Hey, On 29 March 2010 13:14, Patrick Kelly <[email protected]> wrote: > In my opinion, package managers are only a solution for systems that are > already a mess. I've said it before, I downright hate Windows, but it gets > by just fine without a package manager; Just install and uninstall > 'scripts'. Those scripts wouldn't even need to be necessary on Plan 9, or > any system that doesn't maliciously abuse a central configuration system.
Installing a program on Windows tends to involve finding a webpage, downloading an (unsigned) binary, and executing it. It doesn't get by just fine: there's no difference between installing trustworthy software, and trojans etc. That's one of Windows' many security flaws. A package manager should, imo, just hget a url, confirm its origin with factotum, untar, and mk install. That's simple enough I think. It's more about the repository than the manager, really. I don't think Plan 9 needs a package manager in its current state (with contrib, etc), but I think systems with more software benefit from them. cls
