Stan Sanderson wrote:
Fink could be more "user-friendly" (IMHO) if...
Questions often arise about which version of a file are appropriate. For example, there is the recent update to Gimp. I updated to gimp-1.2.5-4; however, there is a Gimp-2. Some of the discussion related to the update mentioned achieving compatibility between the two versions. Fink describe returns the same for both gimp-1 and gimp-2: "The GNU Image Manipulation Program". Fink Commander facilitates access to these descriptions.
It would be very helpful, especially to beginners, if there was some hint about when a particular version should be considered; e.g., "gimp-1 for Gnome, gimp-2 for KDE", or,"gimp-1 needed for compatibility with foo, it is being replaced by gimp-2". As a beginner, I really don't know where to go to find out that information. Of course, I could refrain from using the unstable tree, but where's the fun in that?
Usually there is also a URL in the description where you can find additional information. In the case of the gimp packages, I agree, the description is too short. But you should keep in mind that the maintainer of the package has probably spent a lot of time to make this compile and run correctly, so the extra time to think about a good description may just have been too much. Again, in the case of the gimp packages, you might write to the maintainer and suggest to add a more detailed description. You could even look for such a description on the gimp web site and propose a formulation to the maintainer. Remember that this is all volunteer work.
-- Martin
I am acutely aware of the volunteer nature of the Fink project and deeply appreciative of the efforts of all involved. I did not intend my suggestion to be taken as criticism. I do think that either better descriptions or links to sites which explain differences clearly would reduce the number of questions volunteers have to answer.
The gimp site has lots of information about v2; it would be tempting to update to it immediately. It does not tell me, however, why the current version is important enough to receive an update.
Using the unstable tree has risks, which I accept.
Now, if someone could figure out why gnumeric (1.25-11) won't print...
Again, many thanks to all who help.
Stan
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