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On Sun, 4 Dec 2011 13:55:28 +0000 |
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Neil Bothwick <neil@××××××××××.uk> wrote: |
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> > For the OP, a few posters have mentioned that under gentoo, every |
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> > thing is compiled from scratch, but it was not made clear that it |
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> > happens again and again at most updates. |
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> |
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> If the OP had read so little about Gentoo that they haven't gleaned |
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> that much, it certainly is not the distro for them. |
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I'd go so far as to say that if a user does not already have a |
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reasonable grasp of how Gentoo works, can't give you a one-paragraph |
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description of Gentoo that is reasonably accurate, and can't describe |
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the concepts of how an ebuild would work, then Gentoo is not the |
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distro for that user. |
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Gentoo is like fine Italian vehicles - you can get stunning |
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performance IF you know what you are doing, know what all the bits mean |
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and are prepared to invest the insane amount of time and effort it |
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requires (per the rule of diminishing returns). There's always a few |
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edge cases like James, who simply cannot find any other useful way to |
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build his embedded images. I suspect James looked at the landscape and |
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saw two choices: build his own build machinery, or use Gentoo's which |
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fits most of his needs most of the time. |
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As soon as someone asks a question like "which is better, OpenSuSE |
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or Gentoo?" you almost always know the answer cannot possibly be |
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Gentoo. That user has to play with OpenSuSE for a while to discover for |
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himself why this is so. |
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I'm going to get flamed for this, and be accused of being elitist. It |
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happens every time. And that's OK: |
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If SuSE/RedHat were likened to good ready-made furniture, Debian would |
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be top-grade DIY kits (they follow a formula but the user has some |
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freedom to tweak what they build) and Gentoo wouldn't be furniture, it |
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would be a cabinet-maker (with a concession that the user doesn't have |
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to grow their own trees anymore, he can at least buy ready cut planks). |
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LFS is the one that requires you to grow your own trees as well. |
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There's a place in this world for amateur and professional |
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cabinet-makers, but do we really want to recommend that the average DIY |
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guy has to become one? |
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I say suggest that the potential tinkerers cut their teeth on Debian |
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first then switch to Gentoo on their own determinism when they |
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understand the cost/benefit ratio themselves and can make an informed |
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decision. |
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-- |
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Alan McKinnnon |
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alan.mckinnon@×××××.com |
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