I would like to tell you about a project I started called Baker:

SHORT:

Baker is a source-based package management system. It can turn any OS 
distribution into a source-based distro like SourceMage or Gentoo. But more 
importantly, it allows distribution developers to maintain large collections 
of binary packages very easily.

LONG:

Baker is an advanced source-based package management system It is 100% well 
structed OO Ruby code, which can easily be extended and called upon as a 
library. Its commandline interface called 'bake' makes it easy to download, 
compile and install programs. A catalog of "recipes" (also called 
the "recipe book" can be sync'd with masters and contains yaml files that 
describe where to get a program (handles mirrors and local regions), how to 
compile it and how to install it. It uses a sanbox for installing and has a 
unique means of mapping the file hiearachy, thus it is easily suited to any 
distribution, even those with non-standard file hierarchy. It is quite 
flexible, you can build off the build in SimpleRecipe via subclassing and 
easily create new smater ones, that work right along side the older. A 
SimpleRecipe simply runs Yaml embedded scripts (shell, perl, ruby, etc.) for 
each stage with proper varaible subtitutions. In the future "smart" recipes 
could handle compilation semi-automatically augmented with yaml embedded 
build options. It also automatically handles dependencies and conflicts and 
gentoo like uses. The main goal of the project is to offer open operating 
systems an easy means to manage large collections of packages.

FUN:

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake,
Baker's man!
So I do, master,
As fast as I can.

Pat it, and prick it,
And mark it with T,
Put it in the oven
For Tommy and me.

STATUS:

The project is beta, most of the system is functional.

	http://rubyforge.org/projects/baker/

-t0