[simpits-chat] Tech...

[Matt Bailey]

That's great when it works, but it often doesn't work. Sometimes the needed 
commands are different but that's no big deal, just read the docs.

First there's the dependency problem.......an inherent issue with 
non-standard software I guess. Usually the dependencies are listed somewhere, 
but getting them all installed is not necessarily a sure thing. For instance, 
the other day I was trying to install an RPM (not even compiling). It needed 
some libraries. I went ahead and installed anyway, then went library hunting. 
I found the library, but it wants another package. This cascading effect 
usually means I never get the program installed. I have to go find the 
software, download it (not a trivial matter on a 56k) and install it. I have 
to load my computer up with software, for a project that may or may not work. 
When the trail of dependencies starts getting long, that program is gone.

A number of times I've downloaded source code which keeps asking for files 
during compile. I keep going back to my Mandrake software manager to get the 
library it needs, or get the library from the net, finally it looks like I've 
got everything it needs. Then the compile fails, for no reason I can discern. 
I tried editing a makefile once, I was a bit lost. I think I made some 
progress on the file itself, but I really did not know what I was doing. 
Never got that software compiled properly.

It probably sounds like I am down on Linux, I am not. I am using it as my 
main (currently ONLY) OS, it's rock solid, and I've gotten it to the point 
where it's easy to use for everyday stuff, I am quite comfortable with it. In 
fact I'd say it's less troublesome than Windows for everyday stuff. But I am 
pretty much locked into software that has RPMs for my distro, or nice 
software like Racer that you just extract from a tar and run........man I 
LOVE those programs, they are just like DOS stuff: extract one file, you know 
exactly where everything is, and you can run the app right from what is 
extracted.

I have found Linux to be *very* robust, customizable, and modular. It feels 
like MY computer, not MS's.

	-Matt Bailey

On Monday 24 February 2003 01:09, you wrote:
> > Compiling stuff is a pain for non-programmers like myself......I have
> > probably less than a 30% success rate. :( It's to the point where if I
> > see a program I want but it's only distributed as source, I often don't
> > bother.
>
> ?!
>
> ./configure
>
> make
>
> (su to root)
>
> make-install
>
>
> Where's the problem?
>
> g.