[...] > In my mind, EVERY SINGLE FOSS project out there[1] > should be available > in a repository, in ready-to-run binary form, waiting > for someone who > needs it to download on their OpenSolaris system. > > Now, if you were saying "only *some of them* should > be considered > candidates to become a core part of the OS, we might > have a different > conversation, but even then, if we had a full > mondo-repository, why > would it matter? > > -John > > ____ > [1] that makes sense for Solaris - there are > obviously quite a > few that don't, such as MS-Windows editors, > linux-kernel specific > admin tools... :-)
cc'd over to arc-discuss to continue there, 'cause this isn't specific to this case. Where do you draw the line? Unreliable or chronically insecure open source apps? Ones that haven't been updated in a long time? The nth mostly redundant implementation of something, where n is how large a number? Where is the _mechanism_ for distinguishing what gets some level of support, and what's just there as a one-click happy happy joy joy courtesy? Where is the means whereby the end user might know which level of support a given package is eligible for? If support != level of compliance with the "big rules", how can the end user know that, and know the compliance of a particular package? There are some users that are understandably compulsive about draconian levels of auditing and security; they might want to distinguish between what complies with their requirements and also been tested thoroughly, and what's just been compiled and tossed over the fence and into the repository. Closest existing model I can think of for unsupported might be the Companion CD. Without someone considering those, and determining what if any impact that has on ARC (and the conditions under which their "big rules" should be applied), the notion, however user-friendly it might seem, of just making _everything_ available as requested, is...scary, to say the least, IMO. (no rudeness intended, just emphasis) This message posted from opensolaris.org
