India's Kerala state goes open source

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In partial agreement this time

Loverock, you wrote two true (or half-true) clauses and two false clauses. For you, that's miraculous. Usually you just write four patently false ones.

There is hardly any software for linux

False, and you know very well that between Freshmeat, Sourceforge, the FSF and even some private stakeholders; there's software enough to not be able to try it all in a lifetime (hyperbolae not withstanding).

you have to check each component's software version against the new version number on the home page

false, if you're using a binary distribution all you need is to use the version of software your distribution supports. If you use a cutting-edge distribution (Fedora, Ubuntu, Gentoo and especially Sourceror) that will be the latest version of the software. Now regressing versions? That's a bi0tch kitty.

Strikes me that if as you claim there is "no software for Linux", then how is there anything to download. Be careful with those all/nothing contradictions, Davidson.

download the source, recompile

True. If your binary Linux distribution doesn't support the F/OSS software you want to install, in any trustworthy repository, then yes, you will have to compile it. Not recompile, just compile. If it can be compiled; it's already in a repository.

and hope it doesn't error out, then install it - but try to figure out where it installed the files.

True, HOWEVER, this is only true of software whose authors refuse, either through foolishness, Microsoft MVS-centric mindset, or ignorance, to use the GNU toolchain. If they avail themselves of this fine toolset; then software will compile correctly and be installed in predictable places - /bin for distribution binaries, /usr/bin for extension binaries, /usr/local/bin for optional binaries, /sbin for root binaries - as they have since the Unix-epoch began. Cannot blame Linux for developers who don't know how to write Makefile.am - you have to bloame the individual developer. (Cannot count how much money I've made writing Makefile.am for people who just didn't grok them.)

Posted by: John Le'Brecage   Posted on: 06/30/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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