Quoting Paolo Falcone ([EMAIL PROTECTED]): > There was old news back then that there was a time wherein you could > just pick up an rpm and it would install unto any distro without > hitches? For the old timers - was this true (somehow, or for a > majority)?
If I understand your question correctly, I believe the answer to be "no". For example, I once messed up a SuSE installation by installing Red Hat's XFree86 RPMs so severely that I had no real option but to reinstall the OS. > Yeah, quite true. Unless you can expand the official packager base of > your distribution of choice, this would certainly remain a problem > (Debian somehow offsets much of this problem, since in Debian they > have a very stringent process in their distribution). Just as a point of information, it's enforced in Debian via a utility called lintian: When a package maintainer uploads his new version, an automated check runs lintian on it, checking for compliance with Debian Policy. If it doesn't pass, it doesn't get released to the public. http://lintian.debian.org/manual/ And a note: I'm not objecting, but I've noticed the term "policy" has been wielded a lot in this discussion, and is becoming a little fuzzy. If anyone wants to see exactly what it means for the Debian Project, here are all the details: http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ (There, its meaning isn't limited to dependency-breakage, by far. You may be surprised to read how comprehensive it is.) -- Cheers, "Censeo Toto nos in Kansa esse decisse." Rick Moen -- D. Gale [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fully Searchable Archives With Friendly Web Interface at http://marc.free.net.ph To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
