Re: A proposal to improve dselect
On Tue, 7 Jan 1997, Martin Konold wrote:
> Yes, a very good point. I am offering a host for a mailing list.
> We should first figure out how it should work and implement it
> afterwards. There is definetelly a need for a improved dselect.
>
> Actually why is the maintainer so silent?
Perhaps you would be silent if discussions about your package were turning
into some semi-serious bash N trash sessions. I'd like to offer my two
cents about Debian and dselect:
Most of us are brand new to Linux or are advancing up the UNIX ladder when
we install Debian on a machine. Personal computers offer an ability to
experiment that the departmental or enterprise server won't give us. With
that experimentation comes a few oopses and a few lessons learned. With a
true multitasking, multiuser system comes certain hurdles about the boot
process and services (daemons).
Keep in mind that we are all getting a generally fantastic product for the
best price anyone could ask for. I've never been involved in the
development of any of the DEC boxes which handle our campus net services,
but I believe the standard sequence goes like this:
get and compile gcc with the cc that came with the machine.
get and compile emacs with gcc.
get and compile tcsh, now that you can edit Makefiles with emacs.
get and compile perl, now that you've got a shell you're familiar with.
get and compile sendmail, so email can actually flow.
Heaven forbid one of us gets a compilation error, and wait until it's time
to build inn!
Take your time with Linux. I openly admit that I had overly high
expectations the day my first Pentium arrived. Now that I've finally
acquired my second Pentium
(http://www.bucknell.edu/~templin/pages/computer if you're curious), I let
one run Linux 24/7, and try new packages on the other. Mistakes will
happen. Dselect might lead you astray. But accept what the Debian
project has given each of us, and send a few thanks to each and every
person who has contributed their own time to simplify your life, to make
it possible for you to experience UNIX with a minimum of effort on a
variety of hardware. The project leader has managed to get a few emails
onto the list while cleaning out from a devastating flood. That's what I
call dedication.
How about we all take a step or two back and peek at what is in front of
us? There's a lot there. It may not be the best it can be yet, but it's
quite fine in its current form, and a menu-driven is certainly a step up
from the command-line origins of UNIX.
That said, who is willing to coordinate efforts toward gathering
suggestions for dselect, and what is the next step that we need to take?
I also have a machine which I am willing to offer up towards mailing
lists, disk space, web pages, or whatever. Let me know how I might help.
--Pete
_______________________________________________________________
Peter J. Templin, Jr. Client Services Analyst
Computer & Communication Services tel: (717) 524-1590
Bucknell University templin@bucknell.edu
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