pkgng is a new binary package manager for FreeBSD that aims to replace the pkg_install tools. It is built on top of a fresh code base, known as libpkg, which provide a clean interface to deal with package management tasks. With pkgng FreeBSD will get an up-to-date package manager with a lot of nice feature such as pkg update && pkg upgrade!

My goal is to implement the convert subcommand in pkgng. With this command, the user will be able to convert .rpm/.deb archive into regular pkgng packages. I want this command to really ease the process of conversion from one format to another. One important feature I would like to achieve is to help the user during dependency resolution (what dependency are needed, where to get those dependency…). Such a command will provide, among others, a nice way to test the FreeBSD's Linux binary compatibility.

1. Familiarize myself with the code base, begin the conception of the key features (2weeks)
2. Try to get feedback and suggestions on my conception draft, finalize the conception (1 week)
3. Learn how .rpm works and implement the library routines related to this format (3 weeks)
4. First code review/documentation interlude (few days)
5. Learn how .deb works and implement the library routines related to this format (2 weeks)
6. Second code review/documentation interlude (few days)
7. Implement the “convert” sub-command (3 weeks)
8. Final code review, documentation, patch… (few days)

*pkgng (now "pkg") wiki page *pkgng github repository *RPM Guide