Re: [dev] Linux distros that don't suck too too much

From: Charlie Kester <corky1951_AT_comcast.net>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2016 12:10:07 -0700

On Thu 12 May 2016 at 08:36:44 PDT Hans Ginzel wrote:
>On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 07:42:26AM -0700, Charlie Kester wrote:
>>Package systems are both a symptom and a cause of bloat. They only
>>exist because most software, along with its metastasizing dependencies,
>>is a pain in the ass to compile.
>>
>>The correct solution isn't hiding those problems with a package
>>manager, but to avoid those dependencies and the bloat in
>>individual programs by following suckless principles in the first place.
>
>Which concrete principle do you mean, please?

Sorry, perhaps my answer to this specific question wasn't clear in my
previous reply.

The concrete principles I had in mind when I wrote the above are two:

- For every program, try to minimize the software stack (the number and
  size of the libraries it uses, whether directly or indirectly.)

- For every program or library, try to minimize its size and complexity.
  Follow the Unix philosophy where each program does only one thing
  (coherence) and does it well (elegance).

Personally, I would add one more, although I've never seen it explicitly
endorsed by the suckless community:

- Prefer commandline programs over TUIs, and TUIs over GUIs. (Graphics
  applications are often the worst offenders when it comes to bloated
  software stacks.)
Received on Thu May 12 2016 - 21:10:07 CEST