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Application Packaging Developer's Guide

Creating a prototype File

The prototype file is an ASCII file used to specify information about the objects in a package. Each entry in the prototype file describes a single object, such as a data file, directory, source file, or executable object. Entries in a prototype file consist of several fields of information separated by white space. Note that the fields must appear in a specific order. Comment lines begin with a pound sign (#) and are ignored.

You can create a prototype file with a text editor or by using the pkgproto command. When you first create this file, it is probably easier to do so with the pkgproto command, because it creates the file based on the directory hierarchy you created previously. If you have not organized your files as described in Organizing a Package's Contents, you have the cumbersome task of creating the prototype file from scratch with your favorite text editor. However, even when you create the prototype file using the pkgproto command, you will most likely need to make modifications to the file with your favorite text editor, so it is important to understand the format and contents of this file.

The Format of the prototype File

The format for each line in the prototype file is: 


partftypeclasspathmajorminorgroup

part

Is an optional, numeric field that enables you to group package objects into parts. The default value is part 1. 

ftype

Is a one-character field that specifies the object's type. See The ftype Field.

class

Is the installation class to which the object belongs. See The class Field.

path

Is the absolute or relative path name indicating where the package object will reside on the target system. See The path Field.

major

Is the major device number for block or character special devices. 

minor

Is the minor device number for block or character special devices. 

mode

Is the octal mode of the object (for example, 0644). See The mode Field.

owner

Is the owner of the object (for example, bin or root). See The owner Field.

group

Is the group to which the object belongs (for example, bin or sys). See The group Field.

Usually, only the ftype, class, path, mode, owner, and group fields are defined, and are described in the following sections. See prototype(4) for additional information on these fields.

The ftype Field

The ftype, or file type, field is a one-character field that specifies a package object's type. Valid file types are described in the table below.

Table 2–3 Valid File Types in the prototype File

Use ftype ...

To Define A ... 

f

Standard executable or data file 

e

File to be edited upon installation or removal (may be shared by several packages) 

v

Volatile file (whose contents are expected to change, like a log file) 

d

Directory 

x

Exclusive directory accessible only by this package (may contain unregistered logs or database information) 

l

Linked file 

p

Named pipe 

c

Character special device 

b

Block special device 

i

Information file or installation script 

s

Symbolic link 

The class Field

The class field names the class to which an object belongs. Using classes is an optional package design feature, and is discussed in detail in Writing Class Action Scripts.

If you do not use classes, an object belongs to the none class, and when you execute the pkgmk command to build your package, it will insert the CLASSES=none parameter in the pkginfo file for you. Files with file type i should leave the class field blank.

The path Field

The path field is used to define where the package object will reside on the target system. You may indicate the location with either an absolute path name (for example, /usr/bin/mail) or a relative path name (for example, bin/mail). Using an absolute path name means that the object's location on the target system is defined by the package and cannot be changed. Package objects with relative path names indicate that the object is relocatable.

A relocatable object is one that does not need an absolute path location on the target system. Instead, its location is determined during the installation process.

All or some of a package's objects can be defined as relocatable. You should decide if package objects will have fixed locations (such as start-up scripts in /etc) or be relocatable before you write any installation scripts and before you create the prototype file.

There are two kinds of relocatable objects, collectively relocatable and individually relocatable.

Collectively Relocatable Objects

Collectively relocatable objects are located relative to a common installation base called the base directory. A base directory is defined in the pkginfo file, using the BASEDIR parameter. For example, a relocatable object in the prototype file named tests/generic requires that the pkginfo file define the default BASEDIR parameter. For example: 


BASEDIR=/opt

This means that when the object is installed, it will be located in /opt/tests/generic.

Note –

/opt is the only directory to which software that is not part of base Solaris may be delivered.

Use collectively relocatable objects whenever possible. In general, the major part of a package can be relocatable with a few files (such as those in /etc or /var) specified as absolute. However, if a package contains many different relocations, consider dividing your package into multiple packages, each with a different BASEDIR value in its pkginfo file.

Individually Relocatable Objects

Individually relocatable objects are not restricted to the same directory location as collectively relocatable objects. To define an individually relocatable object, you need to specify an install variable in the path field in the prototype file, and then create a request script to prompt the installer for the relocatable base directory, or a checkinstall script to determine the path name from file system data. For more information on request scripts, see Writing a request Script and for information on checkinstall scripts, see How to Gather File System Data.

Note –

Individually relocatable objects are difficult to manage and should be avoided. This is because they could result in widely scattered package components that may be difficult to isolate when installing multiple versions or architectures of the package. Try to use collectively relocatable objects whenever possible.

Parametric Path Names

A parametric path name is a path name that includes a variable specification. For example, /opt/$PKGINST/filename is a parametric path name because of the $PKGINST variable specification. A default value for the variable specification must be defined in the pkginfo file. The value may then be changed by a request or checkinstall script.

A variable specification in a path must begin or end the path name, or be bounded by slashes (/). For example, valid parametric path names look like:


$PARAM/tests
tests/$PARAM/generic
/tests/$PARAM

The variable specification, once defined, may cause the path to be evaluated as absolute or relocatable. For example, given this entry in a prototype file:


f none $DIRLOC/tests/generic

and this entry in the pkginfo file:


DIRLOC=/myopt

the path name, $DIRLOC/tests/generic, will evaluate to the absolute path name /myopt/tests/generic, regardless of whether the BASEDIR parameter is set in the pkginfo file.

However, if the pkginfo file contains these entries


DIRLOC=firstcut
BASEDIR=/opt

then the path name, $DIRLOC/tests/generic, will evaluate to the relocatable path name /opt/firstcut/tests/generic.

For more information on parametric path names, see Using Parametric Base Directories.

A Brief Word on an Object's Source and Destination Locations

The path name field in the prototype file defines where the object will be located on the target system. However, if you did not organize your package's objects on your system in a directory structure that mimics their location on the target system (see Organizing a Package's Contents, then you also need to specify their present location in the prototype file.

If your development area is not structured in the same way that you want your package structured, you can use the path1=path2 format in the path field, where path1 is the location it should have on the target system, and path2 is the location it has on your system.

You can also use the path1=path2 path name format with path1 as a relocatable object name and path2 a full path name to that object on your system.

Note –

path1 may not contain undefined build variables, but may contain undefined install variables. path2 may not contain any undefined variables, although both build and install variables may be used. For information on the difference between install and build variables, see Package Environment Variables.

Links must use the path1= path2 format since they are created by the pkgadd command. As a general rule, path2 of a link should never be absolute, but should instead be relative to the directory portion of path1.

An option to using the path1=path2 format is to use the !search command. For more information, see Providing a Search Path for the pkgmk Command.

The mode Field

The mode field may contain an octal number, a question mark (?), or a variable specification. An octal number specifies the mode of the object when it is installed on the target system. A ? means that the mode will be unchanged as the object is installed, implying that the object of the same name already exists on the target system.

A variable specification of the form $mode, where the first letter of the variable must be a lowercase letter, means that this field will be set as the package is built. Note that this variable must be defined at build time in either the prototype file or as an option to the pkgmk command. For information on the difference between install and build variables, see Package Environment Variables.

Files with file type i (information file), l (hard link), and s (symbolic link), should leave this field blank.

The owner Field

The owner field may contain a user name, a question mark (?), or a variable specification. A user name has a maximum of 14 characters and should be a name that already exists on the target system (such as, bin or root). A ? means that the owner will be unchanged as the object is installed, implying that the object of the same name already exists on the target system.

A variable specification can be of the form $Owner or $owner, where the first letter of the variable is either an uppercase letter or a lowercase letter. If the variable begins with a lowercase letter, it must be defined as the package is built, either in the prototype file or as an option to the pkgmk command. If the variable begins with an uppercase letter, the variable specification will be inserted into the pkginfo file as a default value, and may be redefined at install time via a request script. For information on the difference between install and build variables, see Package Environment Variables.

Files with file type i (information file) and l (hard link) should leave this field blank.

The group Field

The group field may contain a group name, a question mark (?), or a variable specification. A group name has a maximum of 14 characters and should be a name that already exists on the target system (such as, bin or sys). A ? means that the group will be unchanged as the object is installed, implying that the object of the same name already exists on the target system.

A variable specification can be of the form $Group or $group, where the first letter of the variable is either an uppercase letter or a lowercase letter. If the variable begins with a lowercase letter, it must be defined as the package is built, either in the prototype file or as an option to the pkgmk command. If the variable begins with an uppercase letter, the variable specification will be inserted into the pkginfo file as a default value, and may be redefined at install time via a request script. For information on the difference between install and build variables, see Package Environment Variables.

Files with file type i (information file) and l (hard link) should leave this field blank.

Creating a prototype File From Scratch

If you want to create a prototype file from scratch, you can do so with your favorite text editor, adding one entry per package object. See The Format of the prototype File andprototype(4) for more information on the format of the file. However, after you have defined each package object, you might want to include some of the features described in Adding Functionality to a prototype File.

Creating a prototype File With the pkgproto Command

You can use the pkgproto command to build a basic prototype file, as long as you have organized your package directory structure as described in Organizing a Package's Contents. For example, using the sample directory structure and pkginfo file described in previous sections, the commands for creating the prototype file are: 


$ cd /home/jane
$ pkgproto ./SUNWcadap > InfoFiles/prototype

The prototype file looks like:

d none SUNWcadap 0755 jane staff
d none SUNWcadap/demo 0755 jane staff
f none SUNWcadap/demo/file1 0555 jane staff
d none SUNWcadap/srcfiles 0755 jane staff
f none SUNWcadap/srcfiles/file5 0555 jane staff
f none SUNWcadap/srcfiles/file6 0555 jane staff
d none SUNWcadap/lib 0755 jane staff
f none SUNWcadap/lib/file2 0644 jane staff
d none SUNWcadap/man 0755 jane staff
f none SUNWcadap/man/windex 0644 jane staff
d none SUNWcadap/man/man1 0755 jane staff
f none SUNWcadap/man/man1/file4.1 0444 jane staff
f none SUNWcadap/man/man1/file3.1 0444 jane staff
Note –

The actual owner and group of the person building the package is recorded by the pkgproto command. A good technique is to use the chown -R and the chgrp -R commands, setting the owner and group as intended before running the pkgproto command.

This prototype file is not yet complete. See Fine-Tuning a prototype File Created With the pkgproto Command for information on completing this file.

Fine-Tuning a prototype File Created With the pkgproto Command

Although the pkgproto command is useful in creating an initial prototype file, it does not create entries for every package object that needs to be defined, or make complete entries. The pkgproto command does not:

Therefore, you probably need to modify the prototype file to include at least some of these object definitions, possibly redefine path names and other field settings, and include some of the features described in Adding Functionality to a prototype File.

Creating Object Entries With File Types v, e, x, and i

At the very least, you need to modify the prototype file to add objects with file type i. If you stored your information files and installation scripts in the first level of your package directory (for example, /home/jane/SUNWcadap/pkginfo), then an entry in the prototype file would look like:


i pkginfo

If you did not store your information files and installation scripts in the first level of your package directory, then you need to specify their source location. For example:


i pkginfo=/home/jane/InfoFiles/pkginfo

Or, you can use the !search command to specify the location for the pkgmk command to look when building the package. See Providing a Search Path for the pkgmk Command for more information.

To add entries for objects with file types v, e, and x, follow the format described in The Format of the prototype File, or refer to prototype(4).

Note –

Remember to always assign a class to files with a file type of e (editable) and have an associated class action script for that class. Otherwise, the files will be removed during package removal, even if the path name is shared with other packages.

Using Multiple Class Definitions

If you use the pkgproto command to create your basic prototype file, you can assign all of the package objects to the none class or one, specific class. As shown in Creating a prototype File With the pkgproto Command, the basic pkgproto command assigns all objects to the none class. To assign all objects to a specific class, you can use the -c option. For example:


$ pkgproto -c classname /home/jane/SUNWcadap > /home/jane/InfoFiles/prototype

If you use multiple classes, you may need to manually edit the prototype file and modify the class field for each object. If you use classes, you also need to define the CLASSES parameter in the pkginfo file and write class action scripts. As mentioned previously, using classes is an optional feature and is discussed in detail in Writing Class Action Scripts.

Example—Fine-Tuning a prototype File Created Using the pkgproto Command

Given the prototype file created by the pkgproto command in Creating a prototype File With the pkgproto Command, there are several modifications that need to be made.

Adding Functionality to a prototype File

Besides defining every package object in the prototype file, you can also:

See the following sections for information on making these changes.

Defining Additional Objects to Be Created at Install Time

You can use the prototype file to define objects that are not actually delivered on the installation medium. During installation, using the pkgadd command, these objects are created with the required file types, if they do not already exist at the time of installation.

To specify that an object be created on the target system, add an entry for it in the prototype file with the appropriate file type.

For example, if you want a directory created on the target system, but do not want to deliver it on the installation medium, make the following entry for the directory in the prototype file:


d none /directory 0644 root other

If you want to create an empty file on the target system, an entry for the file in the prototype file might look like:


f none filename=/dev/null 0644 bin bin

The only objects that must be delivered on the installation medium are regular files and edit scripts (file types e, v, f) and the directories required to contain them. Any additional objects are created without reference to the delivered objects, directories, named pipes, devices, hard links, and symbolic links.

Creating Links at Install Time

To create links during package installation, define the following in the prototype file entry for the linked object:

Relative links would be specified in this manner whether the package is installed as absolute or relocatable.

Distributing Packages Over Multiple Volumes

When you build your package with the pkgmk command, it performs the calculations and actions necessary to organize a multiple volume package. A multiple volume package is called a segmented package.

However, you can use the optional part field in the prototype file to define in which part you want an object to be located. A number in this field overrides the pkgmk command and forces the placement of the component into the part given in the field. Note that there is a one-to-one correspondence between parts and volumes for removable media formatted as file systems. If the volumes are preassigned by the developer, the pkgmk command will issue an error if there is insufficient space on any volume.

Nesting prototype Files

You can create multiple prototype files and then include them, using the !include command in the prototype file. You might want to do this for easier maintenance.

In the following example there are three prototype files, the main one (prototype) being edited, and the two (proto2 and proto3) that are being included. 


!include /source-dir/proto2
!include /source-dir/proto3

Setting Default Values for the mode, owner, and group Fields

To set default values for the mode, owner, and group fields for specific package objects, you can insert the !default command into the prototype file. For example, 


!default 0644 root other
Note –

This command's range starts from where it is inserted and extends to the end of the file, but does not span to included files.

However, for directories (file type d) and editable files (file type e) that you know exist on target systems (like /usr or /etc/vfstab), make sure that the mode, owner, and group fields in the prototype file are set to question marks (?). That way you will not destroy existing settings that a site administrator may have modified.

Providing a Search Path for the pkgmk Command

If the source location for package objects is different than their destination location, and you do not want to use the path1=path2 format as described in A Brief Word on an Object's Source and Destination Locations, then you can use the !search command in the prototype file. For example, if you created a directory, pkgfiles, in your home directory, and it contains all of your information files and installation scripts, you can specify that that directory be searched when the package is built with the pkgmk command.

The command in the prototype file would look like:


!search /home-dir/pkgfiles
Note –

Search requests do not span to included files. In addition, a search is limited to the specific directories listed, and will not search recursively.

Set Environment Variables

You can also add commands to the prototype file of the form !PARAM=value. Commands of this form define variables in the current environment. If you have multiple prototype files, the scope of this command is local to the prototype file where it is defined.

The variable PARAM can begin with either a lowercase or uppercase letter, but its value must be known at build time, or the pkgmk command will abort with an error. For more information on the difference between build and install variables, see Package Environment Variables.

How to Create a prototype File Using the pkgproto Command

Note –

It is easier to create information files and installation scripts before creating a prototype file. However, this is not required, and you can always edit the prototype file after changing your package contents. For more information on information files and installation scripts, see Chapter 3, Enhancing the Functionality of a Package.

  1. Determine which package objects will be absolute and which will be relocatable, if not done already.

    For information that will help you complete this task, see The path Field.

  2. Organize your package's objects to mimic their location on the target system.

    If you already organized your packages as described in Organizing a Package's Contents, note that you may need to make some changes based on your decisions in Step 1. If you have not organized your package yet, you should do so now (otherwise you cannot use the pkgproto command to create a basic prototype file).

  3. If your package has collectively relocatable objects, edit the pkginfo file to set the BASEDIR parameter to the appropriate value.

    For example:


    BASEDIR=/opt

    For information on collectively relocatable objects, see Collectively Relocatable Objects.

  4. If your package has individually relocatable objects, create a request script to prompt the installer for the appropriate path name or a checkinstall script to determine the appropriate path from file system data.

    For Information On ... 

    See ... 

    Creating a request script

    How to Write a request Script

    Creating a checkinstall script

    How to Gather File System Data

    Individually relocatable objects 

    Individually Relocatable Objects

  5. Change the owner and group on all of your package components to be the intended owner and group on the target systems.

    Use the chown -R and the chgrp -R commands on your package directory and information files directory.

  6. Execute the pkgproto command to create a basic prototype file.

    The pkgproto command scans your directories to create a basic file. For example:


    $ cd package-directory
$ pkgproto ./package-directory > prototype

    Like the pkginfo file, the prototype file can be located anywhere on your system. However, it might be a good idea to keep your information files and installation scripts in one place, for easy access and maintenance. For additional information on the pkgproto command, see the pkgproto(1) man page.

  7. Edit the prototype file using your favorite text editor, and add entries for files of type v, e, x, and i.

    For information on the specific changes you may need to make, see Fine-Tuning a prototype File Created With the pkgproto Command.

  8. Optional. If you are using multiple classes, edit the prototype and pkginfo files using your favorite text editor to make the necessary changes, and create corresponding class action scripts.

    For information on the specific changes you may need to make, see Fine-Tuning a prototype File Created With the pkgproto Command and Writing Class Action Scripts.

  9. Edit the prototype file using your favorite text editor to redefine path names and change other field settings.

    For more information, see Fine-Tuning a prototype File Created With the pkgproto Command.

  10. Optional. Edit the prototype file using your favorite text editor to add functionality to your prototype file.

    For more information, see Adding Functionality to a prototype File.

  11. Save your changes and quit the editor.

Where to Go Next

If you are ready to go to the next task, see How to Build a Package.