Opendesktop.org with openSUSE Build Service Integration

12/24/2009

There's a lot more to the openSUSE build service than just openSUSE. The service builds packages for numerous other projects, now also including Opendesktop.org.

Opendesktop.org is the main page for kde-apps.org, gnome-apps.org, kde-look.org, etc, organized by KDE developer Frank Karlitschek. The project boasts around 3600 applications and since last week, according to Karlitschek, can count on 150,000 members.

While developers in the main are satisfied with the Opendesktop infrastructure, users often complain about the lack of finished packages. Most developers just load the source code. Now, thanks to the cooperation between Opendesktop.org and the openSUSE build service, this is due to change. Announced last week, the now functioning service automatically builds binary packages for all OBS supported distributions. These include diverse openSUSE and SUSE Linux Enterprise versions, but also Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat and CentOS.

Karlitschek also refers to the security problems currently plaguing binary packages at Opendesktop.org and other free projects. He hopes, he says, to find a solution at Camp KDE in January.

( Marcel Hilzinger)

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