Ubuntu Aircraft Packages

[Chris10]

This is following up from this post I made. My aim was to package all flightgear aircraft for ubuntu so that they can be installed easily. This is the first time I have used bash and the Debian packaging system. I thought the best way of doing this would be to write a bash script to take a aircraft in the .zip archive and convert it to a ubuntu source/binary package. This can then be uploaded to repository's/ppa's or just installed as a deb.

I have a working script (when the package is installed it puts the aircraft files in the right directory), but the package metadata (version, copyright, etc...) is incomplete/wrong. I used this script to create the packages in my Flightgear Aircraft PPA. These are only testing packages and should not be used on a stable system as I have done very little testing myself.

Unfortunately I am going to be very busy over the next few months and while I hope to develop this further, I will have no time to do so, however I feel I have got off to a good start and this could now be continued by others. I have attached the full script to this post.

To further this the script needs to be improved by someone with some experience maintaining debian/ubuntu packages and its my aim that a ppa similar to mine can be created on the flghtgear project in launchpad for use by everyone.

Chris

[Chris10]

I have now completed my second version of this, I now have in my launchpad ppa packages for all the flightgear aircraft. These are available for ubuntu users (lucid or maverick) and allow the installation of aircraft by the apt system. This is far superior to having to download, unpack and move the aircraft files yourself.

In contrast to the previous version it makes a good guess at the version, copyright and other metadata whilst building the package.

The packages are named "fgfs-aircraft-X" where X is the aircraft name that you would use with flightgear to use that plane. For instance the English Electric Lightning would be installed by running apt-get install fgfs-aircraft-lightning. For more details visit my ppa.

This is the new copy of the python script used to generate the packages.

Code: Select all

#! /usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

# Name: fgfs-apc stands for FlightGear Flight Simulator - Aircraft Package Creator
# Usage: execute in the directory contianing the .zip aircraft files, and packages will be made and uploaded to launchpad
# TODO: command line options (target file, ppa name, source or binary package, etc)

from xml.dom import minidom
import os, os.path, re, sys, zipfile, datetime, commands

for filename in os.listdir (os.getcwd()):
   if re.search('.zip', filename) is not None:

      date = datetime.datetime.now()
      dateRFC822 = commands.getoutput('date -R')
      #print 'Date: '+dateRFC822
      #print date.strftime('%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S %z')

      packagingDirectory=os.getcwd()+'/'

      aircraftName=''
      for part in range(len(re.split('_',filename))-1):
         if part>0:
            aircraftName=aircraftName+'_'
         aircraftName=aircraftName+re.split('_',filename)[part]
            
      
      packageSourceDirectory=packagingDirectory+'fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'/'
      os.mkdir(packageSourceDirectory)

      #print 'Processing ' + aircraftName
      zfobj = zipfile.ZipFile(filename)
      for name in zfobj.namelist():
         if name.endswith('/'):
            os.mkdir(os.path.join(packageSourceDirectory, name))
         else:
            outfile = open(os.path.join(packageSourceDirectory, name), 'wb')
            outfile.write(zfobj.read(name))
            outfile.close()
      # Parse set.xml
      aircraftDirectory = packageSourceDirectory+aircraftName+'/'

      description = None
      aircraftVersion = None
      status = None
      author = None

      for filename in os.listdir (aircraftDirectory):
         if re.search('-set.xml', filename) is not None:
            print 'Using ' + filename
            try:
               xmldoc = minidom.parse(aircraftDirectory+filename)
               print 'Using ' + filename
               break
            except Exception:
               print 'Found bad file ' + filename

      while xmldoc is not None:

         #print xmldoc.toxml()
 
         if len(xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('description')) == 1 and description is None:
            try:
               description = xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('description')[0].firstChild.nodeValue
               #print 'Description: '+description
            except Exception:
               print 'Error parsing description'

         if len(xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('aircraft-version')) == 1 and aircraftVersion is None:
            try:
               aircraftVersion = xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('aircraft-version')[0].firstChild.nodeValue
               #print 'Version: '+aircraftVersion
            except Exception:
               print 'Error parsing version'

         if len(xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('status')) == 1 and status is None:
            try:
               status = xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('status')[0].firstChild.nodeValue
               #print 'Status: '+status
            except Exception:
               print 'Error parsing status'

         if len(xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('author')) == 1 and author is None:
            try:
               author = xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('author')[0].firstChild.nodeValue
               #print 'Author: '+author
            except Exception:
               print 'Error parsing author'

         if len(xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('PropertyList')) == 1:
            if len(xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('PropertyList')[0].attributes) != 0:
               try:
                  xmldoc = minidom.parse(aircraftDirectory+xmldoc.getElementsByTagName('PropertyList')[0].attributes["include"].value)
                  print 'Using ' + filename
               except Exception:
                  xmldoc = None
                  print 'Found bad file ' + filename
            else:
               #print 'Finished parsing metadata'
               xmldoc = None

      if aircraftVersion is None:
         aircraftVersion = str(0.1)
      aircraftFullVersion = aircraftVersion+'-0ppa4'

      if description is None:
         description = aircraftName + 'aircraft model for the Flightgear Flight Simulator'

      if status is None:
         status='alpha'

      if author is None:
         author='Unknown'

      os.rename(packageSourceDirectory,packagingDirectory+'/fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'-'+aircraftVersion)
      packageSourceDirectory = packagingDirectory+'/fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'-'+aircraftVersion+'/'
      aircraftDirectory=packageSourceDirectory+aircraftName+'/'

      os.system('tar -caf "fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'_'+aircraftVersion+'.orig.tar.gz" '+
               '"fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'-'+aircraftVersion+'"')

      os.mkdir(packageSourceDirectory+'debian/')

      controlFile = open(packageSourceDirectory+'/debian/control', 'w')
      controlFile.write('Source: fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'\n'+
                        'Section: games\n'+
                        'Priority: optional\n'+
                        'Maintainer: Christopher Baines <cbaines8@gmail.com>\n'+
                        'Standards-Version: 3.8.4\n'+
                        'Build-Depends: debhelper (>= 7)\n'+
                        'Homepage: http://www.flightgear.org\n'+
                        '\n'+
                        'Package: fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'\n'+
                        'Section: games\n'+
                        'Depends: fgfs-base, ${misc:Depends}\n'+
                        'Architecture: all\n'+
                        'Description: ' +description + '\n'+
                        ' For use with the Flightgear Flight Simulator\n'+
                        ' Status: '+status
                        )
      controlFile.close()

      copyrightFile = open(packageSourceDirectory+'/debian/copyright', 'w')
      copyrightFile.write('This work was packaged for Debian by:\n'+
                        '   Chris Baines <cbaines8@gmail.com> on '+str(dateRFC822)+'\n'+
                        '\n'+
                        'It was downloaded from:\n'+
                        '   http://www.flightgear.org/\n'+
                        '\n'+
                        'Upstream author:\n'+
                        '   '+author+'\n'+
                        '\n'+
                        'License:\n'+
                        '   Licence infomation can be found in the '+aircraftName+' directory\n'+
                        '\n'+
                        'The Debian packaging is:\n'+
                        '   Copyright (C) '+str(date.year)+' Chris Baines <cbaines8@gmail.com>\n'+
                        '   You can redistribute it and/or modify\n'+
                        '   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by\n'+
                        '   Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or\n'+
                        '   (at your option) any later version.\n')
      copyrightFile.close()

      changelogFile = open(packageSourceDirectory+'/debian/changelog', 'w')
      changelogFile.write('fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+' ('+aircraftFullVersion+') maverick; urgency=low\n'+
                        '\n'+
                        '  * Initial release\n'+
                        '\n'+
                        ' -- Christopher Baines <cbaines8@gmail.com>  '+str(dateRFC822)
                        )
      changelogFile.close()

      rulesFile = open(packageSourceDirectory+'/debian/rules', 'w')
      rulesFile.write('#!/usr/bin/make -f\n'+
                     '\n'+
                     'clean:\n'+
                     '\n'+
                     'install:\n'+
                     '   dh_installdirs -i\n'+
                     '\n'+
                     'build:\n'+
                     '\n'+
                     'binary-indep: install\n'+
                     '   dh_testdir -i\n'+
                     '   dh_testroot -i\n'+
                     '   dh_fixperms -i\n'+
                     '   dh_installdeb -i\n'+
                     '   dh_install -i\n'+
                     '   dh_gencontrol -i\n'+
                     '   dh_md5sums -i\n'+
                     '   dh_builddeb -i\n'+
                     '\n'+
                     '\n'+
                     'binary-arch:\n'+
                     '\n'+
                     'binary: binary-indep\n'+
                     '\n'
                     )
      rulesFile.close()

      installFile = open(packageSourceDirectory+'/debian/install', 'w')
      installFile.write(aircraftName+'/    /usr/share/games/FlightGear/Aircraft/\n')
      installFile.close()

      compatFile = open(packageSourceDirectory+'/debian/compat', 'w')
      compatFile.write('7\n')
      compatFile.close()

      os.chdir(packageSourceDirectory)
      # -S build source package
      os.system('debuild -S')
      os.chdir(packagingDirectory)
      print os.system('dput -s ppa:cbaines/fgfs-aircraft "fgfs-aircraft-'+aircraftName.lower()+'_'+aircraftFullVersion+'_source.changes"')


Chris

[simbabeat]

Why not just use GIT on ubuntu to get them? we already have that script.

[Chris10]

Because ubuntu and debian use an apt system to manage system components, this is integrated in to the operating system. I was experimenting with extending flightgear's integration with ubuntu.

I have never used the method you talk about, but I think on many points the debian way is superior. Firstly its the standard and using it makes the users life easier. It also allows for integration with all the other system components, like the software centre or synaptic. I think also it offers more functionality, when you upgrade your system you will get the flightgear upgrades as well, no messing around with version's. I was looking at experimenting with a user friendly way of doing it (point and click), not a developer level script.

Installation of flightgear is done by apt, so installation of flightgear addons/components should be done by apt, or problems with upgrades, removals and re-installations will start to occur.

Chris

[Oby]

Fantastisc work! I hope you can evolve this further, and include FGFS, FGRUN and Atlas in your PPA

[Sealbhach]

This sounds like a great idea Chris. It will be very helpful to newcomers.

.

[Canseco]

Great adition. I have a ppa and wanted to make debs of 2.0.0 git and fgo.

Thx for your efforts.

[Chris10]

I am part way through building debs for flightgear, the flightgear base package, fgrun and some of the scenery. I hope to have the stable packages and daily builds on my ppa soon. In the end I hope to add these packages properly to debian, but I want to improve my understanding before then. I will upload the packaging script asap.

Chris

[Oby]

Fantastic! Be sure to give us a word when this is uploaded to your PPA I would be more than happy to help out by testing these packages, seeing as I am a full time ubuntu user that's tired of using Git.

[Groucho]

I am part way through building debs for flightgear, the flightgear base package, fgrun and some of the scenery. I hope to have the stable packages and daily builds on my ppa soon. In the end I hope to add these packages properly to debian, but I want to improve my understanding before then. I will upload the packaging script asap.

Please consider for the daily builds that often dependent packages will have to be updated also. This mostly affects simgear (quite often) and OpenSceneGraph (not that often, but frequently).
I often encounter situations where OSG, simgear, flightgear and the base packages are out of sync after updating from GIT. This might also lead to cases where the aircraft packages from your PPA are installed but may not fit the daily build development state.
Best would indeed be to package everything from the GIT repository (including aircrafts which are in the base repo).

[ethan3391]

This is going to be awesome.

I now use Ubuntu 10.04 about 99% of the time and I can't wait to be able to install the latest snapshots of FlightGear to this computer through apt-get. Not to mention the ability to update it with update manager.

Some people have been talking about an fgrun for linux, but the last time I had FG on my Ubuntu machine it used a command line input. Have they made an FGRun for Linux now?

[Oby]

Yes, Fgrun also exists on Linux. And, from what has been posted previously in this thread, it will be packaged in the PPA

[ethan3391]

Glad to hear it. That will make it a lot easier to work flightgear. I repeat, this is going to be awesome!!!!!

[Hooray]

Yes, Fgrun also exists on Linux. And, from what has been posted previously in this thread, it will be packaged in the PPA

umm, fgrun has been around for like at least 7-8 years I think, if not longer.
And it being based on FLTK, it has also worked under Linux ever since...

It's really not that fgrun is in any way windows specific.

[ethan3391]

As I said after your other post FGRun was not implemented on Linux until apparently very recently. Prior to some recent date, FGRun was not on any Linux distributions of FlightGear. You haven't run FG on Linux for long, have you.