Re: Goals and portability
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Mark W. Eichin:
> >> From the Debian FAQ:
> >> 4.2. How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?
>
> So what? [ ... ]
At least, this clearly contradicts that "There is no absolute requirement
that anything we do be compatible with any particular thing in the rest of
the world".
If we choose not to use {,} and write all our shell scripts using
#!/bin/sh, we'll be more standard (in a general sense), our scripts will
be more portable, and they will not have to be rewritten for Debian
GNU/Hurd, or Debian GNU/whatever.
Ian Jackson:
> In order to do system integration successfully we must define
> standards that our own components adhere to so that everything is
> compatible with the other parts of our system.
However this does not explain why /bin/bash should be essential.
I guess the GNU system from the FSF does not use any /bin/bash shell
script, yet it is supposed to be an "integrated system".
The Linux kernel has been succesful because its author made it to
adhere to the known standards. I don't think Linus see standards as an
"imposed" thing, but as a good thing to follow.
Free software have to be portable, because if it is not portable, it is
less free. Making a package essential is forcing our users to install it.
bash is free, but we are forcing our users to install it "because there is
a lot of #!/bin/bash scripts around". So our users have not the choice to
remove it, if they find another replacement for /bin/sh.
I think I'm going to ask "Am I the only one that think that #!/bin/sh
should be the recommended way to write shell scripts?" in debian-devel and
see what happens...
Maybe we'll find a proportion of 2:1, as it happened with the bug
log order case...
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