postgresql client packaging recipe

postgresql client packaging recipe

[Mortimer Cladwell]

Hi,
Postgresql-client is not available in the main repository (server is!). I
assumed it was due to the complicated license:
https://metadata.ftp-master.debian.org/changelogs//main/p/postgresql-13/postgresql-13_13.4-0+deb11u1_copyright

So I wrote a packaging recipe (below) and submitted to nonfree.  Was told
it might be that no one has gotten around to packaging for main yet.  I see
the documentation for submitting patches, but not recipe files. Is there a
protocol for submitting packaging recipes?

guix build succeeds:

...[many successes]...
phase `delete-info-dir-file' succeeded after 0.0 seconds
starting phase `patch-dot-desktop-files'
phase `patch-dot-desktop-files' succeeded after 0.0 seconds
starting phase `install-license-files'
installing 0 license files from '.'
phase `install-license-files' succeeded after 0.0 seconds
starting phase `reset-gzip-timestamps'
phase `reset-gzip-timestamps' succeeded after 0.0 seconds
starting phase `compress-documentation'
phase `compress-documentation' succeeded after 0.0 seconds
successfully built
/gnu/store/fqmsg116ycbxyvns6wd09cwk2a6nyqis-postgresql-client-13.4.drv
/gnu/store/w9gswswv5qxc84nyq5n7zkicygsb0rrq-postgresql-client-13.4

Tested and functional on Debian.

Thanks
Mortimer

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(define-module (gnu packages postgresql-client)
  #:use-module (guix packages)
  #:use-module ((guix licenses) #:prefix license:)
  #:use-module (guix download)
  #:use-module (guix build-system gnu)
  #:use-module (gnu packages)
  #:use-module (gnu packages autotools)
  #:use-module (gnu packages guile)
  #:use-module (gnu packages base)
  #:use-module (gnu packages pkg-config)
  #:use-module (gnu packages readline)
  #:use-module (gnu packages texinfo))


(define-public postgresql-client
(package
  (name "postgresql-client")
  (version "13.4")
  (source
     (origin
       (method url-fetch)
       (uri "
http://deb.debian.org/debian/pool/main/p/postgresql-13/postgresql-13_13.4.orig.tar.bz2
")
       (sha256
        (base32 "1kf0gcsrl5n25rjlvkh87aywmn28kbwvakm5c7j1qpr4j01y34za"))))
  (build-system gnu-build-system)
  (arguments `())
  (native-inputs
    `(("autoconf" ,autoconf)
      ("automake" ,automake)
      ("pkg-config" ,pkg-config)
      ("texinfo" ,texinfo)))
  (inputs `(("readline" ,readline)
   ("zlib" ,(@ (gnu packages compression) zlib))))
  (propagated-inputs `())
  (synopsis "Front-end programs for PostgreSQL 13")
  (description "This package contains client and administrative programs
for PostgreSQL: these are the interactive terminal client psql and programs
for creating and removing users and databases.")
  (home-page "https://www.postgresql.org/docs/13/reference-client.html")
  (license license:gpl3+)))

Re: postgresql client packaging recipe

[Tobias Geerinckx-Rice]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2243 bytes --]

Mortimer,

> So I wrote a packaging recipe (below) and submitted to nonfree. 
> Was told
> it might be that no one has gotten around to packaging for main 
> yet.

Just FYI, Guix doesn't have sections like Debian.  There is only a 
single guix git repository, containing all packages supported and 
maintained by the Guix project.

Guix deals exclusively in Free software.  Any third-party 
repositories that don't follow the GNU Free Software Distribution 
Guidelines are not affiliated with GNU or Guix, and we can't 
provide support for them here.

I'm not aware of any licence issues with PostgreSQL, however, so 
we cool.

> I see
> the documentation for submitting patches, but not recipe 
> files. Is there a
> protocol for submitting packaging recipes?

There's no difference! :-)  Guix packages (=‘recipes’) are added 
to the repository as patches.  That's it.  Same as any other 
addition or fix: packages are just code, after all.

To submit a package upstream to Guix, you'd check out the git 
repository, add your package (‘recipe’) to a file that best suits 
it (here: databases.scm), commit it and send a patch as described 
in that section of the manual.

However…

>   (description "This package contains client and administrative 
>   programs
> for PostgreSQL: these are the interactive terminal client psql 
> and programs
> for creating and removing users and databases.")

…I'm a bit confused.  What exactly is missing?

λ ls $(guix build postgresql)/*bin
clusterdb          pg_config       pg_test_fsync
createdb           pg_controldata  pg_test_timing
createuser         pg_ctl          pg_upgrade
dropdb             pg_dump         pg_verifybackup
dropuser           pg_dumpall      pg_waldump
ecpg               pg_isready      postgres
initdb             pg_receivewal   postmaster
oid2name           pg_recvlogical  psql
pg_archivecleanup  pg_resetwal     reindexdb
pg_basebackup      pg_restore      vacuumdb
pgbench            pg_rewind       vacuumlo
pg_checksums       pg_standby

Sorry to be so dense.  I do use PostgreSQL but only know the very 
basics, I haven't even used or heard of most of those commands.

Kind regards,

T G-R

[-- Attachment #2: signature.asc --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 247 bytes --]

Re: postgresql client packaging recipe

[Tobias Geerinckx-Rice]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 647 bytes --]

Tobias Geerinckx-Rice 写道：
>> Is there a protocol for submitting packaging recipes?
>
> There's no difference! :-)

I might've been missing the spirit of the question here.  Patches 
are the norm because they are easiest to review and commit.

Stand-alone packages/recipes mean busywork for committers, who 
will be less likely to commit your package, or like you.

But in practice, submitting your first package as stand-alone file 
to guix-patches@ or help-guix@ with a descriptive title is 
certainly not taboo.  Someone will surely help you get both your 
package and your git set-up up to snuff.

Kind regards,

T G-R

[-- Attachment #2: signature.asc --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 247 bytes --]

Re: postgresql client packaging recipe

[Mortimer Cladwell]

Thanks Tobias

You have updated my thinking about postgresql.

On Debian, apt-get install postgresql installs the postgres database/user
and starts the service.  If you are distributing a client app (I am) and
you only want to provide the user with the psql executable (I do), then you
have the client install postgresql-client.

With guix, it looks like guix package -i postgresql does not by default
create a database/user and start the service, but does provide the psql
executable. Maybe I can provide the postgresql package without having to
worry about polluting the users desktop with db/user/service. That would
make postgresql-client redundant.

That is my current thinking. Correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks
Mortimer

On Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 6:42 PM Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me@tobias.gr> wrote:

> Tobias Geerinckx-Rice 写道：
> >> Is there a protocol for submitting packaging recipes?
> >
> > There's no difference! :-)
>
> I might've been missing the spirit of the question here.  Patches
> are the norm because they are easiest to review and commit.
>
> Stand-alone packages/recipes mean busywork for committers, who
> will be less likely to commit your package, or like you.
>
> But in practice, submitting your first package as stand-alone file
> to guix-patches@ or help-guix@ with a descriptive title is
> certainly not taboo.  Someone will surely help you get both your
> package and your git set-up up to snuff.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> T G-R
>