Debian debates systemd

Posted Jul 28, 2011 18:56 UTC (Thu) by dlang (guest, #313)
In reply to: Debian debates systemd by danieldk
Parent article: Debian debates systemd

by that argument, nobody should develop for linux, after all, it's userbase is only a tiny faction of the userbase of windows (and with apple getting into businesses now, linux in corporate desktop use is also only a fraction of MAC OS use)

this doesn't mean that you can't do things that nobody else does (how can everyone collectivly make progress otherwise), but it does mean that you should keep portability in mind. This means that if you do use a linux-only feature, you need to think about how to work if that feature doesn't exist (graceful degradation)

Debian debates systemd

Posted Jul 28, 2011 20:29 UTC (Thu) by sgros (guest, #36440) [Link]

IMHO, his argument is valid, your's is a bit stretched. If you ask why, at least for two reasons:

First, you generalize 'nobody should develop for linux' and then suddenly you restrict yourself to desktop. It is true that (almost) nobody is developing _desktop applications_ for Linux. And it is true that with Apple in the game, Linux's chances of dominating desktop are quite slim. But server part is completely different story. So, 'nobody should develop for linux' is only in part true.

Next, if we analyze a bit more your analogy, then Debian in this context is Microsoft (similarity is for Apple) that tries to use Linux (or FreeBSD) as a core component of "Widows distribution". Then, Microsoft's kernel development team develops some new cool feature but it can not be put into use as other kernel's don't support it. And this is obviously false, as Microsoft (as well as Apple) uses only their own kernel and use them to the maximum extent possible (i.e. don't spend resources on developing something you don't need!). This is also true for IBM (AIX), HP (HPUX), and probably many others.

So, yes, in the end, Debian shouldn't be hold by FreeBSD or Hurd that are developed at much slower pace then Linux is (face it, Linux has a momentum).

But also, in the end, I don't care as much, since Fedora is my primary desktop (and server in form of CentOS/RedHat) and I like the way it develops.

Debian debates systemd

Posted Jul 29, 2011 9:55 UTC (Fri) by danieldk (subscriber, #27876) [Link]

Yes, except that we are not looking from the general perspective, but from the perspective of a project that has been developing a Linux distribution for 18 years.