Re: FreeBSD-like approach for Debian? [was: Re: Deficiencies in Debian]
Hi,
I'm not a debian developer yet (and seems like I won't even attempt till I
feel that new maintainers are welcome), but I just wanted to comment on
how a re-organization might be done.
First of all, I'd like to state that dpkg system is all very well thought.
Speaking of modularity, package management system is meant to provide it.
However, making the base system as tight and as versatile as possible, I
think has it benefits. Hmm, like how a small and open microkernel is the
first condition for a modular OS core, the base system must be very
selective about what is contained, and how new "module"s are introduced.
BTW, keeping the source code of the base system in an integrated way is
also useful, the base source could be responsible for defining some system
characteristics and the boot environment. This might also make some base
configuration possible: baseconf? I'm not sure, but it could help porting
to other kernels as well...
Another issue is the division of Debian archives and development into
logical sections such that development gets a speed-up. In that respect, a
minimal change to the current organization is necessary. Otherwise, the
delays could even get longer. A good place to start is the profiles one
can choose for dselect at install time. It looks like the tasks you can
choose from are some gue collections of package. My proposal is throwing
out an is-a/part-of hierarchy into those tasks. That way, the class
diagram could account for the logical organization. The original system
that assigns each package a maintainer need not be changed. Suppose that
we allow the smallest leaf "task" to consist of 16 packages at most. Then
what is required will be to assign each task a "release-maintainer". I am
aware that it is pretty rough at the time I write (and think).
Nevertheless it might be a good start. (By leaf task, I mean those tasks
which don't contain instances of others) Those tasks which have others as
their parts or inherit from others may build a categorization that is both
sensible and manageable.
It seems to me that both part-of and is-a hierarchies (allowing multiple
inheritance) is necessary to break down Debian into comprehensible units.
In addition to this, such a categorization would be vertical to
main/contrib/non-free separation
++++-+++-+++-++-++-++--+---+----+----- --- -- - -
+ Eray "eXa" Ozkural . . . . . .
+ CS, University of Bilkent,Ankara ^ . o . .
| mail: ozkural@ug.bcc.bilkent.edu.tr . ^ . .
Reply to: