Linux dist - which one? or where?
Bert Freudenberg
bert at impara.de
Thu Feb 17 11:23:05 UTC 2005
Am 16.02.2005 um 21:55 schrieb Brad Fuller:
> Where does one dnl the correct Linux distribution?
>
> When going to http://www.squeak.org/download/index.html I am
> presented with two links
>
> * The "Master Squeak Unix site" at
> http://www-sor.inria.fr/~piumarta/squeak/
> This site lists 3.6 as the stable release and a version of 3.7
> (3.7b-5 -- I guess that means beta version 5).
This is the developer's site where you get the latest and greatest.
Recently moved to http://squeak.hpl.hp.com/unix/
> and
>
> * ftp://st.cs.uiuc.edu/Smalltalk/Squeak/3.7/unix-linux/
> This site contains tars for version 3.7-5989.
> (BTW: a tar file that looks like a source of version 3.6 is there
> also. don't know why)
Actually it is Squeak-3.7-5989-i686-pc-linux-gnu-3.6-3.tar.gz which
means it's an Squeak-3.7-5989 IMAGE bundled with a
i686-pc-linux-gnu-3.6-3 VM. Bruce makes these bundles, and since nobody
released a final 3.7 unix VM yet, he bundled it with the latest
released VM, which happens to be 3.6-3.
> Shouldn't there be one place to dnl? (mirrors are ok as long as they
> are identical, these don't appear identical)
The download page (http://www.squeak.org/download/) points to the ftp
directory.
> I'm confused.
> - Is the *nix 3.7 in beta, stable (released), or "?"
It's in beta, since Ian, the maintainer, didn't declare it released.
However, many people have been using 3.7b5, it's a fine VM.
> - are the 3.7 files identical at these two sites (the filenames
> aren't)?
Yes.
> - If 3.7 is the current stable release (it is according to this post
> at the swiki: http://minnow.cc.gatech.edu/squeak.388), why doesn't the
> Master Squeak Unix Site have this as a stable release?
That's up to Ian to answer - I guess he just didn't have the time to
release
> Suggestion (and I'm sure this has been discussed before resulting in
> good recommendations):
> why not provide the 3 platform-independent files for all platform
> downloads. That'll make them all consistent. Maybe at the top of the
> squeak.org site, there is a link to these 3 files (and the sources
> file couldn't be g zipped).
> Then, below this selection, provide the platform dependent file for
> each specific OS?
>
> Maybe the current way was decided because the goal was to make it
> easy for windows/mac users? -- but they are just zip/sit files, not
> auto-installers. So, I don't see that it's that much convenient.
>
> If the reason that there are different links for each platform is
> because each VM is released at different times, then perhaps change
> the process: all final versions (stable release) are not completed
> until all VMs are completed.
Well, the Squeak.org downloads are aimed at developers, so nobody
bothered doing proper installers. For the non-technical Squeakland
audience, for example, there are installers for Mac and Win, the next
update even will have RPMs and DEBs.
> I like RPMs (I'm running FC3 right now), but I'm happy to build if I
> know what I'm getting.
There are RPMs at Ian's site. Don't they work for you?
> As mentioned before, I'm creating audio tools -- but I need them to
> run identically on 3 platforms: mac, win and Linux (understanding the
> current audio issues with Linux).
AFAIK sound is fine on Linux?
> So, maybe this helps to identify my particular predicament. Still - it
> would be nice to see clear distribution in general.
Sure, somebody just needs to do it.
- Bert -
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