Some thoughts about yum and repositories

[Clint Harshaw]

D. D. Brierton wrote:
> 
>      1. Yum repositories should have a mirrors.xml file. All the user
>         need do is sign up to the main repository itself, the
>         mirrors.xml file is downloaded, and yum tries to use the mirror
>         that is closest or fastest (I'm not sure *how* it should do
>         that, but lets think of this as an ideal scenario proposal).

agreed

>      2. Yum repositories should be able to announce that they are
>         dependent on other yum repositories: if I sign up to Livna.org I
>         am then automatically signed up to Fedora.us.

Well, there is a rather large red box on Livna announcing such 
http://rpm.livna.org/ ;-), but I can see your point about having yum do 
that check for us.

>      3. If 1. can be implemented, then I think the GPG key of the
>         repository should automatically be installed -- because mirrors
>         are determined automatically you only ever sign up to the main
>         repository itself and so automatically retrieving its GPG key
>         should be no more a security issue than manually adding it.

Have a check box that the user selects the repos and when selected, the 
keys are added. Good call on this one!

>      4. I shouldn't need to alter my yum.conf when I upgrade to a new
>         version of FC -- yum should determine which version of FC I am
>         running and automatically use the appropriate repositories (i.e.
>         if I subscribe to rpm.livna.org when running FC2 and then I
>         upgrade to FC3 yum should automatically start using livna's FC3
>         repository).

This was a pain when I moved from FC1 to FC3. The directory structure 
changed, and broke yum.conf -- that's why we see fedorafaq.org having to 
maintain two different yum.conf's.

>      5. I should be able to subscribe to a repository from the command
>         line without manually editing yum.conf (i.e. something like "yum
>         subscribe rpm.livna.org").

kinda like the "addmedia" is with Mandrake's urpmi.

Clint