Public bug reported: Binary package hint: mono
This is a hybrid between a bug and an idea: It's an idea to enhance usability, and it's a bug because it causes Ubuntu to ship software that is very much out-of-date and carries increased complexity in the system. Debian, some time ago, moved to a setup wherein the upstream Mono package is split into *many* different packages—over 100. They claimed that this was in order to reduce the size of the dependencies for various Mono packages, which might have made sense in the days of Mono 1.0 when there simply weren't that many and there were still a very large number of compatibility issues with software targeted at the .NET implementation of the CLR. However, _today_, this makes no sense and introduces unnecessary complexity into the system. The way things are done currently, there isn't a full set of assemblies in the GAC when Mono is installed, which inhibits the ability to download zero-install .NET software and use it. It would be possible in theory to patch the Mono runtime such that it could halt an application and call upon APT to install assemblies on- demand, but that would create even more unnecessary complexity. Some businesses (including a few of my own clients) would like to easily deploy software and just have a full and compliant CLR environment with which to do so. And lastly, if the version in the distribution is not new enough, it should be easy to pull from upstream and re-package it for the operating system so that updating the core system CLR is possible in a scalable manner. Currently, those things are all inhibited by the astoundingly complex packaging situation. As new assemblies are added to Mono to increase runtime CLI-bytecode binary compatibility, additional packages will be required, and a great deal of work has to be done to update the *.install, *.manpages, the ever-growing control file, and other files required in the source package. Instead, Ubuntu should adopt a 1:1 binary-to-source package policy, particularly with complex packages such as Mono. This will increase the user experience as well as enable the Ubuntu system to be more flexible for end-user needs, especially as the world creates and consumes more managed software that can be written once and run everywhere. It will also make it such that companies and end-users can receive supported updates for Mono from upstream, should they want to begin packaging for Ubuntu and not have to try to figure out the entire packaging setup. I know that I can barely make heads or tails of it, and so I run a parallel-mono install for development purposes in my /opt directory. Would it that it were possible, I'd update the packages myself so that I could have a newer CLR installed, system-wide, without having to worry about entering my special environment for development. Please fix this for Koala+1 at the latest, and help to increase Ubuntu's usability and flexibility. Thank you. ** Affects: mono (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Tags: mono packaging-nightmare ** Summary changed: - Block Mono updates from Debian, and simply packaging + Block Mono updates from Debian, and simplify packaging -- Block Mono updates from Debian, and simplify packaging https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/357555 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs