Re: getting things moving (was Re: Proportional fonts)
- From: Bill Meahan <wmeahan@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: wilyfans@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 19:57:39 -0400
On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 23:00:21 -0000
MJ Ray <markj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Bill Meahan <wmeahan@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Er, folks, please try not to forget folks who **aren't** using
> > Linux,
>
> Some arch implementations should run on other platforms. At least two
> are written in cross-platform scripting languages. It doesn't even
> require you to give your personal details to a development company ;-)
>
No doubt. GNU software can usually be coerced into compiling/running on
any U**x/U**x-like platform.
The issue I have is that every time I want/need to install some
application from source, I end up having to install umpty-ump
development tools just to be able to compile the bloody thing so I can
use it. The more different tools free-software developers choose to use,
the more I, an end-user, have to install and keep up to date. Either
that, or I have to hope somebody else will do it so there is a binary
package available for my platform(s).
For extremely-popular packages, that's usually not much of a problem
since up-to-date or (at least) recent binary packages are usually
available. For less-popular (or more narrowly-focused) applications,
however, finding a binary package that's up-to-date or recent is
frequently an exercise in futility hence installation from source
becomes a necessity.
I'm retired from software development (after 38 years without a single
line of COBOL) and have no intention at all of returning to it so,
personally, I don't give a rip_which_ development tools get used. just
that there be a _really_ small number of them so *I* don't have to have
that many of them :-)
--
Bill Meahan wmeahan@xxxxxxxxxx /~\ The ASCII Ribbon Campaign
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