7.3.3 Software Terminology

7.3.3.1 Packages and Clusters

The software is grouped into packages of files and directories related to an application. For example there will be a group for man pages and another for SunOS 4.1.X binary compatibility. These groups of software are labelled packages. A package is the standard way to deliver software under Solaris 2, both bundled and unbundled. There are 187 software packages in the Solaris 2.5 base distribution. There are standard commands for administering the packages that we'll look at later. Packages from Sun are generally identified by the SUNWxxx naming convention.

Packages may be grouped into clusters of related applications. For example, the Source Compatibility Support cluster includes:

Source Compatibility (root), SUNWscpr
Source Compatibility (usr), SUNWscpu
Source Compatibility Archive Library, SUNWsra
Source Compatibility Header Files, SUNWsrh

A cluster can be composed of one or more packages. The cluster names refer to logical names, such as Source Compatibility Support and On-line Manual Pages, not to the SUNWxxx convention.

Unix System Administration - 8 AUG 1996

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