DOKK / manpages / debian 12 / epm / epm.list.5.en
epm.list(5) Easy Software Products epm.list(5)

epm.list - epm list file format.

Each EPM product has an associated list file that describes the files to include with the product. Comment lines begin with the "#" character and are ignored. All other non-blank lines must begin with a letter, dollar sign ("$"), or the percent sign ("%") as follows:

$name=value

Sets the named variable to value. Note: Variables set in the list file are overridden by variables specified on the command-line or in the current environment.
%arch all

Uses following files and directives on all processor architectures.
%arch architecture [... architecture]

Uses following files and directives on the named processor architectures.
%arch !architecture [... architecture]

Uses following files and directives on all but the named processor architectures.
%copyright copyright notice

Sets the copyright notice for the file.
%description description text

Adds a line of descriptive text to the distribution. Multiple lines are supported.
%format format [... format]

Uses following files and directives only if the distribution format is the same as format.
%format !format [... format]

Uses following files and directives only if the distribution format is not the same as format.
%if variable [... variable]
%if !variable [... variable]
%ifdef variable [... variable]
%ifdef !variable [... variable]
%elseif variable [... variable]
%elseif !variable [... variable]
%elseifdef variable [... variable]
%elseifdef !variable [... variable]
%else
%endif

Conditionally includes lines in the list file. The %if lines include the lines that follow if the named variables are (not) defined with a value. The %ifdef lines include the lines that follow if the named variables are (not) defined with any value. These conditional lines cannot be nested.
%include filename

Includes files listed in filename.
%incompat product
%incompat filename

Indicates that this product is incompatible with the named product or file.
%install script or program

Specifies a script or program to be run after all files are installed. (This has been obsoleted by the %postinstall directive)
%license license file

Specifies the file to display as the software license.
%literal(section) line
%literal(section) <file
%literal(section) <<string

Specifies format-specific literal data for packaging. Currently only supported for RPM and PKG packages.
%packager name of packager

Specifies the name of the packager.
%patch script or program

Specifies a script or program to be run after all files are patched. (This has been obsoleted by the %postpatch directive)
%postinstall script or program
%postinstall <scriptfile
%postinstall <<string

Specifies a script or program to be run after all files are installed.
%postpatch script or program
%postpatch <scriptfile
%postpatch <<string

Specifies a script or program to be run after all files are patched.
%postremove script or program
%postremove <scriptfile
%postremove <<string

Specifies a script or program to be run after removing files.
%preinstall script or program
%preinstall <scriptfile
%preinstall <<string

Specifies a script or program to be run before all files are installed.
%prepatch script or program
%prepatch <scriptfile
%prepatch <<string

Specifies a script or program to be run before all files are patched.
%preremove script or program
%preremove <scriptfile
%preremove <<string

Specifies a script or program to be run before removing files.
%product product name

Specifies the product name.
%readme readme file

Specifies a README file to be included in the distribution.
%remove script or program

Specifies a script or program to be run before removing files. (This has been obsoleted by the %preremove directive)
%release number

Specifies the release or build number of a product (defaults to 0).
%replaces product

Indicates that this product replaces the named product.
%requires product
%requires filename

Indicates that this product requires the named product or file.
%subpackage
%subpackage name

Selects the named subpackage; if no name is given, selects the main (parent) package.
%vendor vendor or author name

Specifies the vendor or author of the product.
%version version number

Specifies the version number of the product.
%system system[-release] [... system[-release]]

Specifies that the following files should only be used for the specified operating systems and releases.
%system !system[-release] [... system[-release]]

Specifies that the following files should not be used for the specified operating systems and releases.
%system all

Specifies that the following files are applicable to all operating systems.

Specifies a configuration file for installation. The second form specifies that the file has changed or is new and should be included as part of a patch. Configuration files are installed as "destination.N" if the destination already exists.

Specifies a directory should be created when installing the software. The second form specifies that the directory is new and should be included as part of a patch.

Specifies a file for installation. The second form specifies that the file has changed or is new and should be included as part of a patch. If the "nostrip()" option is included, the file will not be stripped before the installation is created.

Specifies one or more files for installation using shell wildcard patterns. The second form specifies that the files have changed or are new and should be included as part of a patch. If the "nostrip()" option is included, the file will not be stripped before the installation is created.

Specifies an initialization script for installation. The second form specifies that the file has changed or is new and should be included as part of a patch. Initialization scripts are stored in /etc/software/init.d and are linked to the appropriate system-specific directories for run levels 0, 2, 3, and 5. Initialization scripts must accept at least the start and stop commands. The optional options following the source filename can be any of the following:


Specifies the relative startup order compared to the required and used system functions. Supported values include First, Early, None, Late, and Last (OSX only).

Specifies names of system functions that are provided by this startup item (OSX only).

Specifies names of system functions that are required by this startup item (OSX only).

Specifies the run levels to use.

Specifies the starting sequence number from 00 to 99.

Specifies the ending sequence number from 00 to 99.

Specifies names of system functions that are used by this startup item (OSX only).


Specifies a symbolic link in the installation. The second form specifies that the link has changed or is new and should be included as part of a patch.

Specifies that the file is to be removed upon patching. The user and group fields are ignored. The mode field is only used to determine if a check should be made for a previous version of the file.

EPM maintains a list of variables and their values which can be used to substitute values in the list file. These variables are imported from the current environment and taken from the command-line and list file as provided. Substitutions occur when the variable name is referenced with the dollar sign ($):





    %postinstall <<EOF


    echo What is your name:


    read $$name


    Your name is $$name


    EOF


    f 0555 root sys ${bindir}/foo foo


    f 0555 root sys $datadir/foo/foo.dat foo.dat

Variable names can be surrounded by curley brackets (${name}) or alone ($name); without brackets the name is terminated by the first slash (/), dash (-), or whitespace. The dollar sign can be inserted using $$.

epm(1) - create software packages
epminstall(1) - add a directory, file, or symlink to a list file
mkepmlist(1) - make an epm list file from a directory

Copyright 1999-2010 by Easy Software Products, All Rights Reserved.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

ESP Package Manager 30 December 2010