must be high enough to allow for all instances of a given package, including multiple versions coexisting on a software server.

ORDER

A list of classes defining the order in which they should be put on the medium. Used by pkgmk(1) in creating the package. Classes not defined in this field are placed on the medium using the standard ordering procedures.

PSTAMP

Production stamp used to mark the pkgmap(4) file on the output volumes. Provides a means for distinguishing between production copies of a version if more than one is in use at a time. If PSTAMP is not defined, the default is used. The default consists of the UNIX system machine name followed by the string “YYYYMMDDHHMMSS” (year, month, date, hour, minutes, seconds).

RSTATES

A list of allowable run states for package removal (for example, “S s 1” allows run states of S, s or 1). The Solaris operating environment supports the run levels s, S, 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. Applicable run levels for this parameter are s, S, 1, 2, and 3 See init(1M) for details.

SUNW_ISA

Solaris-only optional parameter that indicates a software package contains 64–bit objects if it is set to sparcv9. If this parameter is not set, the default ISA (instruction set architecture) is set to the value of the ARCH parameter.

SUNW_LOC

Solaris-only optional parameter used to indicate a software package containing localization files for a given product or application. The parameter value is a comma-separated list of locales supported by a package. It is only used for packages containing localization files, typically the message catalogues. The allowable values for this string field are those found in the table of Standard Locale Names located in the International Language Environments Guide.

SUNW_LOC="<locale_name>,<locale_name>,..,\
<locale_name>"

where

<locale_name>::= <language>[_<territory>]\
[.<codeset>]
<language>::= the set of names from ISO 639
<territory>::= the set of territories specified 
in ISO 3166
<codeset>::= is a string corresponding to the coded 
character set

Since a value of C specifies the traditional UNIX system behavior (American English, en_US), packages belonging to the C locale are viewed as non-localized packages, and thus must not have SUNW_LOC and SUNW_PKGLIST included in their pkginfo file. See also the SUNW_LOC parameter in packagetoc(4) and setlocale(3C) for more information. This keyword is not recognized by the add-on software utility Software Manager.

SUNW_PKG_DIR

A value set by pkgadd that contains the location of the installing package. This value is provided to any install time package procedure scripts that need to know where the installing package is located. This parameter should never be set manually from within a pkginfo file.

SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES

Defines whether a package, when installed, must be installed and must be identical in all zones. Assigned value can be true or false. The default value is false. The setting of SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES has the effects described below.

If set to true, the following conditions are in effect:

The package must be installed in the global zone.
The package must be installed in any non-global zone that is created.
The package must be identical in all zones.
The package can be installed only by the global zone administrator.
The package cannot be installed by a non-global zone administrator.

If set to false, the following conditions are in effect:

The package is not required to be installed in all zones.
The package is not required to be identical across all zones.
The package can be installed by the global zone administrator or by a non-global zone administrator.

Packages that must be identical across all zones must set this variable to true. This would include packages that deliver components that are part of the core operating system, or that are dependent on interfaces exported by the core operating system, or that deliver device drivers, or runtime libraries that use or export operating system interfaces that are not guaranteed to be stable across minor releases.

Packages that deliver components that are not part of the core operating system (such as application programs) that can be different between any two zones must set this variable to false.

With respect to SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES, keep in mind the following:

Use of pkgadd in the global zone installs packages in all zones unless -G is specified, in which case packages are installed in the global zone only. The setting of SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES does not change this behavior. For example, a package that has a setting of SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES=false is not installed in the global zone only.
The SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES attribute controls whether a package must be installed in all zones (and must be the same in all zones) when it is installed.
Use of the -G option to pkgadd with a package that has SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES=true is an error and causes installation of that package to fail.

SUNW_PKG_HOLLOW

Defines whether a package should be visible in any non-global zone if that package is required to be installed and be identical in all zones (for example, a package that has SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES=true). Assigned value can be true or false. The default value is false. The package is not required to be installed, but if it is installed, the setting of SUNW_PKG_HOLLOW has the effects described below.

If set to false, the following conditions are in effect:

If installed in the global zone, the package content and installation information are required in all non-global zones.
Software delivered by the package is visible in all non-global zones. An example of such a a package is the package that delivers the truss(1) command.

If set to true, the following conditions are in effect:

The package content is not delivered on any non-global zone. However, the package installation information is required on all non-global zones.
The package delivers software that should not be visible in all non-global zones. Examples include kernel drivers and system configuration files that work only in the global zone. This setting allows the non-global zone to resolve dependencies on packages that are installed only in the global zone without actually installing the package data.
In the global zone, the package is recognized as having been installed, and all components of the package are installed. Directories are created, files are installed, and class action and other scripts are run as appropriate when the package is installed.
In a non-global zone, the package is recognized as having been installed, but no components of the package are installed. No directories are created, no files are installed, and no class action or other install scripts are run when the package is installed.
When removed from the global zone, the package is recognized as having been completely installed. Appropriate directories and files are removed, and class action or other install scripts are run when the package is removed.
When removed from a non-global zone, the package is recognized as not having been completely installed. No directories are removed, no files are removed, and no class action or other install scripts are run when the package is removed.
The package is recognized as being installed in all zones for purposes of dependency checking by other packages that rely on this package being installed.

If SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES is set to false, the value of this variable has no meaning. It is a package construction error to set SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES to false, then set SUNW_PKG_HOLLOW to true.

SUNW_PKG_THISZONE

Defines whether a package must be installed in the current zone only. Assigned value can be true or false. The default value is false. The setting of SUNW_PKG_THISZONE has the effects described below.

If set to true, the following conditions are in effect:

The package is installed in the current zone only.
If installed in the global zone, the package is not added to any currently existing or yet-to-be-created non-global zones. This is the same behavior that would occur if the -G option were specified to pkgadd.

If set to false, the following conditions are in effect:

If pkgadd is run in a non-global zone, the package is installed in the current zone only.
If pkgadd is run in the global zone, the package is installed in the global zone, and is also installed in all currently installed non-global zones. In addition, the package will be propagated to all future, newly installed non-global zones.

SUNW_PKGLIST

Solaris-only optional parameter used to associate a localization package to the package(s) from which it is derived. It is required whenever the SUNW_LOC parameter is defined. This parameter value is an comma-separated list of package abbreviations of the form:

SUNW_PKGLIST="pkg1[:version],pkg2[:version],..."

where version (if specified) should match the version string in the base package specified (see VERSION parameter in this manual page). When in use, SUNW_PKGLIST helps determine the order of package installation. The packages listed in the parameter are installed before the localization package in question is installed. When left blank, SUNW_PKGLIST=" ", the package is assumed to be required for the locale to function correctly. See the SUNW_PKGLIST parameter in packagetoc(4) for more information. This keyword is not recognized by the add-on software utility Software Manager.

SUNW_PKGTYPE

Solaris-only parameter for Sun internal use only. Required for packages part of the Solaris operating environment releases which install into the /, /usr, /usr/kvm, and /usr/openwin file systems. The The Solaris operating environment installation software must know which packages are part of which file system to properly install a server/client configuration. The currently allowable values for this parameter are root, usr, kvm, and ow. If no SUNW_PKGTYPE parameter is present, the package is assumed to be of BASEDIR=/opt. SUNW_PKGTYPE is optional only for packages which install into the /opt name space as is the case for the majority of Solaris add-on software. See the SUNW_PKGTYPE parameter in packagetoc(4) for further information.

SUNW_PKGVERS

Solaris-only parameter indicating of version of the Solaris operating environment package interface.

SUNW_PKGVERS="<sunw_package_version>"

where <unw_package_version> has the form x.y[.z] and x, y, and z are integers. For packages built for this release and previous releases, use SUNW_PKGVERS="1.0".

SUNW_PRODNAME

Solaris-only parameter indicating the name of the product this package is a part of or comprises (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters). A few examples of currently used SUNW_PRODNAME values are: "SunOS", "OpenWindows", and "Common Desktop Environment".

SUNW_PRODVERS

Solaris-only parameter indicating the version or release of the product described in SUNW_PRODNAME (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters). For example, where SUNW_PRODNAME="SunOS", and the Solaris 2.x Beta release, this string could be "5.x BETA", while for the Solaris 2.x FCS release, the string would be "5.x". For Solaris 10, the string is "5.10". If the SUNW_PRODNAME parameter is NULL, so should be the SUNW_PRODVERS parameter.

ULIMIT

If set, this parameter is passed as an argument to the ulimit(1) command (see limit(1)), which establishes the maximum size of a file during installation.

VENDOR

Used to identify the vendor that holds the software copyright (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).

VSTOCK

The vendor stock number, if any, that identifies this product (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).

For further discussion of the zones-related parameters described above, see System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones.

Environment Variables

The following environment variables are available only to package class action scripts and to checkinstall, preinstall, postinstall scripts.

SUNW_PKG_INSTALL_ZONENAME

This variable is set only during the initial installation of a zone.

If this variable is not set, the system does not support the zones(5) feature. In this case, the package is being installed to or removed from a system that is not configured for zones.

If the variable is set, and equal to global, the package is being installed to or removed from the global zone.

If the variable is set and not equal to global, the package is being installed to or removed from the non-global zone named by the contents of the environment variable ${SUNW_PKG_INSTALL_ZONENAME}.

PKG_INIT_INSTALL

This variable is set only during an initial installation of Solaris, such as installing Solaris from a CD, DVD, or net install image.

If this variable is set and equal to TRUE, then the package is being installed as part of an initial installation of Solaris.

If this variable is not set, or set and not equal to TRUE, then the package is not being installed as part of an initial installation of Solaris.

The following code excerpt illustrates the semantics of the preceding environment variables.

if [ $PKG_INIT_INSTALL != "" ] ; then
        # Package being installed as part of initial 
        # installation of Solaris.

elif [ $SUNW_PKG_INSTALL_ZONENAME != "" ] ; then

    if [ $SUNW_PKG_INSTALL_ZONENAME != "global" ] ; then
         # Package being installed as part of initial installation 
         # of non-global zone $SUNW_PKG_INSTALL_ZONENAME
    else
         # Package being installed as part of initial installation 
         # of a global zone.
    fi

else
    # Package not being installed as part of initial installation of 
    # Solaris and package not being installed as part of initial 
    # installation of non-global zone.
fi

Examples

Example 1 A Sample `pkginfo` File

Here is a sample pkginfo file:

SUNW_PRODNAME="SunOS"
SUNW_PRODVERS="5.5"
SUNW_PKGTYPE="usr"
SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES=false
SUNW_PKG_HOLLOW=false
PKG="SUNWesu"
NAME="Extended System Utilities"
VERSION="11.5.1"
ARCH="sparc"
VENDOR="Sun Microsystems, Inc."
HOTLINE="Please contact your local service provider"
EMAIL=""
VSTOCK="0122c3f5566"
CATEGORY="system"
ISTATES="S 2"
RSTATES="S 2"

Attributes

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

ATTRIBUTE TYPE	ATTRIBUTE VALUE
Availability	SUNWcsu
Interface Stability	See entries below
PKG value	Evolving
VERSION value	Evolving
NAME value	Evolving
DESC value	Evolving
ARCH value	Evolving
CATEGORY value	Evolving
BASEDIR value	Evolving
ISTATES value	Evolving
RSTATES value	Evolving
MAXINST value	Evolving
SUNW_PKG_ALLZONES	Evolving
SUNW_PKG_HOLLOW	Evolving
SUNW_PKG_THISZONE	Evolving
SUNW_PRODNAME	Evolving
SUNW_PRODVERS	Evolving
SUNW_PKGVERS	Evolving
SUNW_PKGTYPE	Unstable
SUNW_LOC	Evolving
SUNW_PKGLIST	Evolving
SUNW_PKG_DIR	Evolving
PKG_INIT_INSTALL	Unstable

Notes

Developers can define their own installation parameters by adding a definition to this file. A developer-defined parameter must begin with a capital letter.

Trailing white space after any parameter value is ignored. For example, VENDOR="Sun Microsystems, Inc." is the same as VENDOR="Sun Microsystems, Inc. ".

SunOS 5.10 Last Revised 24 Mar 2006