Re: LSB specification of runlevels
On Wed, 4 Jul 2001, Theodore Tso wrote:
> This was discussed, but apparently there a number of Linux books
> already published which talk about using telinit 5 to enable X. So
> while there was some appeal to changing runlevel 5 to synchronize with
> the rest of the world had some appeal, Alan Cox argued that to do so
> would violate the principle of least surprise for novice users in a
> very nasty way.
>
In this months Dr. Dobbs Journal there is a mini-rant by Al Williams (who
is painfully making the transition from Windows to Linux) about the
uselessness of Linux books. Linux is just too dynamic and they are all
obsolete in parts even before they hit the shelves, (particularly those
"Be a Linux Dummy In 21 Days" type books.) If those books don't
explain what a runlevel is and why it might be different from
distribution to distribution and how to find out, the authors are
negligent. Linux should not allow itself to be held back by such people.
LSB should follow the child-rearing principle of letting baby touch the
hot radiator once. He won't do it again. :)
--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar@debian.org>
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