From owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Sun Feb 8 03:41:16 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9E7F416A4CE for ; Sun, 8 Feb 2004 03:41:16 -0800 (PST) Received: from mailhub2.midco.net (mailhub2.midco.net [24.220.0.34]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5280343D1D for ; Sun, 8 Feb 2004 03:41:16 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from pmes@bis.midco.net) Received: (qmail 7416 invoked by uid 0); 8 Feb 2004 11:41:15 -0000 Received: from host-195-219-220-24.midco.net (HELO bis.midco.net) ([24.220.219.195]) (envelope-sender ) by lvs-pop.midco.net (qmail-ldap-1.03) with SMTP for ; 8 Feb 2004 11:41:15 -0000 Message-ID: <4026205A.6030005@bis.midco.net> Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2004 05:41:14 -0600 From: Peter Schultz User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; FreeBSD i386; en-US; rv:1.6b) Gecko/20031215 X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org References: <20040207180930.I89563@ync.qbhto.arg> <20040207194206.D89563@ync.qbhto.arg> <20040208040219.GA35247@troutmask.apl.washington.edu> <20040207200651.X3994@ync.qbhto.arg> In-Reply-To: <20040207200651.X3994@ync.qbhto.arg> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Subject: binary compatibility [was: Re: latest current + latest ports +nvidia == no GL (pthread problem?)] X-BeenThere: freebsd-current@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussions about the use of FreeBSD-current List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2004 11:41:16 -0000 Here is how I would paint this bike shed, I hope it doesn't cause raucous thread. Doug Barton wrote: > Choosing to break compatibility > with third party software (what little of it there is) simply drives > more nails in the coffin of FreeBSD as anything other than a niche > platform. > I would prefer to see broken binary compatibility. It is one of the things I enjoy most about FreeBSD-CURRENT. "Sorry guys, we were wrong, but here's a better implementation." :-) My opinion is that Doug's "nails in the coffin" statement is pure speculation and conjecture. Would I like to see FreeBSD on more and more desktops? Yes. Do I think it helps when binary compatibility is broken? No. Someday FreeBSD may become so simple to use that it will take the desktop world by storm, but who here is thinking that will happen today? FreeBSD is just another tool for us humans to use. It's very special though, as it can turn a commodity PC into a powerful server. I happened to see it as an extraordinarily precise, yet highly flexible tool, which I have come to expect to be under the most strenuous development. This may always cause it to be a niche platform, and if that's the case. So be it. At least the craftsmen and artists of the world will have somewhere to commit code and show off. Pete...