Re: Making prerequisites easy

[Keith Wright <kwright tiac net>]

> From: Elliot Lee <sopwith@redhat.com>
> As a result, authors sometimes shy away from requiring libraries that
> would benefit GNOME as a whole. An example I can give right now is the
> audiofile library (a library that loads various audio file formats), which
> Tom Tromey suggested to use for loading sound effects and other useful
> sound-related functionality.
> 
> Does anyone have ideas for making it easier to get GNOME installed, and
> making the prerequisites look less threatening to new users?
> 

In the case you cited (audio), and perhaps more generally, I would prefer
modular functionality over prerequisites.  That is, rather than making
the audio library required, make it configurable at compile time and
required only if audio is requested.  There are many computers that
have no speakers attached, offices where unnecessary noises would
not be welcome, deaf people, etc...  They should be able to build
without wasting disk space on a big audio library.  On the other
hand, the configuration option that enables sound support should
be the same for all programs, and if one chooses audio support
then all programs should share the same library where possible.  

-- 
     --Keith

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