Re: Dependency hell *again*

On Sun, 24 Jul 2005, Crispin Flowerday wrote:

> Your point being ? Would you rather we re-implemented an entire 
> HTML rendering engine ? Galeon requires mozilla installed (it can 
> be built against firefox as well), and that dependency is not 
> something that is likely to change.

 	Nor is it the problem. I do keep mozilla installed and 
updated. I've done so for years, even though I don't use mozilla -- 
and said so on this list a few days ago.

 	I have no idea whether galeon/mozilla, or rh/fc, or the 
repositories for them, or something else, is causing trouble; but 
the trouble exists, and has arisen in the last few days.

> IYDLIDUI (If you don't like it don't use it)

 	Am I serving as stalking horse? Is my post just an indirect 
way to differ with those who want broader distribution?

 	There was a poet, by the name of Stefan George, who took 
pride in making his poems difficult for strangers -- good poems. 
Some players of Herrmann Hesse's Glass Bead Game insist they have no 
interest in making the game any easier. Some programmers take that 
attitude, too, including linux programmers; perhaps Galeon 
developers among them.

 	Despite Mr. Flowerday's understandable pique, I do like 
Galeon -- when I can get it -- and the facts, as I should perhaps 
have re-stated in my post, are not quite as he apparently imagines.

 	At first, I tried hard to cope with the dependencies -- the 
whole nine yards. However it be for developers, that was an endless 
aggravation -- and led only to years of frustration.

 	So I did indeed end up, very regretfully, giving up galeon. 
Perhaps I will indeed again, alas!

 	There is a sore point here. I have never known any such 
problem to arise with Epiphany or Firefox, even though I've been 
running both since they were early betas -- running them, indeed, by 
way of substitutes for Galeon.

 	Whether this means rh/fc has something against galeon, or 
can't be bothered with it, or something else is wrong, I repeat, I 
have no idea. I merely supposed those who would like to see broader 
acceptance for Galeon would wish to know what obstacles confront 
less informed would-be recruits.

 	Like early automobiles, and also early chain saws, Galeon is 
a vast improvement on what went before -- when it works; it will be 
great some day. At present, though, it's apt to take more time and 
effort in maintainance than it makes available. That's not a recipe 
for broad acceptance.

 	Unless I have overlooked some easy fix. It might be, for 
instance, that a one half of a matched pair of galeon-mozilla 
upgrades got to the FC4 repositories a little ahead of the other, 
and therefore the problem will go away automagically. Maybe someone 
here has a way to tell; that is my hope. "Stacheldraht wider 
Unberufene" in the sense of Stefan George, however, does not help -- 
whether you translate it into an acronym or not.

-- 
Beartooth Neo-Redneck, Linux Convert
Venato ergo sum.


-------------------------------------------------------
SF.Net email is sponsored by: Discover Easy Linux Migration Strategies
from IBM. Find simple to follow Roadmaps, straightforward articles,
informative Webcasts and more! Get everything you need to get up to
speed, fast. http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=7477&alloc_id=16492&op=click