On Tuesday, August 28, "D. J. Bernstein" wrote:
> David Terrell writes:
> > Except, dan, the entire universe has standardized on /usr/local for
> > addons and /usr for base components except you.
>
> Wrong. Ever heard of Linux? Locally compiled add-on packages go into
> /usr/local, but precompiled add-on packages go into /usr, except, of
> course, when they go into /opt.
Yes, I've heard of linux. As a sysadmin who administers a non-trivial
number of unix machines, with a slightly less non-trivial number of users,
I can definitely say the following.
1) OpenBSD has been the easiest to deploy so far, bar none.
2) Solaris is not that far behind, if you populate /usr/local nicely.
3) Linux is a pain the ASS. Alpha this, Beta this, experimental patch X.
4) NT4 can be handled, if kept at arms length, and samba is used for serving.
5) Others are doable, but generally much more of a pain in the ass.
> All of these non-constant splits cause serious problems for users. See
> http://cr.yp.to/slashpackage/studies.html for several examples.
What is a non-constant split? Constant with what? Split from what?
What seems to be the problem with your users? The problems you list
on that web-page are administration problems. They are problems that
*ANY* decent administrator takes 5 minutes to solve, max. They are
local policy.
Having said that, allow me a small rant. If you've *EVER* taken care
of more than 300 machines, with some 3000+ active accounts at the same
time, and on your own, you will recognize that dictating package layout
and most of all *LOCATION* is absolutely rediculous. It is the quickest
way for an admin to get commited to an asylum...
> > Let's face it, you really don't want people who can't figure out how
> > to compile qmail to use it anyway, do you?
>
> Precompiled packages reduce installation latency.
Yes, if they have the ability to fit in with the rest of the current
administration policy. If a package wants to be installed in /opt,
and your policy is to have everything in /usr/local (due to various
partitioning policies, which are governed by upgrade policies, etc),
it creates unecessary pain, should the package not be able to be
installed somewhere else.
Installation latency is not always the goal. Just because you can
install it in 5 minutes, does not mean doing so is the correct, or
even the smart thing to do.
--Toby.
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