[Techtalk] One Standardized Version of Linux

[Mary]

On Fri, May 03, 2002 at 03:48:01PM -0400, kansas_kennedy @ phreaker. net wrote:
> As there are several versions of Linux there are several minds too. Several 
> installation method, RPMs & builders, shells ,kernels etc. etc. 
> 
> I was wondering why not they merge together and have one standardized Linux 
> instead of having 50 different systems.

The answers to this are various.

Firstly, Linux is a system that runs on many things from little iPaqs
and Agendas and TiVos to large mission critical meaty central server
type machines. Windows, for example, also has gradations that apply to
this spectrum (CE -> XP Home/ME/98 -> XP Professional/Win 2K).

Secondly, Linux development is not centralised. Linus Torvalds cannot
wave his hands and say "RPM and GNOME are the way" and demolish the Debian
packaging system and the KDE toolkits and window managers like that.
He's welcome to, as are you, but he can't withdraw all previous versions
of the Linux kernel and merge the market that way.

Also, the Linux system utilities come from many different sources. The
kernel developers are a (more or less) totally different set of people
from the developers of the Apache web server, who are different from the
Zope web server/source management system, who are different from the
Evolution mail & calendering people... None of them answer to each
other, or to Linus.

Thirdly, here seems to be no huge push among consumers and users of
Linux systems for this to take place - they keep choosing different
tools, people will keep making different tools. Many many tools die out
due to lack of interest from users, but many different varients survive.

Given the free licences that most programs developed for Linux are
under, there is nothing to stop someone taking, for example, the GNOME
project, saying "I'm forking GNOME, and eventually aim to produce a
GNOME-like thing called SHORTY with these features..."

So there are numerous factors that make people develop and shoose
different systems, and no huge drive to merge them. There is No Power
who can make that happen from above, and it doesn't seem to be happening
much from the ground up.

-Mary.