PackageKit is an open source and free suite of software applications designed to provide a consistent and high-level front end for a number of different package management systems. PackageKit was created by Richard Hughes.
The suite is ostensibly cross-platform, though it is primarily targeted at Linux distributions which follow the interoperability standards set out by the freedesktop.org group. It uses the software libraries provided by the D-Bus and PolicyKit projects to handle inter-process communication and computer privilege negotiation.
History
PackageKit was created by Richard Hughes and first proposed in a series of blog posts in 2007,[1][2] and is now developed by a small team of developers. Fedora 9 was the first operating system to use it as default front end for yum. It underwent many updates in Fedora 10 and Fedora 11.
Design
KPackageKit, the
KDE-based front-end, integrates directly with KDE's System Settings modules. It is now called Apper as of 0.64+.
[3] PackageKit itself is a system-activated daemon called packagekitd, that abstracts out differences between the different systems. A library called libpackagekit also allows other programs to interact with PackageKit.[4]
Features include:
- Installing local files, ServicePack media and from remote sources.
- Authorization using PolicyKit.
- Does not replace existing packaging tools.
- Multi-user system aware – it will not allow shutdown in critical parts of the transaction.
- A system activated daemon so exits when not in use.
Front-ends
There are three front-ends for PackageKit:
Back-ends
A number of different package management systems (known as back-ends) support different abstract methods and signals that are used by the front-end tools.[5] Back-ends supported include:
See also
References
External links
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- GeoClue
- Open Collaboration Services
- Telepathy
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