On 08/11 02:03 , Bob De Mars wrote: > Slackware is exempt from this, and this is a big reason I only use > Slackware on my production boxes. If a package is not available, it's as > easy as 1-2-3 to roll your own from source. No biggie. My problem with Slackware and Gentoo (and to a certain extent, the *BSDs) is that it encourages compiliation of software on every machine. The downsides of this are numerous: -- without package management, it's difficult to know what software needs to be updated -- compiling on every machine takes a lot of time and human handwork. Even if you're just updating one machine, it's a lot of additional work compared to just installing packages from somewhere -- you can't guarantee consistent builds between different machines. different options, different environments, cause different compiled results, which leads to confusion when trying to sort out why one machine works and another doesn't. -- a compiler provides attackers with a tool they can use against you (compiling a version of their software that will run on your machine). Even if just installing one piece of software on one machine, it's worth building a package for it if at all possible. Some software is easier to package than others tho. Unfortunately there are all too many software developers who never look at their software from the sysadmin side and see how much trouble it is to package & install. -- Carl Soderstrom Systems Administrator Real-Time Enterprises www.real-time.com