Request for enhancement: Ability to create rhmask-like (?) "patch" RPM files containing only a subset of files. Ideally, this should reflect in the RPM database in the same way as a complete download, and the entire file(s) should be included to allow "patching" against multiple "inferior" versions. Effort required: ?? possibly a great deal, mostly in versioning issues and supporting such a feature in a rational way for packagers. Example usage: If "mypackage-1.0-1.x.rpm" contains files "a," "b," and "c," and "b" changes in 1.1, and "c" changes in 1.2; mypackage-patch-1.0:1.1-1.x.rpm -- would contain only "b", and require mypackage-1.0, but then remove this from the rpmdb and replace it with mypackage-1.1; mypackage-patch-1.1:1.2-1.x.rpm -- would contain only "c", same rpmdb semantics; mypackage-patch-1.0:1.2-1.x.rpm -- would contain both "b" and "c" -- this is mostly for Very Large packages, e.g. Gimp, Mozilla, Evolution, OpenOffice, being pushed over Very Slow links, e.g. anything under 100Mbit :-) Suggested based upon: http://bugzilla.ximian.com/show_bug.cgi?id=4600
Idea is sound, but this ain't gonna happen for a good while yet.