Request for Comments: updating RPMs using binary deltas.

[Chris Ricker]

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004, Lamar Owen wrote:

> IIRC, SuSE's patches just describe the package to be downloaded; you then 
> still have to download the whole package.  That was true at least with SuSE 
> 7.3, which is the last version I ran.  But I reserve the right to be wrong.

You are, I think ;-)

SuSE's description of their patch.rpm system is:

"As of now we are offering so called Patch RPM packages. A Patch RPM updates
an already installed RPM. It only contains files which have changed -
therefore it is (much) smaller than the complete RPM package. Prerequisite
for installation is an already installed basic RPM. The packages included on
the SUSE LINUX 9.0-CDs/DVD are considered as basic RPMs. If you want to
update an already installed package, please download the smaller Patch RPM
package."
                                                                                
Just looking at one of them, the bluez-bluefw-1.0-68.i586.patch.rpm, the rpm
really only contains 1 file if you extract it out, but rpm -qlp on it lists
~20 files (the same ~20 file names as in the original bluez-bluefw rpm which
shipped in the distro). Presumably, when installed, it leaves the existing
files, but replaces one old one with the new one. Beyond that, I don't know
much about it, though I've been meaning to play with it more and see at some
point....

later,
chris