Alien is a
computer program that converts between different
Linux package formats
A package format is a type of archive containing computer programs and additional metadata needed by package managers. While the archive file format itself may be unchanged, package formats bear additional metadata, such as a manifest file or certa ...
, created by Joey Hess and presently maintained by Kyle Barry.
Features
Alien supports conversion between
Linux Standard Base (LSB),
LSB-compliant
.rpm
RPM Package Manager (RPM) (originally Red Hat Package Manager, now a recursive acronym) is a free and open-source package management system. The name RPM refers to the file format and the package manager program itself. RPM was intended primaril ...
packages,
.deb
deb is the format, as well as extension of the software package format for the Debian Linux distribution and its derivatives.
Design
Debian packages are standard Unix ar archives that include two tar archives. One archive holds the cont ...
, Stampede (),
Solaris () and
Slackware (
.tgz
gzip is a file format and a software application used for file compression and decompression. The program was created by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler as a free software replacement for the compress program used in early Unix systems, and ...
,
.txz
In computing, tar is a computer software utility for collecting many files into one archive file, often referred to as a tarball, for distribution or backup purposes. The name is derived from "tape archive", as it was originally developed ...
, , )
[ Slackware#Package management] packages. It is also capable of automatically installing the generated packages, and can try to convert the installation scripts included in the archive as well. The latter feature should be used with caution since
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...
s may vary significantly from one another, and using install scripts automatically converted from an Alien format may break the system.
Usage
A sample usage of ''Alien'':
This will convert to with the , , and scripts from the
Debian
Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...
package (
deb) into the
RPM package.
Terminal commands for Alien:
It might require Super User Privileges to run the command. If it does then proceed with the commands below
Similar applications
*
CheckInstall, for the source
tarball (i.e.
Gentoo) to
.deb
deb is the format, as well as extension of the software package format for the Debian Linux distribution and its derivatives.
Design
Debian packages are standard Unix ar archives that include two tar archives. One archive holds the cont ...
(Debian).
See also
*
Package management system
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Debian
Free software programmed in Perl
Free system software
{{Linux-stub