Software Repository

A Software Repository is a package management system of managed software packages.

• AKA: repo.
• Context:
  • It can (typically) contain Software Branches, enabling developers to work on different versions or features of the software simultaneously.
  • ...
  • It can include metadata such as README files, license information, and dependency management details, which aid in software usability and compliance.
  • It can be associated with a Software Repository Configuration to specify setup and access details for developers (e.g., mediawiki/core config).
  • It can serve as a backup or central store for software artifacts, ensuring that versions can be restored or referenced at any time.
  • It can (often) be publicly accessible or restricted based on user roles and permissions, supporting both open-source and proprietary software.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Research Lab Showcase Repositories, such as DeepMind’s Showcase Repository that hosts code for research publication reproducibility.
  • mediawiki/core [1], a repository for the core components of the MediaWiki software.
  • npm Registry, a widely-used repository for JavaScript packages and dependencies, accessible through the npm package manager.
  • PyPI (Python Package Index), a repository for Python packages that supports Python's pip package management system.
  • …
  • A Software Package Distribution System, like CPAN, which is primarily focused on distributing and managing individual modules or packages rather than the collaborative development of software.
  • A Digital Library, which stores digital documents, books, and research articles rather than software packages or source code.
  • A Local Backup, which may store software but does not provide the collaborative features, version control, or distribution capabilities of a repository.
• See: Package (Package Management System), Managed Software Package, Managed Software Package, Version Controlled Repository.

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References

2021

• (Wikipedia, 2021) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_repository Retrieved:2021-4-9.
  • A software repository, or “repo” for short, is a storage location for software packages. Often a table of contents is also stored, along with metadata. A software repository is typically managed by source control or repository managers. Package Managers allow for installing and updating the repositories (sometimes called “packages”) versus having to do this manually.

2020

• (Wikipedia, 2020) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/software_repository Retrieved:2020-10-2.
  • A software repository, or “repo” for short, is a storage location for software packages. Often a table of contents is stored, as well as metadata. Repositories group packages. Sometimes the grouping is for a programming language, such as CPAN for the Perl programming language, sometimes for an entire operating system, sometimes the license of the contents is the criteria.

    At client side, a package manager helps installing from and updating the repositories.

    At server side, a software repository is typically managed by source control or repository managers. Some of the repository managers allow to aggregate other repository location into one URL and provide a caching proxy. When doing continuous builds many artifacts are produced and often centrally stored, so automatically deleting the ones which are not released is important.

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