Re: [dev] [sbase][tar] GNU tar support

From: Laslo Hunhold <dev_AT_frign.de>
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2020 08:30:30 +0100

On Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:49:32 +0100
Mattias Andrée <maandree_AT_kth.se> wrote:

Dear Mattias,

> Concerning farbfeld, it is quite a different thing to create a new
> simpler standard than supporting an already existing but complex
> standard. Farbfeld was a good first step in moving towards simpler
> image formats, although even if would have got exceptionally good
> traction it would take quiet some time before support for older
> complex formats could be removed, and in the meantime support for an
> additional, but simple, format would be required which would add code
> (not complexity) to image format libraries. I think this is forth it
> in the long run, and it gave us a good standard format for programs,
> that don't need to support user provided files, to use, better than
> the netpbm formats.

yes, well put! It would be different if I extended the NetPBM format
with new things that would be incompatible with all other
NetPBM-decoders. Of course I wouldn't be able to do it, but the
absolute dominance of GNU tools in the 90's and 2000's has given them
this opportunity and they seized it. I sometimes wish I would've
started programming in the 90's and been able to influence the
ecosystem with suckless software. Imagine musl being published in the
90's; it would've been revolutionary and we wouldn't have to deal with
the millions of lines of C-code infested with GNU extensions.

With best regards

Laslo
Received on Thu Nov 26 2020 - 08:30:30 CET