Re: mindi fails on Linux Debian system
Hugo, why is it that you don't want to discuss my code with me? If I find a
problem in your code you can be certain that I will discuss it with you. Why
is it that you seem to be discussing this matter with everyone but me?
On Tue, 15 Jan 2002 21:38, Hugo Rabson wrote:
> Mindi has been amended to look for lilo.real and use it instead of lilo if
> found. It's fair enough to expect Mindi to check for the gawk->awk softlink
> & work around its absence, although I expect the missing softlink has been
> replaced by now. I'm sure there are good technical reasons for Debian to be
> the only distro (that I've seen) to include cramfs in its kernel. However,
> what exactly is the reason why /sbin/lilo isn't the same for Debian as it
> is for every other distro I've seen?
Is it that difficult to read the 23 line shell script in question?
You'll see that it mounts devfs for a chroot installation on line 6 and
umounts it on line 12 (this is a bit of a hack - I really should put code to
either do this or make it unnecessary inside lilo).
Then on line 20 it removes backup copies of boot.b files, these backups are
made on installation so that in the time window between package installation
and running /sbin/lilo the system is still bootable. After lilo has been
successfully run there is no need to have them around any more.
> Debian is designed for users to use, not developers to develop for (at
Yes, often we have to do things that make it slightly more difficult for a
few developers to make it significantly easier for many users.
> least, I should hope it is). So, if a developer finds it hard to develop
> for Debian, that's unfortunate but not in itself grounds to instigate a
How difficult was this really? Did it take 10% as much effort as this email
thread?
> The /sbin/lilo.real issue and the gawk->awk issue are symptomatic of a
> greater problem. Debian doesn't exactly have the best reputation for
> user-friendliness as it is. Technical excellence at the expense of ease of
> use
Actually the lilo issue in question was done to make things easier for
users!!! Blindly doing things the same way as the rest of the herd without
regard to ease of use is what killed all the commercial Unices. Linux is the
only Unix variant gaining market share for a number of reasons, one of which
is that we can improve things rapidly in response to discovering problems.
> would be a Pyrrhic victory and an especially ironic one when Debian is
> about to make its first commercial release.
Commercial release? No-one has been directly paying me to do Debian work.
Debian is not a commercial organization.
> I'll continue to modify my software to keep up with changes in Debian,
> which outpace changes in all other distros put together (if my inbox is
> anything to go by, anyway), until I get sufficiently sick of chasing
> rainbows. Right now, Debian is the only distro to give me any kind of
> trouble. I should be grateful for small mercies.
Why not adopt the policy of talking to the relevant people in Debian when you
have a problem? If you don't talk to the people who are able to help you
then you will always be chasing rainbows.
--
http://www.coker.com.au/bonnie++/ Bonnie++ hard drive benchmark
http://www.coker.com.au/postal/ Postal SMTP/POP benchmark
http://www.coker.com.au/projects.html Projects I am working on
http://www.coker.com.au/~russell/ My home page
Reply to: