Hi, On 06/22/2010 12:37 PM, "sankarshan (সঙ্কর্ষণ)" wrote: > <http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/editorscolumn/techetete/2010/110010801.asp> > > I think we are losing the value of Open Source. The core objective of > Open Source has been to let people learn the internals of a software > application with the help of source code, and improve it further so that > everyone benefits. > > [...] > > Let's understand this with my favorite example-Anaconda installer for > RedHat based Linux distros. Anaconda is a fantastic piece of software, > but it lacks documentation. So to modify it, you have to be a reverse > engineer, and not a software developer. Therefore, contributing to its > further development is difficult. >
As someone who has actually hacked on anaconda I can say this is 100% nonsense as far as anaconda is concerned, because: a. Anaconda is a distro installer -- the Fedora/Red Hat/Red Had based system's installer !! It is not an application per-se, and the very nature of a distro installer implies that there will be a new release every 6 months which implies that there will be very specific changes to complement changes introduced by the distro. For example, change from ext2->LVM->ext3->ext4 between the FC6 (?) to F13 releases. Now, /despite/ this b. Anaconda /design/ and structure are *very* well documented: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Anaconda/SourceOverview c. Even the general structure of the two stages of the installation are well documented: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Anaconda/Stage1DevelopmentGuide https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Anaconda/Stage2DevelopmentGuide d. The anaconda community is /very/ helpful knowing full well that people who do what to hack on anaconda might be a bit lot/intimidated by the source code. So, what might be missing in documentation is more that made up in the mailing-list archives or better yet by asking a question. That article is just a rant for the sake of a rant -- no substance, no research. I doubt the author even ever wanted to hack on anaconda. cheers, - steve -- random spiel: http://lonetwin.net/ what i'm stumbling into: http://lonetwin.stumbleupon.com/ _______________________________________________ india mailing list [email protected] https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/india
