[Python-Dev] Sumo (original) (raw)

Sandro Tosi morph at debian.org
Thu May 27 07:40:48 CEST 2010

Hello, sorry to interrupt your discussion but..

On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 04:09, Yaniv Aknin <yaniv at aknin.name> wrote:

> Because scientists, financial analysts, web designers, etc all have > different needs.

My point is just that a web designer probably doesn't care if he's got numpy, nor does a mathematician care if he has cherrypy onboard. They only care when the tools they need aren't there, which is where sumo can help. Why do we want "distributions" (whether 'sumo' or domain specific) in the first place? Obviously because we have some pains to alleviate, but I think Linux distributions, particularly Ubuntu, have been coping with similar pains for a while now with good results. I used to be rather informed on the state of Linux distributions circa the end of the 90's. Should I use this distribution or that one? Now I don't care, the answer is always 'Ubuntu, and apt-get it to fit your needs'.

please note that the huge bunch of work for Python third-party modules is done in Debian and Ubuntu just takes those packages without advertise enough where they come from and who did the work (and not the merchandizing only).

I hope you would intuitively grasp what I mean, even if I fail to articulate it well, if you ever used dpkg and apt-get (or equivalents), along with the ability to add sources and the simple distinctions between sources (core vs. universe vs. multiverse), along with eco systems like launchpad and PPAs, etc. To my 1999 self these features of Ubuntu seem like miracles, not so much because Debian and dpkg/apt-get weren't there back then (they were life saving back then too), but because of the whole system's huge support base and centrally-designed decentrally-implemented nature.

mh? Debian was not in present in 1999? Debian started in 1993 (dpkg in 1994 and apt-get in 1998) while ubuntu only in mid-2000 as a layer over Debian packages (and hiring several Debian Developers for its core positions).

Also, let me remind you that transition to Python 2.6 was a huge mess for Ubuntu, where several packages were just left broken (f.e. failing unit tests were disabled to make the package build...) and only now that Debian started to migrate to 2.6 too, you can see a "flow" of packages that works for 2.6 too coming to Ubuntu. Debian can be slow, but we care about quality.

End of "give credit where it's due" post :)

Regards,

Sandro Tosi (aka morph, morpheus, matrixhasu) My website: http://matrixhasu.altervista.org/ Me at Debian: http://wiki.debian.org/SandroTosi

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