Re: Glibc-based Debian GNU/KNetBSD
On Mon, Dec 01, 2003 at 08:24:41PM -0700, Joel Baker wrote:
> On Mon, Dec 01, 2003 at 09:26:33PM -0500, Perry E. Metzger wrote:
> >
> > We've got about 4500 packages in pkgsrc -- a fraction of the number
> > some folks like Debian support, but quite a number -- and in the
> > course of making them all work we routinely find that we have to fix
> > things in NetBSD. For example, programs like xmms have inspired many
> > changes to our threads system.
>
> Like I said, [n]ftw is one example. Debian's dpkg sources require it, and
> (once given a suitable proposed code) the NetBSD folks have been very good
> about hammering on it to get the bugs out, and include it in their libc.
>
> It's also an excellent example of why I, personally, want to avoid ever
> using Glibc again if I have a choice - look at the code I wrote for
> NetBSD's use, and then look at the code in Glibc to do the same stuff.
Yes, I've had the same experience with utmp and shadow support. (The
SUSv2 getutxent and getspent API's.) My code is fairly easy to read,
while glibc's is clear as mud.
Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck interesting anyone in merging it.
Possibly because of compatibility issues, and possibly because the specs
for both of those things are kind of icky. Then again, it might simply
have had to do with the development cycle for FreeBSD.
> Then look for some borax and a skull drill, to get the horror out of
> your brain.
That's a pretty good description of how I felt after I started to guess
how glibc's weird directory inheritance source structure works.
---Nathan
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