Jean-Francois Lemaire wrote:
On Saturday 15 October 2005 03:04, DJA wrote:
If there are library or environment requirements for the Inkscape package, then those requirements should be listed on the download (or some conspicuous) page on the Web site, preferably with links pointing to wherever contemporary versions of those files/packages can be found.
Valid points, even though this more or less defeats the whole point of having static RPMs in the first place.
No, requiring additional libraries be installed by the user defeats the whole point of a statically compiled application. Static /by definition/ means that all necessary libraries needed to run the application are compiled into the binary and present after install. Naturally, a static RPM would reflect this.
If the intention is that all necessary libraries *not* be included in the package (RPM or source tarball), then the package is not static and should not be listed as such. Non-static is both acceptable and common.
Bottom line is, all I as a /potential/ user want to know is
1) What files do I need to install to get the app running, and 2) Where are those files.
If either of those needs are not met, I (the user) am likely as not going to ignore your application and look for something else [1]. If I can't install it, or the barrier to installation is too high, I can't use it.
Anyway, I'm creating the so-called static RPMs by following these instructions:
http://wiki.inkscape.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?CompilingStatic
Now, since there seems to be some issues with the way things are, maybe I should try adding some not-too-standard-libraries and ask the list what the devs think about it.
Again, it's not really so much about what libraries are or are not included in the RPM. I'm even fine with compiling from a tarball and installing it with Checkinstall. But even given a tarball and compiling it myself, I still need to know about dependencies. Not only what but where. If some obscure version of a garbage collector is required, then it's gonna be pretty hard to compile the app if I don't know exactly what version and where to get the required garbage collector.
From my perspective, this is a two-fold problem.
The first problem is that the RPM's are listed as being static and they aren't. That's solved by removing the static claim from the Website, thereby mitigating any misunderstandings on the part of the downloaders.
The second problem is a lack of a complete "System Requirements" statement specifying what is needed for Inkscape to run after installation of the program proper (whether from RPM or compiled tarball).
As can be seen, the solution to both problems is simply an update to the Website.
However, don't think I won't be grateful if you do produce a truly static RPM. I do appreciate your efforts.
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[1] I'm talking about "I" as representative of the user community. That is, the class of users who are not developers. For myself, I will spend an above average amount of time getting trying to get something to work - I take it as a challenge ("stoopid computer is not going to beat _me_).