On Sun, 26 Mar 2000, Randy Edwards wrote:
> In terms of sheer number of software packages, the ~4500 packages of
> Debian's soon-to-be-released "potato" version dwarfs the size of Red Hat.
I believe Red Hat has stated that they want to keep their base distribution
small enough to fit on a single CD. That places an upper limit on the number
of packages they can include in it. If you want more, their "Deluxe" and
"Power Tools" distributions includes a few more CDs full of packages.
> In some ways (competition of features) I see the *.rpm and *.deb contest
> as a benefit, but for 3rd party software developers, the non-standard
> package format is a nightmare.
In typical hackerish fashion, that problem is being solved by programs such
as "alien" (that's the example I know, others exist) which allow you to either
convert between package formats and/or build packages in multiple formats from
a single spec file.
> We really need the LSB to evolve into something rock solid and a common
> package format would be a nice bonus for 3rd party commercial developers.
Yes, but at the same, it runs contrary to the freedom of choice that
embodies much of the Linux community. One way or the other, some group is
going to be unhappy. But I generally agree that picking a standard would be a
good idea. Nobody can force you to use it.
> Unfortunately, there's a couple of ideologies behind the package formats.
> IMHO (from a Debian viewpoint) Red Hat's package format is a bit looser
> while Debian -- at least for official developers -- maintains a militant
> attitude that package maintainers can and cannot do certain things. I
> don't see any merging of package formats any time soon on the horizon.
I think this might be political more then technical. In other words, Red
Hat chooses to encourage a more relaxed attitude around RPMs, while Debian
tries to make sure things are Being Done Right. This mirrors the over-all
attitude of the Red Hat and Debian groups, I think.
--
Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
| Why do we call them apartments if they are together? |
| Why do we call them buildings if they are already built? |
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