[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: Automake packages



On Wed, Jun 12, 2002 at 05:46:06PM -0400, Eric Dorland wrote:
[.. Need for automake 1.5 ..]

> Well packages still depend on it i believe, so yes.

I think you have let one too many people who have taken leave of their
senses get to you with these packages already.  I have yet to see a
package which ran with 1.5 that does not run with 1.6 (and I've been
looking for them!)


I have also taken the liberty of creating symlinks to automake and aclocal
on my system since you followed the "good advice" of several people on
this list without making it possible to install both the automake docs
_and_ an older version of automake.  You probably should fix that before
uploading the package to main.

I get to choose being able to RTFM _OR_ being able to compile .... just
about every package out there.  Not a good choice, please make the
packages not conflict in this manner.  Especially it would be good if you
could make both sets of docs installable at the same time.  I'd much
rather have automake 1.4's docs than automake 1.4, since that will tell me
what I need to make sure my scripts are compatible backward and forward.

The silliness regarding the need to make my own symlinks for automake and
aclocal, well, I've dealt with that as well as I can here.  I think it's
positively stupid to not have them, but some people will never be pleased
unless automake 1.5+ and autoconf 2.50+ die completely.  I have done
precisely what I intended to all along - as far as any package is
concerned, I have automake installed.  Any package that breaks with this
setup is itself broken and in need of patching.  If I find anything that
breaks this way, I will fix it and file a bug with the patch.  If the bug
is ignored, I will NMU the package.

It's positively ridiculous for Debian to essentially ignore the new
upstream version of a centrally important package like automake just
because we're afraid of having a migration in unstable.  I suppose it is
perhaps luckier that you took the package than I, because I would have
insisted on the alternatives entry and encouraged people to set it to use
the 1.6 version to help find packages which might break so they could be
fixed.  Finding and fixing problems seems to be too much work for some
though, I suppose - even when others offer to do the bulk of the work
which actually requires any intelligence at all for them.


If I sound disgusted by this discussion and the attitudes of my fellow
developers, I most certainly am.  Another real problem conveniently
ignored because a vocal subset of the project is too timid to dare trying
to fix it.  Of course I urge other developers to make the same choice I
have made, use automake 1.6 exclusively, fix the problems this supposedly
causes (which despite the FUD, appears to be few indeed), and demonstrate
that Debian can still solve technical problems even when much of the
project seems to be opposed to doing it.

If not for the 56k shared modem limitations, I'd probably set up an
autobuilder specifically for the purpose of fixing this multitude of
problems which supposedly exist today.  I may have a broadband connection
again in about a month or so.  If all goes well, I will do so and fix any
and all problems I find.  By myself if I must.  IMO, a half-assed solution
is no better than hiding the problem outright, especially if part of that
"solution" entails pretending the problem doesn't really exist.

-- 
Joseph Carter <knghtbrd@bluecherry.net>                    Not many fishes
 
* Twilight1 will have to hang his Mozilla beanie dinosaur in effigy if
  Netscape sells-out to Alot Of Losers..

Attachment: pgp2wcd82Vmyv.pgp
Description: PGP signature


Reply to: