Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy [LWN.net]

Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy

Posted May 1, 2021 22:28 UTC (Sat) by rodgerd (guest, #58896)
In reply to: Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy by NYKevin
Parent article: Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy

Three imposes huge and unreasonable work on maintainers, and 4 is holding the distro's users hostage.

Really, if people choose not to use a given (compiler, init system, whatever), trying to use distro terrorism to force them to is admission of abject failure.

Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy

Posted May 2, 2021 1:27 UTC (Sun) by NYKevin (subscriber, #129325) [Link] (3 responses)

> Three imposes huge and unreasonable work on maintainers, and 4 is holding the distro's users hostage.

So what?

Upstream produces tarballs. Downstream can take them or leave them. If upstream is so inclined, it may voluntarily decide to make changes to accommodate downstream's wishes. But there is no general obligation for upstream to do this, and it would be quite absurd if there was (consider the number of different distros out there). If downstream responds to this reality with hostility and accusations of "holding users hostage," then it is entirely reasonable for upstream to killfile downstream's emails.

Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy

Posted May 2, 2021 10:55 UTC (Sun) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link] (1 responses)

But if, say, downstream relies on llvm (which is not compatible with GCC?), then upstream is basically saying "we don't want you on our distro". Which in the long run is the distro cutting off its nose to spite its face.

If people want to use a different compiler because it supports features GCC can't - or in certain circumstances WON'T - support then you have all the makings of a nasty stand-off down to the distro's intransigence.

I think this is what's getting peoples noses out of joint - the distro forcing technically bad choices onto downstream.

Cheers,
Wol

Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy

Posted May 2, 2021 15:27 UTC (Sun) by pizza (subscriber, #46) [Link]

> I think this is what's getting peoples noses out of joint - the distro forcing technically bad choices onto downstream.

And vice-versa.

Rethinking Fedora's compiler policy

Posted May 2, 2021 14:56 UTC (Sun) by jccleaver (guest, #127418) [Link]

> Upstream produces tarballs.

If only... :/