Q: Howto rapidly develop/test without breaking local rpm db

[John Mahowald]

On 1/19/07, Saikat Guha <saikat at cs.cornell.edu> wrote:
> Q: I want to fix bugs in/hack software I use (evolution, gaim,
> network-manager, compiz etc.). I typically have RPMs installed. What is
> the easiest way to have a development environment and a quick
> debug-compile-test loop without breaking the local RPM DB.
>
> * In particular, patching the .src.rpm and RPM rebuilding for each
> debug-compile loop is a definite no (too slow).
>
> * Similarly, 'sudo make install' is likely not an option (breaks local
> rpm tracking).
>

So you don't want to build an rpm, it's too slow, but want rpm's
tracking measures? I don't think you can have this both ways. I agree
that rpm is good for tracking, and would tend to go that way.

> * Per-package 'configure --prefix=..' is okay but requires chasing down
> application nuances (some need global gconf updated, some try to load
> plugins from outside the build tree, other applications and
> desktop-shortcuts need to be changed to point to the patched version
> etc.)

This does seem a fair bit of work for a quick hack.

>
> * chroot jail (where I am comfortable doing a 'make install') seems too
> heavy weight.
>
> How do I rapidly develop/test on an RPM-managed box?
>

Some people have the resources to have a dedicated development system,
or perhaps virtualization image. That way if something goes wrong your
main workstation is not affected. It also is easy, toss in install
media and get a clean system. However if chroot jails are too
heavyweight perhaps Xen images or dedicated systems may be too.


John