Re: To package or not to package (Was: [tlug] Well now I'm hosed - Dapper/Edgy died)

[Godwin Stewart <godwin.stewart@example.com>]

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:06:04 +0900, javajunkie <javajunkie@example.com>
wrote:

> can you say more about this.  Wouldn't a non-sysadmin like me be
> overwhelmed or would I in most cases stick to the defaults.

Does a non-sysadmin know how to ask the autoconf system for help?

Imagine you want to try a new mailer. You pull down the source tarball,
decompress it and run your usual "./configure" autoconf script. You're
then blown off because you don't have GnuPG installed.

What do you do? Do you start hunting for these dependencies or, since
you've never used GnuPG before and don't yet have any intention of
doing so, do you run "./configure --help" to find the "--disable-gnupg"
option that tells the system not to bother with GnuPG, thus allowing
the software to build anyway?

The point is, you have the choice of what to do.

--
G. Stewart - godwin.stewart@example.com

Support bacteria! It's the only culture some people have.

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