jsveiga @ jsveiga @sh.itjust.works

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2 yr. ago

Compatibility, testing, dependecy trees. You either don't understand or pretend not to. Either way, I've wasted too much time with you already. Bye.

Really? Did you diff everyone of them? And will every distro maintainer swear that they will never do it, just to help whiney distro hoppers?

Well, they do, and even when they don't, they won't commit not to forever, just to help distro hoppers.

Yes, if all *ubuntu variants were maintained by Ubuntu maintainers. But since that's not the case, again, it would be complicated for releasing.

Many distros already offer window manager options when installing, but that's inside the same distro, not bits and pieces of different distros with possibly different release cycles and dependencies.

One distro may not wish to be "absorbed" by the other.

And could you identify (and get all such distros and their "core distro" source to agree on) what exactly are the "system software", which the "customizers" must never ever need to change, and that the "core distro" will forever have to coordinate with their "partners" before any new release or update?

Can't you see it would be a lot of extra work and risk for maintainers, just to make your distro hopping (maybe) quicker?

I don't know any distro that only changes non-system software and UI customizations. They all package all their components and include the packages in their repo.

Again (and again and again), this gives them control over dependencies and compatibility tests.

Even if they just recompile & package the components with no modifications from the upstream sources, they are the ones who test their whole set of packages.

I realize now that you think the only difference between distros is the GUI. Some may be simply that, or close to that (kubuntu x ubuntu for example), but it's not always the case.

So your original post shouldn't be about "distros" but GUI options. Some distros indeed let you choose from different WM, but as I've been repeating, in this case they're packaged and tested by the maintainers of THE SAME DISTRO.

You and OP probably are confusing "distribution" with "UI customization". Granted, lazy distros may by simply that, but not all of them.

ha, so you don't mean having multiple distros dropping their "base systems" and only providing the "addon" part in their repos, but actually having the "core" distro include all the "addon" flavors into their repo. haha really, really "simple".

"Hey debian, I'm a one man operation out from North Korea, and I made this customization package. I swear it complies with every privacy and security policies, and that it is compatible with your core system. No it won't break anything. Can you please include it in your repo?"

but, but, then who will filter the news they're fed with, so that they only get exposed to opinions they "like", thus reinforcing whatever polarized view they have? Why would they want to access ANY news??

We are very different people in a lot of aspects, but have similar views in some other aspects.

Coconut water fresh from a refrigerated coconut. I would only drink that, even if I didn't have to, if it was cheap enough.

https://www.fakta.eu/pi/OMA-Stegemargarine-500-g_4556711_162175.aspx

They test that massive amount of packages to make sure the dependecies and compatibility are kept. They do that between DEBIAN packages. The maintainers of the bash debian package can't just shove a new release in the repository. It's tested in DEBIAN systems first.

Who would test this new bash package in every fskcing "addon distro" that installs on top of "core debian" before releasing it to the debian repository? Or would the maintainers of every fscking distro have to scramble to update their packages after debian released this, and users have updated, breaking compatibility with the "addon" packages?

Or the opposite, the "addon" distro package developers want to use a new feature from a library, but can't, because debian hasn't updated their packaged version yet.

A minimal install like debian base already has a things that may differ from distro to distro. Or are you equating "distro" with window manager and GUI customizations? Even the kernel binaries may differ from distro to distro.

Yes, that's what I mean. For example suppose you had this mixed solution (core comes from debian repository, "kubuntu personality" from kubuntu repository).

Then debian maintainers release updates for their packages - which they tested and validated in systems that use only other debian packages.

Next time you update your system, it may happen that the new version of debian components are no longer compatible with the kubuntu components.

Debian won't wait for or check if every distro who uses their "core" has tested debian changes and released compatible new packages of their own.

Probably most debian based distros simply repackage many base debian components with minimum or no changes, but they know those releases are compatible with their own "customized" packages, and can have control of their dependencies.

Edit: I didn't address one of your questions directly: No, developers and maintainers of a linux system component (as kde, and even the kernel) not necessarily are the maintainers of a specific distro packages.

For example, kernel decelopers and maintainers release a new kernel release independent of any distro. It's up to the distro maintainers to test and package this, then make it available in their repo.

I do not suggest they should!

No? do suggest debian kept their install package frozen forever just to make this proposition viable?

When debian maintainers need to release an update of a debian package, they need to make sure it doesn't break compatibility with ... other debian packages - yes maintained by other people. They don't need to test it with a dozen *ubuntu and other .deb variants, nor coordinate with those other maintainers and wait for them to release their new, compatible versions.

It's already hard to do that within the same distro.

You fail to realize that each distro is maintained by different people. Your reasoning would make sense if the "core debian" was maintained and packaged by the same people who maintained and packaged *ubuntu.

The end user would download "core debian" from debian, and the *ubuntu "flavor" from *ubuntu. Installing debian then going "apt install kubuntu" wouldn't work because kubuntu is not in the debian repository.

If debian changed their downloadable "core debian", it could make it incompatible with what's in the kubuntu repository. They are not maintained by the same employees of "Linux inc."

The collective imbecility steadily creeps backwards in terms of being able to accept that other people can have different opinions.