Linked by the_randymon on Wed 9th Jan 2013 00:48 UTC
Lead developer for Compiz, Sam Spilsbury, says he sees little need to develop Compiz for Wayland due to the increasing fragmentation of the Linux ecosystem. Spilsbury writes "What does compiz actually provide to users of these systems? [...] None of this functionality that user wants really depends on our compositing engine. There's nothing so special about our compositing engine that gives it a reason to exist [...] This is the real practical toll of fragmentation amongst the Linux ecosystem. It's not just that there are multiple implementations of the wheel. There are multiple implementations of entire cars which do almost the same thing, but a little different from everyone else. Some say this is the free software's greatest strength. Now that I know the personal and technical toll of fragmentation, I see it as its greatest weakness."
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Member since:2005-08-18
Member since:2005-07-08
Member since:2007-02-18
Linux is NOT AN OS, its a whole bunch of little programs made by guys that don't talk to each other that is magically supposed to seamlessly work together but which IRL does anything but.
I don't know, the core stuff seems to work together and talk to each other very well. It's the third party stuff that can get a bit hairy.
Member since:2007-03-26
But this problem merely highlights what myself and many small shop owners have been saying about Linux for years which is thus: Linux is NOT AN OS, its a whole bunch of little programs made by guys that don't talk to each other that is magically supposed to seamlessly work together but which IRL does anything but.
Well yes, that why they're called "Linux distributions". The only people who pretend Linux is a single complete OS is people who do not know Linux.
This is also why I don't correct people who refer to Linux as Ubuntu; because almost always, they're talking specifically about Ubuntu and thus are actually more literally correct than techies who call 'Ubuntu', 'Linux'.
So I can't say as i blame him, if I were a developer I would be targeting Android not Linux. At least with Android its all controlled by a single company so all the pieces "just work" instead of having to worry that the audio guys changed a pointer somewhere and the DE guys didn't get the memo.
that's an odd statement because you wouldn't advocate someone writing a productivity suites in iOS instead of OS X. Some types of applications target laptops / desktops because they're the types of apps that work better for that paradigm of computer. So the only reason in favour for targeting Android would be if you were writing a mobile / tablet app rather than something that required an accurate pointing device and/or hardware keyboard.
You also need to bare in mind that the sort of application that Compiz is, isn't the kind of application that most app developers would be working on; and certainly not the kind of app that could ever be ported to Android.
Member since:2009-08-18
that's an odd statement because you wouldn't advocate someone writing a productivity suites in iOS instead of OS X. Some types of applications target laptops / desktops because they're the types of apps that work better for that paradigm of computer. So the only reason in favour for targeting Android would be if you were writing a mobile / tablet app rather than something that required an accurate pointing device and/or hardware keyboard.
I believe he was referring to the fragmentation between Linux distributions vs Something like Windows or Android which comes as a complete artefact from a particular supplier.
Edited 2013-01-09 14:05 UTC
Member since:2005-09-01
Member since:2006-01-24
Linux is NOT AN OS,
This part you got right.
Then...
its a whole bunch of little programs made by guys that don't talk to each other that is magically supposed to seamlessly work together but which IRL does anything but.
No, it's just the kernel, the 'little programs' are other parts of functionality which together with the Linux kernel is presented as an operating system, you could say a 'Linux' based operating system, or if you are the FSF: 'GNU/Linux' based operating system.
However the common term for a set of components presented as an operating system that includes the Linux kernel is a 'Linux distro/distribution'. I can only assume this is where some people get confused.
So I can't say as i blame him, if I were a developer I would be targeting Android not Linux.
Android contains Linux, what you meant to say is that you would target the Android operating system, which consists of the Linux kernel and lots of 'little programs' in a specific configuration.
Just like Steam for Linux will initially target the Ubuntu configuration, which consists of the Linux kernel and lots of 'little programs' in a specific configuration.
Features
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2007-11-11
But this problem merely highlights what myself and many small shop owners have been saying about Linux for years which is thus: Linux is NOT AN OS, its a whole bunch of little programs made by guys that don't talk to each other that is magically supposed to seamlessly work together but which IRL does anything but.
So I can't say as i blame him, if I were a developer I would be targeting Android not Linux. At least with Android its all controlled by a single company so all the pieces "just work" instead of having to worry that the audio guys changed a pointer somewhere and the DE guys didn't get the memo.