Linux Package Management (Distribute Your App)

Title	Linux package management (distribute desktop apps) (build your own linux package)
Overview	Students will learn about rpm and dnf/yum package tooling and then actually create their own package from code, upload it to a public package repository and finally have a classmate install their compiled package. This can be advertised to students as being able to distribute their own linux-based application to the world.
Prerequisite Knowledge	Students should be familiar with: Beginner Shell knowledge (linux command line) The following could be taught/learned during this activity: Getting around the linux file system, sudo'ing, editing files, etc. Making and compiling Linux software code
Learning Objectives	Upon completion, students should be able to: Install RPM's and use the dnf/yum command to inspect and install packages Make and Compile existing code into a binary RPM package Upload a package to an online repository Install a package from an online repository

Background:

• Is there background reading material?
  • Read about the various software installation methods on Linux: http://www.howtogeek.com/191245/beginner-geek-how-to-install-software-on-linux/
  • http://www.control-escape.com/linux/lx-swinstall.html
  • https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SoftwarePackagingFormats
  • https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository, https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_packaging_standards
  • https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging:Guidelines?rd=Packaging/Guidelines#Writing_a_package_from_scratch
  • http://www.rpm.org/wiki/Docs

• Are there other related activities?
  • Students can follow the Linux_Beginner_Activity to get command-line basics.
    • Note that the requirements above ask for slightly more in-depth command-line experience via sudo and code compilation.
  • If students need virtual linux machines for command-line access, they can use Virtualbox as seen in this activity.

• What is the rationale for this activity?
  • Students may wonder how they can distribute linux-based code that they develop out to other everyday users. Not many users enjoy compiling code, so the RPM package structure allows easy installation of binary pre-compiled code packages. Basically, a student could have coded a small sample command-line application and now they can send it to others easily. The other side of it is that students, as users of Linux, will be interfacing with RPM packages not of their making and it will be good to have an understanding of the backends of how this works. Students will interface with the dnf and yum commands even if simply using linux for fun. Now, they can have knowledge into how it works and how they can employ it for their careers and personal uses.

• If you wanted to do this activity in Ubuntu, Debian, etc:
  • Students could optionally do this activity on Ubuntu or other Linux OS's which use a different Package Management toolset.
  • Ubuntu is debian-based and uses the ``dpkg`` command. For more info on equivalent commands, see:
    • http://wiki.openvz.org/Package_managers
    • http://askubuntu.com/questions/85839/deb-equivalents-to-rpm-commands/85849

Directions:

1. Learn about yum and dnf. Have students find it themselves. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNF_(software),
2. Use an existing, easy, mature, yet small project like wget or top (or something that doesn't come standard on most systems) to have students compile and make and package.
   • See example of packaging the `wget` command
3. Have students rename it so the command line can be run as a test
4. Have students host the package on a web source (ftp? Some free internet service that makes the .rpm accessible by URL)
   • Package Repo location
     • http://copr.fedorainfracloud.org - Use this for students to make their own packages and repositories
     • https://fedorahosted.org/copr/ - The actual community / project page where user manuals and developer resources exist
5. Have each student in the class pair up and try to install the other person's RPM and run the new command

Deliverables:

What will the student hand in?

Assessment:

How will the activity be graded?

How will learning will be measured?

Criteria	Level 1 (fail)	Level 2 (pass)	Level 3 (good)	Level 4 (exceptional)
Installs and inspects RPMs with dnf/yum
Compiles code into binary RPM
Uploads RPM to COPR or other online repo
Installs colleagues RPM from COPR

Comments:

What should the instructor know before using this activity?

What are some likely difficulties that an instructor may encounter using this activity?

Additional Information:

ACM Knowledge Area/Knowledge Unit	What ACM Computing Curricula 2013 knowledge area and units does this activity cover? ACM_Body_of_Knowledge
ACM Topic	What specific topics are addressed? The Computing Curriucula 2013 provides a list of topics - https://www.acm.org/education/CS2013-final-report.pdf
Level of Difficulty	Is this activity easy, medium or challenging?
Estimated Time to Completion	How long should it take for the student to complete the activity?
Materials/Environment	Access to the shell of a Linux operating system that uses RPM (virtualized or on hardware can work) root access is likely needed - another good vote for virtualized systems (might use openshift or virtualbox)
Author	Who wrote this activity?
Source	Is there another activity on which this activity is based? If so, please provide a link to the original resource.
License	Under which license is this material made available? (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/)

Suggestions for Open Source Community:

Suggestions for an open source community member who is working in conjunction with the instructor.

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