Re: elf, a.out and debian 1.*

[Raul Miller <rdm@tad.micro.umn.edu>]

William Gribble:
   I guess I'm a little out of the loop; I wasn't aware that ELF had
   problems with stability, especially at the level of its API.  Are
   there problems that have come up with particular packages that have
   been determined to be ELF problems? If not, what makes you think
   there are stability problems?

There's two classes of problems.

(1) it's a new system (for linux), you have to shake out bugs in a new
system.  If you want stability, don't make everything change all at
once.  Limit your free variables if you want to isolate problems.

(2) ELF is not yet as capable as a.out at sustaining upgrades without
losing compatability with old code.  This is being worked on and
should be available "Real Soon Now".  It's not something we can
completely rely on this month.

I think ELF is a great idea.  I think some people are still having
problems with it, and may continue to do so for some indeterminate
time.

-- 
Raul