Re: New required base packages for Amiga, Atari, ... detection

[Martin Mitchell <martin@debian.org>]

kaih@khms.westfalen.de (Kai Henningsen) writes:

> I seem to recall that the case in question (it _was_ Atari vs. Amiga,  
> right?) still allowed you to run _the_very_same_kernel_ on both systems.

This has nothing to do with the kernel, please do not confuse the issue.
 
> > specific programs that only work on one kind of hardware architecture,
> > even though the same CPU is used for more than one hardware architecture.
> 
> Well, yes. That _is_ the same as ISA/EISA/PCI/VBL/MCA.

No, there is more to a hardware architecture than just a bus standard. If
I were to apply that principle, then you would say the only difference
between an Amiga and a Mac is Zorro vs Nubus.

The reality is the architectures are quite distinct, each having their own
different video, memory and I/O subsystems integrated on the main board.
Sometimes userspace utilities are needed to manipulate some of these
custom chips: why should they be installed for architectures for which
they will be irrelevant? Why shoud the Mac fdisk, for example, be installed
on an Atari by default, through the base disks?

> Well, I don't.

Could you please elaborate on your reasons? I fail to understand why you
think this proposal is a problem.

> Actually, I already knew all that. It's _why_ I think this isn't a good  
> idea.

What is? Again, you haven't made your reasons clear.

	Martin.


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