Re: Simplifying package installation.

[nelson-gnome crynwr com]

 > >       I agree: falling back to .tar.gz means there is no package
 > > management at all.

Actually, um, you're completely wrong..  You could store the packaging
information in a file named PACKAGE.  There is (and was) exactly
*zero* reason to invent a special file format for holding packages.
The people who did that thought they were running VMS or something, I
dunno.

The way Miguel explains CORBA is: Why invent custom protocols for
interprocess and intermachine communications?  Create an API and let
CORBA do the communicating.  You can take the same principle and say:
why invent custom file formats?  Create an API wrapper around an
existing file format.

James Green wrote:
> Both distributions will run the same software, the software is
> derived from the same courses and authors, so why the hell should
> the author have to build a tarball for the sources, an rpm for
> RedHat-based systems, and also (or get someone else to build) .debs?
> No, software packaging and distribution should not be based upon
> which distribution you are running.

Dan Quinlin is God.

-- 
-russ nelson <nelson@crynwr.com>  http://russnelson.com
Crynwr sells support for free software  | PGPok | Government schools are so
521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | bad that any rank amateur
Potsdam, NY 13676-3213  | +1 315 268 9201 FAX   | can outdo them. Homeschool!