On Mon, Dec 01, 2003 at 10:56:30PM +0100, Robert Millan wrote: > On Mon, Dec 01, 2003 at 03:10:28PM -0500, Perry E.Metzger wrote: > > > > If one wants Linux, there is Linux, and one doesn't need to do any > > work. If one wants to marry the advantages of NetBSD with the Debian > > tools, then getting rid of the interesting things about NetBSD won't > > achieve the desired result. glibc has never struck me as especially > > stunningly nifty, but I suppose others have their own tastes. > > This is not about the Debian tools, you can have Debian tools even on NetBSD > and get them into the ports collection. > > It's about the GNU libc and userland, which are the standard in Debian and > I see no reason to replace them. For the record, probably 70% of the email that I've seen on this list falls somewhere under the category of a single, perpetual, floating discussion/argument/flamewar. To wit: NetBSD/FreeBSD/OpenBSD? GNU libc or native libc? (I've never seen another alternative, IIRC) GNU userland or native userland? These have never been solved; there are salient points of argument for and against each. In the time-tested tradition, we've had a bunch of time spent on scattered development efforts, some of which have made it further than others. Many of them have caused improvements to Debian as a whole, and not infrequently to upstream software. I believe my preferences are well established, and if anyone is in doubt of the rationale, I'm happy to explain it - in private email. I would say that the general GNU userland is standard to Debian, in that people expect the 'ls' to be GNU ls, and similar things. I am vastly more hesitant to ascribe the GNU libc the same status, entirely because users *do not* normally see it, in any fashion, and the very GNU userland that is Debian's default is entirely capable of working with other libc packages just fine. But then, I suppose that may come of my actual goal, which pretty much boils down to: "I want to feel like I'm running a Debian system, and be able to administer it with the same commands as any other Debian system, but I want to have a choice about what's under the hood, in case I have technical reasons to prefer something other than Linux + Glibc". (In fact, I even have some fairly real-world situations in mind that would vastly benefit from have neither of the two, which is why I cared enough to start working on it, origionally; they're less relevant, now, since I no longer work at that job). -- Joel Baker <fenton@debian.org> ,''`. Debian GNU NetBSD/i386 porter : :' : `. `' `-
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