[Novalug] Packages v. ports v. source -- WAS: Editors, indispensible features thereof.

[James Ewing Cottrell 3rd]

And actually, I agree with you too.

I see LFS as not so much as a Dismal Failure, but more as a Missed 
Opportunity. Each little "chapter" (i.e. build binutils using these 
options) is a bit TOO dry, not really explaining the finer points of 
WHAT is going on or WHY certain choices were made.

And you actually have to type TOO MUCH as well; all the commands should 
be in Makefiles, as well as having the the required tarballs on the CD.

They could have spent more time on the GCC configuration files as well, 
as on the system support files that they just glossed over.

It's too heavy on Practice and too light on Theory.

JIM

Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> Actually, I can agree with you for once.
> 
> Growing up with BSD alongside Linux in the early-to-mid '90s (separate
> from supporting SCO, SunOS, Ultrix and other, commercial releases),
> I always liked the "ports" approach in BSD releases.  By the mid '90s,
> you had DPKG and RPM starting to taking over as package-based systems.
> Even Slackware was heavily pre-built.  There was no formal mechanisms
> in fetching the source and building in most package systems like a BSD
> "ports" approach.
> 
> In 1999 I was indirectly exposed to Daniel Robbins by chance through a
> third party author's book we both shared contributing credits on.  When I
> first year about the portage system, I thought it was about time someone
> gave Linux a more BSD-like ports approach.  Portage went well beyond
> that.  Today -- and this is my opinion coming through, I see little need to
> use LFS to learn what Gentoo can teach you just like I see Assembler of
> little use compared to C to teach common computer organization and
> optimization.
> 
> I still use Gentoo to this day, especially when optimizing for size (embedded)
> or pre-i686 (or non-x86) architectures (old PCs or embedded).  I see little
> need for LFS in comparison.
> 
> -- Bryan
> 
> P.S.  However, I'm still far more of a Debian-based or Fedora-based fanboy
> when it comes to automation and well-integrated components for most users.
> But that's just me.  I know people who build Gentoo with the same components
> and the same automation, and don't mess with /etc/fstab or other configuration
> file editing at all -- just like anything Debian, Fedora or other foundation-based.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Alan Grimes <agrimes at speakeasy.net>
> 
> Want to know something? I tried linux from scratch on this very box
> during its 6-month shakedown cruise. (on an 850 mb HD =P ) I learned a
> lot. Gentoo was much better because it is highly automated yet still
> does basically the same thing. =)
> _______________________________________________
> Novalug mailing list
> Novalug at calypso.tux.org
> http://calypso.tux.org/mailman/listinfo/novalug
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> Internal Virus Database is out of date.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 
> Version: 9.0.783 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2746 - Release Date: 03/14/10 03:33:00
>