On Sat, 20 May 2006 17:11:57 +0200 Paul de Vrieze <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > The primary package manager is maintained on official gentoo > > > infrastructure, under control of gentoo developers. > > > > I don't really see this as a requirement. Many Linux distributions use > > package managers that they don't have direct control over. Ubuntu uses apt, > > Mandrake uses rpm, etc. > > Those are binary distributions. Even they have extensions in their own > package > managers. Binary distribution is easier than from source. One of the > strengths of Gentoo is formed by the package manager. If the package manager > is out of control of gentoo, this means that Gentoo no longer has control > over its future or its features.
I definitely agree that Gentoo needs a team of people to deal with the primary package manager, it is one of the most important tools in a Linux system. It is especially important in Gentoo where the package manager is, at this point in time, required to install a standard desktop system. I disagree that the package manager needs to be directly maintained by Gentoo. Since Gentoo will never depend upon a piece of non-Free software[1], it is safe to assume that the package manager is Free software (aka open source). Because of this, we will never be locked-in, helpless, or under the control of an external project. If we dislike the direction in which it is going or want to add our own features, then we are free to do so either by submitting patches upstream, adding our own custom gentoo patches to the stock sources, or by forking the project entirely. So what I suggest is the following: "While it is desirable that the primary package manager be maintained on official gentoo infrastructure, under the control of gentoo developers, it is not required. During the path to becoming the primary package manager, the package manager maintainers must be asked if they would like their project to be an official Gentoo project. The package manager maintainers have the right to refuse such an offer if there is a team of at least 3 Gentoo developers that understand the package manager source code and are willing to deal with bugs, testing, feature enhancements, modifications, and integration." I hope the above is an acceptable compromise. It aims at making the project an official Gentoo project while still allowing package managers that aren't under Gentoo's direct control. In that case there are still Gentoo developers who have a handle on the code and can make any modifications / enhancements / feature changes that are required by Gentoo. [1] http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/contract.xml
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