Linux Software Map

If a Linux program is to be distributed widely, an LSM file may be created to describe the program, normally in a file called software_package_name.lsm. This file begins with {{mono|Begin4}} and ends with {{mono|End}}. It has one field on each line. The field name is separated from the value by a colon (:). Mandatory fields are Title, Version, Entered-date, Description, Author and Primary-site.

Here is a what a blank LSM template looks like, at time of writing:

Begin4
Title:
Version:
Entered-date:
Description:
Keywords:
Author:
Maintained-by:
Primary-site:
Alternate-site:
Original-site:
Platforms:
Copying-policy:
End

The collective database of LSM entries can be searched in order to locate software of a particular type. This database has passed through various owners. It was created by Jeff Kopmanis, Lars Wirzenius maintained it for a while, and now the current maintainer is Aaron Schrab (with help from volunteers).

The database can be downloaded in its entirety, or one can perform limited queries using a web interface.

As of August 2022, the LSM index is still automatically updated by a e-mail robot. However, the maintainer of man-db eventually decided to stop maintaining its LSM data due to the perceived obsolescence of LSM.{{cite web |last1=Toscano |first1=Pino |title=Drop LSM file (!4) · Merge requests · man-db / man-db · GitLab |url=https://gitlab.com/man-db/man-db/-/merge_requests/4 |website=GitLab |date=13 July 2022 |language=en}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/LSM-TEMPLATE.html LSM template version 4] on ibiblio.org
• [http://lsm.qqx.org/lsm/LSM.gz Entire LSM Database]
• [http://www.ibiblio.org/linsearch/index.html Simple LSM Search] on ibiblio.org
• [http://www.ibiblio.org/linsearch/index.html Advanced LSM Search] on ibiblio.org
• [http://lsm.execpc.com/lsm/ Instructions for New Entries]

Category:Linux

Category:Computer file formats

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