[openbeos] Re: Why I am against distributions.
- From: Sami Cokar <scokar@xxxxxxx>
- To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 22:23:14 -0600
[not replying to anyone in particular]
Everyone seems to agree that long term success depends on consistency across
"OBOS environments" but the "components" are still open to discussion.
To help decide what goes where, we can shamelessly look to mother earth:
'core':
- The OBOS operating environment, as determined by the obos team, that
provides a predefined minimal level of 'service' and explicitly sets a range
for what constitutes "OBOS compliant".
'mantle':
- Distributors build upon, repackage, resell obos core COMPLIANT
products.
proprietary ISVs or OEMs base their products on the 'core'.
'surface': [ didn't want to say "crust" :) ]
- 3rd party vendors, distribution channels, OBOS service/consulting
companies, user groups, anything else that can help a 3 layer analogy work.
Your entry point into the OBOS experience depends on your requirements.
One area where Linux distros fail is in how 'substitutions, deletions, and
alternative options' are handled. There is no concept of an "IProvide Kit":
- the OS is able to identify types of data
- available apps make known the operations they provide on data
- the OS can query a central location
I have the 'core' distro. I have a jpeg I want to view. The OS determines
the data type. Then queries its IProvide Kit: "who can view jpegs?". The
IProvide Kit examines its entries. MinimalViewer - a minimalistic image
viewer available in ALL OS environments, is found and sends a "IProvide that
service" message and so it is used.
I have a 'mantle' distro. During distribution I added PhotoSmith. I have a
jpeg I want to view. The OS determines the data type. Then queries its
IProvide Kit: "Who can view jpegs?". The IProvide Kit examines its entries.
Now MinimalViewer AND PhotoSmith entries can say "IProvide that service". So
here we can have the option of setting "default image viewer", or even
"default jpeg viewer". Why start an image suite when a viewer will do?
Alternatively, the IProvide PhotoSmith entry can send IProvide messages when
the OS queries for an (default) image or (default) jpeg editor.
The same can apply for web browsers where (eg only) lynx is 'core' while
opera and mozilla 'mantle'.
In Linux distro land, the core OS would include Iprovide and the mantle
would include Gnome/KDE which build upon Iprovide. If only Linux distros
had this implemented properly ...
And this void in the user experience is where OBOS-like solutions may fit
in.
I'll leave my rant about Linux "app distribution and installation" failings
for another day :)
Sami Cokar - scokar@xxxxxxx
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