Re: [OT] Scripts, packages, etc.

"D. J. Bernstein" <[email protected]> spaketh thusly on 16 Jun 2003 08:30:23 -0000
	about Re: [OT] Scripts, packages, etc....
> Every sysadmin seems to have a hundred horror stories. On the other
> hand, UNIX distributors seem to think that everything is just fine.

Well, it's a difficult set of problems to fix up, I think you'll
agree.  Your three problems outlined (commands in funky places,
inability to downgrade, and library upgrades) are related but
typically treated disparate from a packaging / management standpoint.

Speaking from the standpoint of Irix, since that's what I've been
using for over a decade, the software manager tool (swmgr / inst)
addresses the last two problems -- downgrades and dependencies --
reasonably well.  As long as the developer has done their job, the
system works.  It's not perfect, but that's not my claim.

I don't have exhaustive knowledge, but it's disappointing to see no
visible progress regarding this problem in the Open Source arena.  RPM
has become another bulking monster.  The *bsd 'pkg' scheme just
appears to be wrappers around tarballs. 

Anyhow, to bring this slightly on-topic -- has anyone tinkered with
the idea of using /service full bore?  In particular, replacing the
mass of /etc/rc.d or /etc/init.d stuff that gets launched at boottime
with correspending /service entries?  

--Chan