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Some more work on the documentation

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Ciaran Gultnieks 2012-02-23 13:57:38 +00:00
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@copying
This manual is for the F-Droid repository server tools.
Copyright @copyright{} 2010, 2011 Ciaran Gultnieks
Copyright @copyright{} 2010, 2011, 2012 Ciaran Gultnieks
Copyright @copyright{} 2011 Henrik Tunedal, Michael Haas, John Sullivan
@quotation
@ -39,100 +39,198 @@ Free Documentation License".
@end ifnottex
@menu
* Basic instructions::
* Build System::
* MetaData::
* Overview::
* System Requirements::
* Setup::
* Simple Binary Repository::
* Building Applications::
* Metadata::
* GNU Free Documentation License::
* Index::
@end menu
@node Basic instructions
@chapter Basic instructions
@node Overview
@chapter Overview
The F-Droid server tools provide various scripts, tools and data that are used
to maintain the main F-Droid application repository. You can use these same
tools to create your own additional or alternative repository for publishing,
or to assist in creating, testing and submitting metadata to the main
repository.
@node System Requirements
@chapter System Requirements
@cindex instructions, basic
@cindex installation
@enumerate
@item
Copy config.sample.py to config.py and edit the path within accordingly
to point to the Android tools
@item
Make a repo directory and put APK files in it
@item
Run update.py
@item
If it reports that any metadata files are missing, you can create them
in the metadata directory and run it again.
@item
To ease creation of metadata files, run update.py with the -c option. It
will create 'skeleton' metadata files that are missing, and you can then
just edit them and fill in the details.
@item
Then, if you've changed things, run update.py again.
@item
Running update.py adds an Icons directory into the repo directory, and
also creates the repository index (index.xml).
@item
Transfer the repo directory to the appropriate http server. The script
in upload.sh is an example of how to do this.
@end enumerate
@node Build System
@chapter Build System Requirements
@cindex requirements, build system
To be able to auto-build packages, you're going to need:
The system requirements for using the tools will vary depending on your
intended usage. At the very least, you'll need:
@itemize @bullet
@item
GNU/Linux
@item
Python
Python 2.x
@item
A fully functional Android SDK with all SDK platforms and tools
@item
The Android NDK
@item
Ant
@item
Ant Contrib Tasks (Debian package ant-contrib)
@item
Maven (Debian package maven2)
@item
JavaCC (Debian package javacc)
@item
VCS clients: svn, git, hg, bzr
@item
A keystore for holding release keys. (Safe, secure and well backed up!)
The Android SDK
@end itemize
You then need to create a config.py (copy config.sample.py and follow the
instructions) to specify the locations of some of these things.
If you intend to build applications from source you'll also need most, if not
all, of the following:
@node MetaData
@chapter MetaData
@itemize @bullet
@item
All available SDK platforms and tools installed in the Android SDK, but *not*
the proprietary components.
@item
The Android NDK
@item
Ant
@item
Ant Contrib Tasks (Debian package ant-contrib)
@item
Maven (Debian package maven2)
@item
JavaCC (Debian package javacc)
@item
VCS clients: svn, git, hg, bzr
@item
A keystore for holding release keys. (Safe, secure and well backed up!)
@end itemize
If you intend to use the 'Build Server' system, for secure and clean builds
(highly recommended), you will also need:
@itemize @bullet
@item
VirtualBox (debian package virtualbox-ose)
@item
Ruby
@item
Vagrant and Vagrant-snap
@item
Paramiko (debian package python-paramiko)
@end itemize
@node Setup
@chapter Setup
@cindex setup, installation
Because the tools and data will always change rapidly, you will almost
certainly want to work from a git clone of the tools, which are designed to
work in this way, with all associated data in a pre-defined directory
structure below the main one. To get started:
@example
git clone git://gitorious.org/f-droid/fdroidserver.git
cd fdroidserver
@end example
You will now be in the root directory of the tools. All the tasks associated
with managing the repository and data are done from here.
Regardless of the intended usage of the tools, you will always need to set
up some basic configuration details. This is done by creating a file called
@code{config.py} which you should do by copying from @code{config.sample.py}
and then editing according to the instructions within.
@node Simple Binary Repository
@chapter Simple Binary Repository
@cindex binary
If you want to maintain a simple repository hosting only binary APKs obtained
and compiled elsewhere, the process is quite simple:
@enumerate
@item
Make a repo directory and put APK files in it.
@item
Run @code{update.py}.
@item
If it reports that any metadata files are missing, you can create them
in the @code{metadata} directory and run it again.
@item
To ease creation of metadata files, run @code{update.py} with the @code{-c}
option. It will create 'skeleton' metadata files that are missing, and you can
then just edit them and fill in the details.
@item
Then, if you've changed things, run @code{update.py} again.
@item
Running @code{update.py} adds an Icons directory into the repo directory, and
also creates the repository index (index.xml, and also index.jar if you've
configured the system to use a signed index).
@end enumerate
Following the above process will result in a @code{repo} directory, which you
simply need to push to any HTTP (or preferably HTTPS) server to make it
accessible.
While some information about the applications (and versions thereof) is
retrieved directly from the APK files, most comes from the corresponding file
in the @code{metadata} directory. The metadata file covering ALL versions of a
particular application is named @code{package.id.txt} where package.id is the
unique identifier for that package.
See the Metadata chapter for details of what goes in the metadata file. All
fields are relevant for binary APKs, EXCEPT for 'Build Version' entries, which
should be omitted.
@node Building Applications
@chapter Building Applications
Instead of (or as well as) including binary APKs from external sources in a
repository, you can build them directly from the source code.
Using this method, it is is possible to verify that the application builds
correctly, corresponds to the source code, and contains only free software.
Unforunately, in the Android world, it seems to be very common for an
application supplied as a binary APK to present itself as Free Software
when in fact some or all of the following are true:
@enumerate
@item
The source code (either for a particular version, or even all versions!) is
unavailable or incomplete.
@item
The source code is not capable of producing the actual binary supplied.
@item
The 'source code' contains binary files of unknown origin, or with proprietary
licenses.
@end enumerate
For this reason, source-built applications are the preferred method for the
main F-Droid repository, although occasionally for technical or historical
reasons, exceptions are made to this policy.
When building applications from source, it should be noted that you will be
signing them (all APK files must be signed to be installable on Android) with
your own key. When an application is already installed on a device, it is not
possible to upgrade it in place to a new version signed with a different key
without first uninstalling the original. This may present an inconvenience to
users, as the process of uninstalling loses any data associated with the
previous installation.
The process for managing a repository for built-from-source applications is
very similar to that described in the Simple Binary Repository chapter,
except now you need to:
@enumerate
@item
Include Build Version entries in the metadata files.
@item
Run build.py to build any applications that are not already built.
@item
Run publish.py to finalise packaging and sign any APKs that have been built.
@end enumerate
@node Metadata
@chapter Metadata
@cindex metadata
@ -142,7 +240,7 @@ in the metadata directory.
The metadata files are simple, easy to edit text files, always named as the
application's package ID with '.txt' appended. The following sections describe
the fields recogognised within the file.
the fields recognised within the file.
@menu
* License::