On Sat, May 11, 2013 at 11:22:10AM +0200, Goswin von Brederlow wrote: > On Tue, May 07, 2013 at 07:46:43PM +0200, Marc Haber wrote: > > On Tue, 7 May 2013 16:46:46 +0200, md@Linux.IT (Marco d'Itri) wrote: > > >On May 07, Thorsten Glaser <tg@debian.org> wrote: > > >> My stated goal here is, indeed, to be able to run at least some useful > > >> configurations of a Debian installation without *both* bash and dash > > >> installed. > > >What is the point? > > A smaller footprint of the intalled system? This may be interesting > > for embedded things. > While that might be of some interest the real goal of the change was > to be able to have more than *2* packages provide /bin/sh. > Currently, due to the totaly screwed up way this is done, only dash or > bash can be /bin/sh. This is not a sensible goal. Choice of /bin/sh should *not* be the goal, the goal should be to get a good, fast, minimal, policy-compliant /bin/sh for *everyone*. See also: Linux is not about choice. All this added complexity to provide users a "choice" about something that doesn't matter undermines the robustness of the base system. Please stop. > Double that for multiarch on amd64/i386 because there is bash:i386 and > bash:amd64 that both work just fine as /bin/sh. Trying to install a > foreign bash or dash fails horribly though with the current diversion > hack. Yes, the diversion hack should be superseded by a single, static symlink belonging to the dash package, and the rest of this pointless complexity should be jettisoned. > The current implementation of /bin/sh handling simply restricts the > freedom to choose a /bin/sh. Not because only 2 shells are suitable > and maintainable but simply because of the way the /bin/sh link is > managed with diversions. Debian is about freedom and choice, right? No, it is NOT about choice. It is about providing a high quality, free operating system to our users. This ridiculous complexity in /bin/sh handling undermines that quality. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. Ubuntu Developer http://www.debian.org/ slangasek@ubuntu.com vorlon@debian.org
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