TCLUG Archive
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [TCLUG:498] ssh 1.25
Sometime around the 3rd of July in 1998, the wannabe 3|173 h4ck3r Joseph A. Heil sed:
> > #1: the reason unix apps are distributed as source is to make cross-platform
> > setup easy. one file to distribute.
>
> True. So.
Distributing them as source allows them to be used on all flavors of Linux
(not just RedHat), the *BSDs, and even possibly other Unices, assuming the
author added support for them. Distributing it as source allows the author
to write the program, slap it in a tarball, and give it out, not worry
about being package-friendly for a single flavor of Linux.
I enjoy tarballs in that I can put them all in my ftp archive, and use
them on all flavors of Linux that I might have running on my LAN at home,
be it RedHat, Debian, Slackware, or FireMyst.
> Bleh. A waste of time, unless your are the author, are making custom
> changes to the source code for your use, or just want to learn how to
> compile a program.
I dunno, but I kinda feel cheated if I don't get source code with a
program :P Since most Linux software is GPL, I want the source so I can
modify it myself, use it as learning material, etc. Pre-compiled binaries
.. well, I dislike them. Given a choice, I'll take source any time.
And don't give me a 'That's what I just said!' because I -know- that's
what you just said. It's just that a lot of Linux users feel the way I do.
--
[------------------------------------------------------------------]
| Josh Becker - aka - JellyD |
| email: joshb@techie.com IRC: EFnet, DALnet |
[------------------------------------------------------------------]