Here are the package requirements I've been hearing in these threads
and are congruent with my own:

1)  Easy-installation.  One-click installation of multi-package
software systems, including, if necessary, execution of install
scripts and local deployment of resource files.
2)  Easy-publication.  One-click deployment of multi-package software
systems, including install scripts and resources).
3)  A full SCM collaboration system, with diffing, merging and
distribution across multiple repositories.
4)  Ability to plug into any other existing or future packaging system.

Requirement #3 is met by Monticello.  Requirements 1, 2, and 4, used
in the context of an appropriate lifecycle, can be met solely with the
existing Monticello and SqueakMap tools we have today.  And there are
just two steps to get there, one of which is just a change of
*thinking*!

  step 1) Assimilate this thought:  "Anyone integrating multiple
programs (packages) into a single image is doing development."
  step 2)  Humans make all SqueakMap packages one-click loadable and
only publish one-click-loadable packages going forward on SqueakMap.
Do this via the SAR install script, making calls to other packaging
systems as necessary (satisfying requirement #4).

By doing just these two things we don't need any other tools and
SqueakMap doesn't need dependencies to meet the four requirements.  At
the same time, other tools can be used and called from the SAR script
if desired.

SqueakMap is the "Squeak showroom" place for exploring what packages
are about.  We only expect SqueakMap to load a *single* package into
the image which it says is compatible.  Of course, we know we can load
more than one, but the included Test Suites provide my comfort on
whether everything still "works".

We don't worry about conflicts between package versions loaded from
SqueakMap because that requires deliberate package integration in
which you use Monticello, not SqueakMap.  The maintainer will update
his dependency list soon enough if we make publishing to SqueakMap
easy.  I added a "BuildSar" button to Monticello Configurations
browser so I could at least build the SAR in one-click, which I then
have to manually upload to SqueakMap.

 - Chris