Re: Red Carpet 0.9 beta

[Sean Middleditch <sean middleditch iname com>]

This really is a packaging problem, and can only be fixed there.  How many
cheap hacks and work-arounds for idiotic packages can you expect Red Carpet
to have?  Debian based systems manage with a package manager just as strict
and harsh about dependencies as Red Carpet is.  The difference is, their
packages are much more intelligently put together (this isn't an RPM vs.
DEB issue - it's a valid vs. broken package issue).

Once tools like Red Carpet start becoming more common in the RPM world,
people developing RPM packages will be much more likely to catch their own
errors (for example, when they run Red Carpet and it reports their package
is invalid), and far less buggy RPMs will be released.

Otherwise, we're kinda stuck.  It's a lot like the old transition to glibc
from libc5 issues - it'll break all the old stuff, but you can't move
forward without doing it.

Perhaps the only real fix I can see Red Carpet doing is perhaps trying to
download newer/correct RPMs for any RPM is finds that is invalid - and also
asking the user if they wish to fix (possibly just remove) the offending
RPM, or to leave it as is.  Other than that, all you're doing is avoiding a
problem with your system.  UNIX isn't the platform to be on if that's all
you want to do.  ~,^

On 2001.02.22 18:01:45 -0500 Renze de Ruiter wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Feb 2001 11:48:49 Mike Messmore wrote:
> 
> > realize that a) you need to learn how RPM works and work with it to
> > convince it that you're machine is OK (at least to you) or b) don't
> 
> My machine is already OK to me, just not to Red Carpet... that is the
> issue at
> hand.
> 
> There are a lot of RPMs out there made by people other than Ximian or
> RedHat
> or whoever, which, because of the inexperience of the packager, may have
> faulty dependencies.  This fact will make Red Carpet, in it's current
> incarnation, want to remove the "offending" RPMs, even if the user
> doesn't
> want them removed. It's not just about tarballs.
> 
> This is an important issue that needs to be addressed before Red Carpet
> wreaks
> havoc on unsuspecting users.
> 
> If you would rather not read through this gnome-related thread, either
> add it
> to your killfile or unsubscribe. I will not stop just because you don't
> like
> it. Open discussion of this problem may prevent a less experienced Linux
> user
> from inadvertently causing damage to his or her system.
> 
> --
> Renze
> 
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> 
-- 
Sean Middleditch
  of
AwesomePlay Productions, Inc.