On Thu, 27 Jul 2000, Linus Torvalds wrote:
>
> What I mean is that the above generation-script should be generated
> _once_. The source gets distributed with the generated file, so that
> whatever happens you at least get reliable results in a reasonably
> heterogenous environment.
Put another way that maybe is a clearer example:
- when I download the binary rpm of package "foo-2.3.5.rpm", should I
really have to care on what machine it was compiled?
A lot of old-time UNIX people seem to think that everybody compiles
sources themselves. That's madness. Yes, it's important that you _can_.
But you shouldn't have to. If I hear that the new feature 2.3.5 of package
"foo" supports the new filesystem layout that I've been waiting for,
should I have to pray that the person who compiled the binary happened to
use one of the development kernels where that feature was actually
implemented?
Or should I have to recompile it myself to make sure?
Or, wonder of wonders, should it just WORK?
I think the latter. And I hope I've made clear to everybody why a software
package must NOT EVER depend on what kernel version happened to be
installed when it was compiled. And why it is so _important_ that nobody
even by mistake does this. EVER.
The defense rests.
Linus
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