Package format
A package format is a type of archive containing computer programs and additional metadata needed by package managers.[1] While the archive file format itself may be unchanged, package formats bear additional metadata, such as a manifest file or certain directory layouts. Packages may contain either source code or executable files.
Packages may be converted from one type to another with software such as Alien.
Common formats
Specialized formats
| Format | Consumed by |
|---|---|
| APK (Alpine) | Alpine Linux[2] |
| APK (Android) | Android |
| APPX and APPXBundle | Windows 8 and later, Windows Phone[3] |
| Deb | Debian and its derivatives, such as Ubuntu, Xubuntu, and Linux Mint[4] |
| ebuild | Gentoo Linux[5] |
| eopkg | Solus[6] |
| ORB | ORB Launcher |
| PISI | Pardus |
| PKG | OS X, iOS, PlayStation 3, Solaris, SunOS, UNIX System V, Symbian, BeOS, Apple Newton |
| .pkg.tar.gz, .pkg.tar.xz | Arch Linux |
| PUP and PET | Puppy Linux (PUP format is deprecated since version 3.0) |
| RPM | Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, derivatives such as CentOS[7], and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, openSUSE |
| SNAP | Compatible with most Linux distros as well as macOS, but mainly developed for Ubuntu |
Generic formats
Arch Linux's Pacman[8] and Slackware[9] use Tar archives with generic naming but specific internal structures.
References
- ^ Justin Angelo Cappos, Stork: Secure Package Management for VM Environments, ProQuest, 2008, p. 128 ;
- ^ "Alpine package format - Alpine Linux". wiki.alpinelinux.org. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ^ "App packaging". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "InstallingSoftware - Community Ubuntu Documentation". Help.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ "ebuild". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "Basics to Pakcage Managment". Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "rpm - Trac". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "makepkg.conf(5) Manual Page".
- ^ "The Slackware Linux Project: Configuration Help". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
| Archiving only | |
|---|---|
| Compression only | |
| Archiving and compression | |
| Software packaging and distribution | |
| Document packaging and distribution | |
| dpkg | |
|---|---|
| RPM | |
| Embedded systems | |
| Distribution-agnostic | |
| Others (binary) | |
| Others (source) | |
| Front-ends | |
| Related topics | |
| |
| Linux kernel | |
|---|---|
| Controversies | |
| Distributions | |
| Organizations | |
| Adoption | |
| Media | |
| Professional related certifications | |
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