Linux package formats

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux package formats are the different file formats used to package software for various Linux distributions. These are the principal kinds of package:

Binary packages
Source packages

[edit] Examples

deb — Debian package, originally from Debian. Used by Debian and derivatives such as Ubuntu.
ebuild — the file containing information on how to retrieve, compile, and install a package in Gentoo's Portage system using the command emerge. Typically these are source-primary installs, though binary packages can be installed in this fashion as well. Gentoo-based distributions also use the ebuild system from the same Portage tree.
RPM — RPM Package Manager, originally from Red Hat, is now used by many other distributors as well, like openSUSE and Mandriva Linux.
PISI is used by Pardus.
tgz or tar.gz — standard tar + gzip, possibly with some extra control files — used by Slackware and others, or sometimes when distributing very simple handmade packages.
LZM — Used by SLAX. Opens with SLAX Module Manager, and then gets installed to the KDE menu as a Desktop Config file. May be placed into the SLAX CD's Modules folder to get installed at boot.
PUP and PET - used by Puppy Linux - click and install package type. OS can be installed to a flash drive for portability and will bring apps with it.^[1]