Re: Downgrading the priority of nfs-utils
On Wed, Nov 08, 2006 at 11:50:09AM -0500, Matthias Julius wrote:
> Anthony DeRobertis <anthony@derobert.net> writes:
> > It's not the bare minimum to make the system work (that's Essential:
> > yes). It's the standard stuff that everyone expects to be on a UNIX
> > system, including things like a working c & c++ compiler, etc. 70% of
> > users using something is, IMO, a very strong argument for it to be
> > installed by default.
>
> I don't have a UNIX background. So I don't know what everyone expects
> to be on a UNIX system.
Then perhaps you shouldn't be changing a winning team? ;-)
> > (Remember: installed by default does not mean you have to install it. It
> > just means if you don't manually select packages, it will be installed).
>
> This in practice means almost the same. If it is selected by default
> only very few users will de-select it.
Wrong.
> On the other hand, if someone needs it it's easy to install.
If you don't need it, it's also easy to remove.
> Generally I am in favor of the default install beeing really minimal
> (only essential packages) and let the user decide which packages he
> wants.
That may be, but it's not the way Debian has worked for years. By
default, packages of priority Standard (and above) are installed. And as
Debian policy describes it, standard is defined as follows:
`standard'
These packages provide a reasonably small but not too limited
character-mode system. This is what will be installed by default
if the user doesn't select anything else. It doesn't include
many large applications.
whereas "important" is one step above and defined as:
`important'
Important programs, including those which one would expect to
find on any Unix-like system. If the expectation is that an
experienced Unix person who found it missing would say "What on
earth is going on, where is `foo'?", it must be an `important'
package.[1] Other packages without which the system will not run
well or be usable must also have priority `important'. This does
_not_ include Emacs, the X Window System, TeX or any other large
applications. The `important' packages are just a bare minimum of
commonly-expected and necessary tools.
In other words, it doesn't have to be essential for the system to work
in order to be installed by default. The ability to mount
NFS-filesystems most certainly is part of the expectation of an
experienced Unix person; thus, it should be part of the set of
"important" packages and should be installed by default.
I see no reason to change that; the definitions in policy are sound this
way.
--
<Lo-lan-do> Home is where you have to wash the dishes.
-- #debian-devel, Freenode, 2004-09-22
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