Kind request: fix your packages

[Otto Haliburton]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: fedora-devel-list-admin at redhat.com [mailto:fedora-devel-list-
> admin at redhat.com] On Behalf Of Nicolas Mailhot
> Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 4:44 PM
> To: fedora-devel-list at redhat.com
> Subject: Re: Kind request: fix your packages
> 
> Le ven 03/10/2003 à 22:39, Sean Middleditch a écrit :
> > On Fri, 2003-10-03 at 16:11, Michael Schwendt wrote:
> 
> > > > Perl/Python are co-installable with different versions, and thus are
> a
> > > > different issue.
> > >
> > > Oh, great, a second Perl installation. As if Python/Python2 wouldn't
> > > be enough already.
> >
> > If that's what it takes to make things work, then that's what it takes.
> > I didn't say it was perfect, just that it solves the problem that users
> > shouldn't ever have to rebuild to software, and users shouldn't have to
> > run around figuring out what their system is to find the right package
> > and deal with that mess.  In a truly ideal world, Perl/Python/etc.
> > wouldn't keep breaking compatibility so often.  ~,^  Since that's *not*
> > reality, the only solution left for sane packages (form a user's point
> > of view again) is to let any necessary versions be installed so the
> > user's apps just work and the user doesn't even have to think about OS
> > versions or dependencies.
> 
> Don't make me laugh. The user cares about duplicate stuff too.
> Before we build a serious infrastructure that enabled us to modularise
> stuff someone would complain every other week we shipped java 1.3 jars
> with our tomcat rpm (and those jars were necessary to run it with a 1.3
> jvm, and didn't hurt when using a 1.4 jvm. But for a 1.4 user they were
> redundant stuff and we got complains).
> 
> Show me a repository with big fat packages that include all deps to be
> standalone and I'll show you a repository no one wants to use. Users may
> not all know the zen of packaging but it will only take a few long
> downloads or stuffed disks to enlighten them.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> --
> Nicolas Mailhot

here's m .02 cents.  The user shouldn't have to worry about how, what, or
why it works or doesn't work.  The object of good development is that it
"all ways work".  So what does that mean?  It means that all packages should
contain everything necessary for that instant to work now matter what
happened before it arrives.  When you obtain a package freely or pay for it,
you don't need to dig up everything else that will require that package to
work.  We developers like to troubleshoot, but it a waste of time and effort
to troubleshoot the needs and intentions of another developer.  That's my
opinion and I'm stuck with it.