[Eug-lug] Re: [linux] F+!*ing Gentoo...

[larry price]

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 16:05:34 -0800, Eric Altendorf
<EricAltendorf at orst.edu> wrote:

> Stepping up a level, let me take a poll: why is it that there is no
> perfect distribution?

perfect for what purpose?  Answer that question and you are a long ways toward 
answering the rest.

> 1) Perfect means different things to different people (ok, that's a
> reason, but broken-ass-crap isn't what *anybody* means by "perfect",
> so let's focus on that)

As the potential utility of a system increases so does its potential for error.
This is because both are a function of the number of possible
combinations of different discrete utilities available. There are two
different solutions.

a) the engineering solution 
constrain the expected functions of the system, 
minimize the potential for error,
provide recovery mechanisms for dealing with errors that do occur

b)the evolutionary solution
generate a vast array of candidate solutions
release them into the environment
copy bits that seem to work well, drop solutions that don't seem to work
vary the environment
repeat ad infinitum
 
Linux Distributions look more like a b. set of candidate solutions to
a generalised problem than an engineering solution to a specific
problem.

> 2) Not enough developers
> 
> 3) Not enough money
> 
These can only improve engineering solutions.

> 4) Not enough coordination among developers
> 
This may not be as useful as you think for a. class solutions, and is
effectively impossible for b. class solutions

> 5) Too many options, different software packages, incompatibilities,
> versions, version release schedules thereof, different tools for
> accomplishing the same task

bad engineering, but good evolutionary strategy

> 6) Lack of control over the options and software packages that are
> being integrated in the distro

This is one area where engineering solutions could be productively applied.

> In short -- why is it my linux machines never ever ever "just work" ?
short answer; Desktop Environments are general solutions to the
general problem of providing a useful information environment. To make
something that "just works"  you have to be able to constrain the
problem to a manageable size.

-- 
http://Zoneverte.org -- information explained
Do you know what your IT infrastructure does?