Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 12:33:38 -0800
From: "Michael J. Hammel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I'm curious why any new plug-ins should be added to the core *at all*.
Gimp's distribution is fairly large as it is. Isn't it getting time to
limit additional plug-ins to the core distribution to plug-ins which are
considered "vital" in some way? Even some estoric file plug-ins need not
necessarily be included with the core package. Throwing in the kitchen
sink is what's starting to bloat some Linux distros.
Furthermore, look at it from the standpoint of someone trying to
package a Linux distribution (especially vis a vis esoteric file
formats and other things that depend upon external software). If our
jpeg plugin is part of the core (as an example, I don't want to debate
jpeg per se), then installing the gimp requires installing jpeg. If
we start forcing a unitary build, then eventually we have everything
depending upon everything else, and we get into the Windows mess all
over again. It *must* be possible to build and install plugins
separate from the Gimp tree.
Now, that doesn't mean that anything should change *right now*. It's
entirely too close to the release, as many people have pointed out, to
change something fundamental even if it means an improvement. It
seems to me that right now everyone except people working on advanced
development should focus on the release.
(And yes, however good Print 3.1 becomes, and even if 3.2 is ready
before Gimp 1.2 is, Gimp 1.2 will contain Print 3.0. At some point
down the road we might want to put Print 3.2 into a Gimp 1.2 refresh
or point release, but that's another matter.)
--
Robert Krawitz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.tiac.net/users/rlk/
Tall Clubs International -- http://www.tall.org/ or 1-888-IM-TALL-2
Member of the League for Programming Freedom -- mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Project lead for The Gimp Print -- http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net
"Linux doesn't dictate how I work, I dictate how Linux works."
--Eric Crampton
