Subject: Re: Misc ramblings
To: None <current-users@sun-lamp.cs.berkeley.edu>
From: Alan Pearson <alanp@cory.EECS.Berkeley.EDU>
List: current-users
Date: 05/08/1994 17:21:19
deraadt@sf.ca wrote:
> kim@dde.dk wrote
> > 2. Would there be any idea in starting a repository of ported packages ?
>
> My view is that, if anyone makes some changes to make a package
> run under NetBSD, that they send those changes back to the
> original author of the package, for reintegration in the next
> release of that package.
>
I second that opinion. I don't personally like the idea of maintaining a
separate "ports" archive because it presents a hinderance to keeping NetBSD
software up-to-date. Say, for example, that someone ports tcsh 6.01 to
NetBSD, and puts the software in some NetBSD ports archive. Then a new
version is released. The porting has to be done again. Also, I think
there is a opinion that FreeBSD, NetBSD and Linux are not "real" unix
among the DEC/SGI/Sun crowds, since it runs on PC's not workstations.
Keeping our stuff seperate can't help but reinforce that.
But kim's original point was that there should be a repository for NetBSD
binaries of ported software. That would be a convenience for people who
don't want to compile stuff themselvs (or don't know how), but for small
packages, I don't think it is necessary. Now for big stuff, like XFree86
it is, but that kind of thing is already packaged in binary form.
--
alan pearson
alanp@cory.eecs.berkeley.edu UC Berkeley EECS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------