[Bug-zile] Re: Please consider merging patches from my github fork

[Gary V. Vaughan]

On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 23:33:08 +0100, Reuben Thomas <address@hidden> wrote:
> On 3 April 2011 08:33, Gary V. Vaughan <address@hidden> wrote:
>>
>> Actually, there's nothing to do with luajit in there, I just forked
from
>> that
>> repo to save resources since it was on github already.  I rolled
>> malkia's
>> changes back and then merged in your upstream commits to his
>> original branch point.
> 
> So really it's just a fork of my repository?

That's right, sorry I wasn't clearer. :)

> Although as you point out
> we can't have the sheer convenience of github here, I'm quite happy if
> you send me git format-patch patches that I can review and
> reject^Wapply with git am as appropriate.

Okay, will do.

>> I only notice the incompatibilities
>> with the Apple shipped toolset because I'm trying to minimize the
amount
>> of time I have to spend configuring a new machine befor I can use it...
>> if it's not on the installation media, and it doesn't fit in my DropBox
>> account, I'm trying not to use it.
> 
> But you have to get hold of gnulib, right?

Yes, I do... and that's another reason that gnulib's non-release policy
bugs me a little (although the stable snapshots are an improvement). In
the fullness of time, it will be much nicer to only worry about the
libposix modules, which should eventually stabilise to the point
where they only change if a new non-compliant architecture is added to
the supported host types.

> So it seems to me that a
> script that does a git checkout of gnulib and downloads and installs
> recent versions of the autotools is going to save you time over what
> you currently do and also space in dropbox; I really mean just a
> number of
> 
> wget URL && tar xjf FILE && cd DIR && ./configure && make && sudo make
> install
> 
> lines...

I foresee two problems with this:

  i) Having an autogen.sh not find new enough autotools and installing
     them behind my package manager's back is a little scary.  Especially
     if I just messed my PATH up, and end up with multiple autotools
     scattered around my machine.
 ii) The alternative is going back to an interactive bootstrap process:

       Can't find new enough Autoconf, fetch and install to /usr/local?
[Y/N]

     Bleh!

Maybe a compromise is to complain, threaten to install to a temporary
location and bootstrap with those unless interrupted... wait for a few
seconds and then fetch and install to `pwd`/Autotools.  But what if I
don't have Perl 5 installed?  Will Automake run off and get that?

It all seems like a lot of fuss.  Better, IMHO, is to notice early enough
and bail out of the bootstrap script to let the developer fix the problem
with apt/rpm/brew himself, and then start again.

Besides, in time, I plan on moving all my projects away from Autotools,
which will be an escape from the 'maze of twisty little perl and shell
scripts, all alike' for me at least :)

>> That's interesting... I actually moved from Debian to Mac OS about 8
>> years ago because the hardware support was terrible,
> 
> Well, I switched from Debian to Ubuntu about 6-7 years ago for the
> same reason. Things are much better in Ubuntu AND Debian now, I
> believe; certainly, I have happily installed Ubuntu for other users
> and had few hardware problems.

I have some philosophical conflicts with Shuttleworth that keep me away
from Ubuntu, but I might give Debian in parallels another try on an idle
weekend at some point.

>> I sometimes run Linux in a vm, but haven't found a minimalist distro
>> with a good package selection that I really like yet... I'm using
>> tinycore
>> at the moment.
> 
> I would use Debian or Ubuntu from a netinstall (~15Mb ISO image) as it
> starts small but still gives you whatever you want.

My holy grail: A readonly linux distro (or at least one that resets
back to default on every reboot) that fits on a 16Gb microSD and which
boots and runs from RAM, along with a vm that will run on Windows
when I'm in an internet cafe. But still leaving enough room for a
hidden encrypted partition to mount as a subdirectory of my home dir
when I do need to save some state and don't mind toggling the writable
switch on the SD adaptor...

Cheers,
-- 
Gary V. Vaughan (gary AT gnu DOT org)