Re: SEUL: X/Berlin/db, and reinventing wheels

[billt@tor.securecomputing.com (Bill Thanis)]

> 
> 
> > Definitely.  If we want to get this out this year, Berlin is not the way
> > to go.
> 
> I think Berlin would be great, but after reading through today's backlog of 
> messages I have come to realize that there are quite a few roadblocks to 
> using it:
> 
> 1) it has to be coded to 100% completion (unknown ETA)
> 2) it has to be proven/stable
> 3) it has to be able to run anything we can run today in X
> 
> #3 requires either a massive porting effort initially, or over the long haul 
> if we can get X compatibility libs.  Compat libs would be a step in the right 
> direction, but would likely not be a 1:1 map to Berlin, causing unknown 
> problems.  Besides, they don't exist.
> 
> I say stick with X.

I don't understand why this discussion is being played out for so long.
We are trying to create a distribution. There is no reason why a distribution
can't have both servers, and allow the user to decide which to install.
Or better still, depending on what is installed the proper server is installed as
well, and treat this only as a conflict error, when someone tries to install
the wrong set of apps.

I would suggest you shift your focus away from the server to be used, and to
what applications and utilities need be included. For example, Is there going
to be a word processor, spreadsheet, drawing program. Which ones, are they
user friendly, whould George down the street consider wiping out his MS Office
suite to use these apps.

Once we have these set of core apps, we design the distribution around them.
Do they use X, Berlin, MGR ? What version of the libraries are needed? What
do we need to configure?

Finally you set up a way of upgrading the system. George didn't think he would
need the development system when he installed it. How hard will we make it to
plug in upgrades. Does he need to reinstall, does he get the option of installing
only those parts he wants, how is conflicts handled. I spent three days investigating
why the Star Office beta wouldn't work. The result was I had the wrong version of 
the libc library. These kinds of checks should be in an install script. These are 
the problems we should be thinking about.

Just some rantings
				B.T.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simple End User Linux Mailing list
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to majordomo@txcc.net
with the line
unsubscribe seul-project
in the body of the letter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------