The Super RPM?

[Hamish Robertson]

Hey guys,
I'm remastering a version of linux for use here in Laos.

Now for this distro to take off here, thje only thing that's really
stopping it is the rpm dependancy issue. If everyone here was on
broadband, synaptic or smart package manager would make this a non
issue, but they're not. Laos is a 3rd world country and has got a LONG
way to go in terms of IT and infrastructure. This project hopes to
fill in quite a few of the gaps.

Anyway, I've come up with a solution to this issue. Here me out, if
I'm right it could change linux forever. Anyway, here it goes  (I'm
NOT a programmer!!!  ).

Currently when installing a package, smart looks at the big library in
the sky and works out where the rpm is, and which dependancies you'll
need, then go fetches everything and installs it in the right order.
It's fantastic...but what I was thinking was...what if we could freeze
the packages and the synaptic install script into a single file? This
super rpm would be able to be distributed on usb sticks, attached in
emails and installed on the same distro (if it was created from a
clean install) with a simple double click (opeing it with smart).

Er...I'll try that again, say A want to install package A. Package A
needs Package B and C to run. So Smart goes and feches packages A B
and C then archives it with a script into a archive. A super RPM. If
I'm on the same distro, double clicking would open smart and install
it correctly. It would only work for the specific distro but if would
make installing for that distro a double click affair.

Does something already do this? Is this a good idea? How on earth do I
make this a reality?

I've sent emails to the synaptic guys but that project seems either
dead or really slow, seeing as you guys are clearly moving forward, i
was hoping you might be able to help.

H.