Sam writes:
> I cannot think of any package besides Qmail whose distribution license
> requires self-modifying binaries to be included in every distribution,
A qmail installation has some system-specific (not ``self-modifying'')
binaries, but the same is true of a sendmail installation.
The package manager can deal with system-specific qmail files the same
way it deals with system-specific sendmail files.
> nor that mandates a fixed, hardcoded, installation directory.
Huh? There are lots of packages with compiled-in pathnames. Ever tried
moving X?
> Nope. The other reason why Red Hat turned down Qmail is because djb
> refused to allow Qmail to be installed anywhere except /var/qmail.
I don't mind it moving elsewhere as long as there are symbolic links.
The big problem is that Donnie Barnes demands the right to screw up the
package. File paths are an example; when I said ``The Debian people
changed the file locations, breaking cross-platform compatibility,'' he
responded ``If changing paths are that big of a problem to you then we
can't ship it anyway.''
Why should _he_ care about symbolic links? He's the vendor! He makes
more money by breaking cross-platform compatibility, locking users in,
than by preserving cross-platform compatibility.
---Dan
