Re: Slightly OT: Linux distributions and Ada

[Ludovic Brenta <ludovic@ludovic-brenta.org>]

Tomek Walkuski writes:
> Now I'm partial, but, for me, Debian "forces" me to use particular
> compiler, because of lack of packages in proper (deb) format. :)

No offense taken.

You did ask for a "quasi-enterprise" distribution, didn't you?  Well
that's what Debian stable is (and it can be full "enterprise" if you
hire contractors for support).

I have explained the target audience for Debian: people who want a
stable platform and don't want to spend their time installing and
configuring packages, checking their PATH, or recompiling the world
because they've upgraded their compiler.  In other words, this is a
distro for the adult in you.  Yes, I "force" you to choose the version
of GCC I have selected.  However I also listen to users when making
that choice.

> Please treat this like a joke, package management and lots of
> packages are important to me (and I think not only for me) and can
> attract people to distribution.

I know that a lot of people are attracted to distributions that allow
them a lot of choice and opportunities to play with the package
manager, and to recompile their software with 4 different compilers to
see which is best.  That's what Gentoo is for.  Gentoo and Debian are
not competitors; they are for different audiences.  I have high
respect for the quality and amount of work the Ada for Gentoo
maintainers have provided.

If you want "quasi-enterprise", Debian stable.
If you want "play with compilers and package manager", Gentoo.

> Of course, I can try to produce own packages, but maybe I don't have
> knowledge or time.

You are welcome to contribute to any distro you choose.  BWT, if you
really want to "play with compilers", nothing beats packaging and
patching GCC in Debian "unstable" :)

> Of course it is weakness of Linux (and its diversity), not Ada.

I'm not sure what you mean by "it".  I see the choice between Gentoo
and Debian as a strength of free software in general: there are
distros for all tastes.  Ada is blessed with *two* excellent distros
for two different target audiences.  The glass is half full :)

-- 
Ludovic Brenta.