pkginfo File

Purpose

Describes the format of a package characteristics file.

Description

The pkginfo file 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. Each parameter is described below. Only fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory.

Parameter	Description
PKG*	PKG is the parameter to which you assign an abbreviation for the name of the package being installed. The abbreviation must be a short string (no more than nine characters long) and it must conform to file naming rules. All characters in the abbreviation must be alphanumeric and the first cannot be numeric. install, new, and all are reserved abbreviations.
NAME*	Text that specifies the package name (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).
ARCH*	A comma-separated list of alphanumeric tokens that indicate the architecture (for example, ARCH=m68k,i386) associated with the package. The pkgmk(1M) 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.
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 tool can be used to create or modify this value when actually building the package.
CATEGORY*	A comma-separated list of categories under which a package can be displayed. There are six categories: "application," "graphics," "system," "utilities," "set," and "patch." If you choose, you can also assign a package to one or more categories that you define. Categories are case-insensitive and can contain only alphanumerics. Each category is limited in length to 16 characters. For a Set Installation Package (SIP), this field must have the value "set." A SIP is a special purpose package that controls the installation of a set of packages.
DESC	Text that describes the package (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).
VENDOR	Used to identify the vendor that holds the software copyright (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).
EMAIL	An electronic address where further information is available or bugs can be reported (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).
VSTOCK	The vendor stock number, if any, that identifies this product (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).
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 medium-by-medium basis). This parameter can be modified by the request script. In this way, the request script can be used to select which classes in the package get installed on the system.
ISTATES	A list of allowable run states for package installation (for example, ""S s 1"").
RSTATES	A list of allowable run states for package removal (for example, ""S s 1"").
BASEDIR	The pathname to a default directory where "relocatable" files can be installed. If BASEDIR is not specified and *basedir* in the admin file (/var/sadm/install/admin/default) is set to default, then BASEDIR is set to / by default. An administrator can override the value of BASEDIR by setting *basedir* in the admin file.
ULIMIT	If set, this parameter is passed as an argument to the ulimit command, which establishes the maximum size of a file during installation.
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 """*YYMMDDHHmm*""" (year, month, date, hour, minutes).
INTONLY	Indicates that the package should be installed interactively only when set to any non-NULL value.
PREDEPEND	Used to maintain compatibility with dependency checking on packages delivered earlier than System V Release 4. Pre-Release 4 dependency checks were based on whether or not the name file for the required package existed in the /usr/options directory. This directory is not maintained for Release 4 and later packages because the depend file is used for checking dependencies. However, entries can be created in this directory to maintain compatibility. This is done automatically by pkgmk. This field is to be assigned the package instance name of the package.
SERIALNUM	A serial number, if any, that uniquely identifies this copy of the package (maximum length of 256 ASCII characters).
ACTKEY	Activation key indicator. Set to YES indicates that an activation key is required to install the package.
PRODUCTNAME	A list of the products to which each package belongs. The format of this variable is: `PRODUCTNAME="<product>[\|<product>\| . . . ]"`

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

Restrictions placed on a package installation by certain variables in the pkginfo file can be overridden by instructions in the admin file. For example, the restriction of allowable run states set by the ISTATES variable can be overridden by having

   runlevel=nocheck

in the admin file being used for installation. (Default is "default".) See the admin file for further information.

Examples

Here is a sample pkginfo file:

   PKG="oam"
   NAME="OAM Installation Utilities"
   VERSION="3"
   VENDOR="AT&T"
   HOTLINE="1-800-ATT-BUGS"
   EMAIL="attunix!olsen"
   VSTOCK="0122c3f5566"
   CATEGORY="system.essential"
   ISTATES="S 2"
   RSTATES="S 2"