Installing a compiler by default

[Matt Zimmerman]

On Thu, Jun 29, 2006 at 01:43:34PM +0200, Stephan Hermann wrote:
> Right, but is it necessary to provide infrastructure tools on a user linux?

I'm not sure that I understand the question.  Infrastructure means the basic
supporting tools which support proper operation of the system, so by
definition, yes, infrastructure gets shipped by default and is missed when
absent.

> I discussed this issue with some people here in our office, who are using 
> Ubuntu/Kubuntu as User, but they are in their spare time developers.

Developers are likely to know how to install a build environment, and to do
so as a matter of course.  Again, I'm not proposing that we should ship this
environment to support developers (who can get it if they want it), but
specifically to support non-developers (in situations where they are trying
to get their system up and running for the first time).

> The result of those discussion was: As long as Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu is
> providing support for most of the well used and known hardware, there is
> no need to compile anything.

As I have said, we will continue to do the best that we can to integrate
drivers into the system, but that doesn't help users with hardware which we
couldn't support at the time of release, either because the drivers were
immature, because the hardware wasn't released yet, etc.

This isn't a philosophical argument; it's a pragmatic one.  It costs nothing
to a user who doesn't need it, but to a user who does, it is their lifeline.

> Developers are different, and ricers are different, too. We should
> concentrate on providing support for commonly used (new) hardware so that
> users do not need to use a compiler. 
> 
> I think that should be our first goal as "It Just Works(tm)" Linux
> Distribution.

That is absolutely orthogonal to my proposal, and is already how we operate.



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-- 
 - mdz