[argyllcms] Re: Argyllcms 1.0.1 packaged in fedora-devel

On Sun, Jul 27, 2008 at 8:38 PM, Ben Goren <ben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On 2008 Jul 27, at 10:50 AM, Frederic Crozat wrote:
>
>> And I'm  convinced shipping static  tarball for Linux is  just a
>> band-aid. (I won't comment for other OS).
>
> I  must admit  that I  don't  understand the  whole ``worship  the
> source'' thing that Linux people have going on.
>
> Yes,  distribute the  source. Make it  as easy  to get  to as  the
> binaries,  at  the very  least. Read-only  access  to your  source
> control repository is absolutely swell, too.
>
> But  the  ``normal''  experience   of  the  overwhelming  majority
> of  your  ``regular  folk''   end-users  should  be  binaries. Why
> should  my parents  have to  compile source  to install  software,
> *especially* when  drag-n-drop works like a  charm? Even if you've
> got  a pointy-clicky  program that  compiles  it for  them in  the
> background...why? Sheer madness.

Well, current users of Mandriva Linux can just type :
urpmi argyllcms
or use GUI package manager RPMDrake and search for Argyllcms and
install it without ever dropping
to command line, not tar and so on.

For me, that should be the "standard" way of distributing software on
a modern platform.

> Apple  has  the right  idea  with  application bundles:  create  a
> well-structured folder  hierarchy with everything you  need in it,
> all pre-compiled and set up just  the way you want it. Include any
> help  files, reference  pictures, sound  clips, complete  works of
> Shakespeare  -- whatever  you like. End  users just  see a  single
> icon  to  double-click on,  and  your  application Just  Works. No
> dependencies,  no  extra  schtuff  to install,  no  compiling,  no
> prerequisites --  just drag the  icon to your  Applications folder
> (or  anywhere  else  you  like), and  it's  done. Don't  like  the
> application?  Just  drag the  single icon to  the trash,  and it's
> gone, period, end of story.

Apple and Microsoft are "just" shipping a bare OS. Linux distributions
are eco-system and
all distributions want those ecocystems to be healty, by sharing as
much code and fixes as possible.

> And Graeme  has created a truly  excellent analogue of that  for a
> cross-platform command-line  suite of tools. All  I have to  do is
> untar the latest version and change a soft link to point to it (so
> my  $PATH  picks it  up),  and  I'm  done. No  muss, no  fuss,  no
> confusion -- it Just Works.

Same on the distribution I work for.

I never said the only way to ship Argyllcms should be packages. I
don't even ask Graeme to create packages.

EOT on this particular "static" thread for myself.

-- 
Frederic Crozat

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