[Ilugc] Debian installation
- From: rsubr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Raja Subramanian)
- Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 23:02:07 +1000
Hi,
Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:
I dont mean home users, though they shouldn't shrink from doing
something that is quite often as simple as ./configure, make, make
install ... I mean server admins, who should know to install something
and then to tune / tweak it to meet their needs.
Not all software is as simple as "./configure, make...". Satisfying
build dependencies can be a nightmare. I once had to admin an SGI box
that did not even have a compiler installed. I had to go as far back as
compiling gcc (and yes, I tried freeware.sgi.com already). Don't think
I have any happy memories from that!
I'm happy that I can chuck in a debian cd (on an x86, alpha, sun, indy
or mac) and in 20 minutes have all my favourite software going with
little effort.
Even if I satisfy all my build deps, I still have to know all the
configure/build options. The question is - can I build sendmail better
than the debian package managers? Probably not. If I spend a whole lot
of time reading the build instructions, then "maybe".
Am I satisfied with the quality/performance/features/bloat of debian
packages? Yes. And so are several others (including sys admins). Is
it worth my time/effort to out-do debian? No. So what's the point?
- Raja
Other related posts:
