epm(1)                      Easy Software Products                      epm(1)



NAME
       epm - create software packages.

SYNOPSIS
       epm  [  -a  architecture ] [ -f format ] [ -g ] [ -k ] [ -n[mrs] ] [ -s
       setup.xpm ] [ --help ] [ --keep-files ] [ --output-dir  directory  ]  [
       --setup-image setup.xpm ] [ --setup-program /foo/bar/setup ] [ --setup-
       types setup.types ] [ -v ] [ name=value name=value ] product [ listfile
       ]

DESCRIPTION
       epm  generates  software  packages complete with installation, removal,
       and (if necessary) patch scripts. Unless otherwise specified, the files
       required for product are read from a file named "product.list".

       The  -a  option  ("architecture") specifies the actual architecture for
       the software. Without this option the generic processor architecture is
       used ("intel", "sparc", "mips", etc.)

       The -f option ("format") specifies the distribution format:

       aix
            Generate  an  AIX distribution suitable for installation on an AIX
            system.

       bsd
            Generate  a  BSD  distribution  suitable  for  installation  on  a
            FreeBSD, NetBSD, or OpenBSD system.

       deb
            Generate  a  Debian  distribution  suitable  for installation on a
            Debian Linux system.

       inst, tardist
            Generate an IRIX distribution suitable for installation on an sys-
            tem running IRIX.

       native
            Generate an native distribution. This uses rpm for Linux, inst for
            IRIX, pkg for Solaris,  swinstall  for  HP-UX,  bsd  for  FreeBSD,
            NetBSD, and OpenBSD, and osx for MacOS X. All other operating sys-
            tems default to the portable format.

       osx
            Generate a MacOS X software  package.  These  are  used  primarily
            under Solaris.

       pkg
            Generate  an AT&T software package. These are used primarily under
            Solaris.

       portable
            Generate a portable distribution based on shell  scripts  and  tar
            files.   The  resulting  distribution is installed and removed the
            same way on all operating systems. [default]

       rpm
            Generate a Red Hat Package Manager ("RPM")  distribution  suitable
            for installation on a Red Hat Linux system.

       setld
            Generate a Tru64 (setld) software distribution.

       slackware
            Generate a Slackware Linux software distribution.

       swinstall, depot
            Generate a HP-UX software distribution.

       Executable files in the distribution are normally stripped of debugging
       information when packaged. To disable this  functionality  use  the  -g
       option.

       Intermediate  (spec,  etc.)  files  used to create the distribution are
       normally removed after the distribution is created. The -k option keeps
       these files in the distribution directory.

       The  -s  and  --setup-image  options ("setup") include the ESP Software
       Wizard with the specified XPM image file with  the  distribution.  This
       option is currently only supported by portable distributions.

       The  --setup-program  option specifies the setup executable to use with
       the distribution. This option is currently only supported  by  portable
       distributions.

       The --setup-types option specifies the setup.types file to include with
       the distribution. This option is currently only supported  by  portable
       distributions.

       The  --output-dir  option  specifies the directory to place output file
       into. The default directory is based on the operating system,  version,
       and architecture.

       The  -v  option ("verbose") increases the amount of information that is
       reported. Use multiple v's for more verbose output.

       Distributions  normally  are   named   "product-version-system-release-
       machine.ext"   and   "product-version-system-release-machine-patch.ext"
       (for patch distributions.) The "system-release-machine" information can
       be  customized  or  eliminated using the -n option with the appropriate
       trailing letters. Using -n by itself will remove  the  "system-release-
       machine" string from the filename entirely.

       Debian,  IRIX,  portable,  and Red Hat distributions use the extensions
       ".deb", ".tardist", "tar.gz", and ".rpm" respectively.

LIST FILES
       The EPM list file format is now described in the epm.list(5) man  page.

KNOWN BUGS
       EPM does not currently support generation of IRIX software patches.

SEE ALSO
       epminstall(1) - add a directory, file, or symlink to a list file
       mkepmlist(1) - make an epm list file from a directory
       epm.list(5) - epm list file format
       setup(1) - graphical setup program for the esp package manager

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright 1999-2003 by Easy Software Products, All Rights Reserved.

       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
       under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published  by  the
       Free  Software  Foundation;  either  version 2, or (at your option) any
       later version.

       This program is distributed in the hope that it  will  be  useful,  but
       WITHOUT  ANY  WARRANTY;  without  even  the  implied  warranty  of MER-
       CHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU  General
       Public License for more details.



23 July 2003                  ESP Package Manager                       epm(1)
