On Sun, 10 Apr 2005, Bernd Eckenfels wrote:
There are a lot differences between linda and lintian, especially the programming language.
A very important difference. This might result in several further applications doing the very same job (more or less) for several other programming languages (Ruby, why not C, C++ or even FORTRAN). My impression was that applications are written for *users* not for programmers. Mentioning the different programming languages as a difference of the applications is the wrong point of view.
Which is if course a big point if you consider programmers can only help in one but not the other.
Hmmm - I wonder whether rewriting an application wouldn't take more time than doing the usual things in free software:
1) Write bug reports. 2) Provide patches - well a programmer who is skilled enouth to rewrite a complete application is definitely skilled enouth to learn a quite common programming language in a shorter time than the rewrite would take - at least good enouth to provide patches.
This standard question is annoying and unneeded.
In fact you are right, because discussing this question does not lead to any reasonable result. Everybody is free to spend his time as he likes and there will be people in the future who will continue in rewriting applications just because they have other preferences in the choice of programming language or just a different toolkit. On the other hand why not educating people that they should focus on their users instead on their programming preferences from time to time?
There is no point in deciding for one or the other package. And this is a quite new trend that debian community start to think they have the right to pick.
Sorry, we have to pick. Imaginge a maintainer has time to build a package of exactly one application which fulfills a certain purpose. Furthermore imagine there are three applications which fulfill this purpose available. A person with limited time frame has to pick one. I would consider it as good style if he would also give reasons for the decision why he picked this application and I really hope that the choice of programming language would not be the main reason (except if he has to leave out an application which is written in a language which requires non-free tools - this is a reason to stay away from certain applications).
Kind regards
Andreas.
-- http://fam-tille.de
-- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]