[haiku-development] Re: Package manager
- From: Stephan Assmus <superstippi@xxxxxx>
- To: haiku-development@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:26:18 +0200
On 2009-08-05 at 13:28:21 [+0200], PulkoMandy <pulkomandy@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Haiku want to take the best of each world : each app will stay mostly
> self-contained (executable and data in the same directory and not mixed
> with other apps) but use shared libs and system-wide configuration
> folders. The idea is to try to do something handling the shared libs like
> linux people do it, but still keep the whole thing simple. We have some
> advantages : we keep binary compatibility accross versions of the system.
> However, each time we need an updated version of some linuxish lib, there
> are odds that it will break compatibility at the binary level. That's how
> they work and if we want our package manager to handle it, it adds a lot
> of complexity. There is a choice to do : we can go the linux way and
> allow multiple versions of a lib to be installed at once in the
> system-wide folder. Then the user has no idea which one is used for what
> and has to rely entirely on the package manager to check and manage
> things. We can go for a more closed approach with a central repository
> for all packages and select who is allowed to enter. This does not sound
> like what a free software system needs... but that's what Debian do, for
> example.
>
> The package manager is really important because it will reflect the
> policy of the Os about as much as the sourcecode licence. Do we allow
> only free software in a main repository ? Do we check everything
> ourselves ? Do we allow anyone to submit apps ? Who does the support if
> there is a conflict between two apps ?
>
> The linux way don't map well to closed-source software, and the mac way
> don't map well to ever-changing, compatibility breaking libs from the
> linux world. We have to find our own way between them and find something
> that pleases everyone. Not so easy to achieve.
This is a very good description of the situation, IMHO. You hit the nail on
the head.
Best regards,
-Stephan
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