Re: [Plib-users] Fwd: Re: flightgear problem

[Steve B. <sjb...@ai...>]

al...@tu... wrote:

> Redhat has done quite a lot for Linux imho and they are free to choose any Compiler
> version they like and no matter what teir decision is, I dont think it justifies an
> insult like "becoming another microsoft", which is probably the worst insult possible
> in the free software world. (If anybody can come up with a better one , tell us :)

Well, RedHat chose that comiler version AGAINST THE ADVICE OF THE AUTHORS.  That is a terrible
thing to do.  If you have any better explanation of why they would do that against the advice
of both the GCC and Kernel teams - I'd like to hear it.  Was it incompetance or was it
malevolance?

I don't know whether you are a software engineer or not - but imagine someone came along today
and copied whatever the current state of your project code was out of your directory and started
shipping it as a product - expecting you to support the resulting buggy mess in your own time.

I think you'd have a right to be pretty outraged by that.  RedHat had a legal right to do what
they did - but it was deeply contrary to good Internet etiquette.  The authors of GCC have a
reputation to preserve and RedHat made it look like they put out a substandard product when
in fact this was not a "released" version of the code at all.  By their actions, RH have also
caused me MANY hours of support effort trying to discover what's broken only to eventually
find that it's something caused by that damned stupid compiler decision.

> So can we just calm down and keep this type of stuff at the absolut minimum on
> the mailinglist ? This would be rather positive for the Signal/Noise ratio.

Normally I'd agree that it was off-topic but in this case, it has a direct bearing on the
performance of *MY* product - and indirectly on *MY* reputation.  When people say that PLIB
is broken - and it isn't - I think I have a right to explain in some detail *WHY* it's not
broken and advise people what to do about it.  My advice is to drop RedHat and pick a better
distro.  If you paid for RedHat then you may also have paid for customer support - and if
so, you should make FULL use of it and have THEM worry about why Mesa doesn't work with their
distro.

That's my best advice for people who have this problem.

> We can of course meet on IRC to flame about this, thats where holy distributions wars
> belong. Its also a lot more fun in realtime :)

I would prefer to avoid distro wars - but passing on the information that there is a
problem with one specific distro that affects everyone on the PLIB list (and getting into the
details of why) is not something I consider off-topic.   Since it's *MY* mailing list,
I get to do that kind of thing.

(PS: I detest IRC)
 
----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
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