[Soc-coordination] Application For SOC09 - Apt Port - Win32

[Daniel Burrows]

On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 04:34:05PM +0530, Nahar P <mail2nahar at gmail.com> was heard to say:
> Synopsis:
> =======
>  Win32 app to download deb packages & create an aptcdrom
> 
> Benefits To Debian :
> ================
> People without an inet connected linux box can also download & install
> deb pkgs. That means better  Application installation & better debian
> userbase.

  Two comments:

  (1) You should change your proposal's title.  A Windows port of apt
      doesn't sound very interesting to Debian; I had to read the
      proposal to understand what the point was.

      I suggest something like "Offline downloading of Debian packages
      using an Internet-connected Windows system."

  (2) Do you have a mentor for this?  There are few people in Debian
      who are deeply familiar with apt, and I don't know how many of
      them are willing to mentor a Windows program.  I have no interest
      in doing so: I have to deal with Windows enough as it is for my
      day job, and I don't want to add to my stress in that regard any
      more than necessary. :-)

> Deliverables:
> ==========
>  A lite apt lib for win32, Create a Win32 synaptic look alike(port ?).

  That sounds like a huge amount of work.  It took years for apt to get
into its current state, and it took more years to develop reasonable
GUIs for it.  If you believe you can do this, you should write a much
more detailed explanation of what you plan to do and why you think you
can accomplish it over the course of 2-3 months.  (e.g., give a
technical outline of how you're going to develop the program)

  Daniel