[Csnd] Re: Re: Re: Re: sloppy packaging
| Date | 2010-02-25 03:11 |
| From | Aaron Krister Johnson |
| Subject | [Csnd] Re: Re: Re: Re: sloppy packaging |
| From: jpff <jpff@cs.bath.ac.uk> To: csound@lists.bath.ac.uk Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:30:01 +0000 Subject: [Csnd] Re: Re: Re: Re: sloppy packaging > Your guru experience may be preventing you from understanding how difficult Isn't this a problem that the very thing I mentioned, not being able to run a pre-compiled binary because it was looking for a "Wii" library, is happening because as a lead developer and packager, you are using "includeWii=1" as a default? I come on the list and say so, and then a little while later you say "here's where you can get the wii library, from my site"....I'm sorry, this is not how the end user experience should be, where we have to chase down a problem on a mailing list, and have someone say "here's a bandaid"....the problem should have been thought through, no? What about people who don't come on a mailing list, who give up when things don't work as they should? It's like buying a car, and being told you have to assemble it yourself in a little garage, walk a mile down the road with a gascan, fill the can with gas at the station, walk back to the car, and then start it---but wait, you must connect the battery, too........most folks just say ^&*k it, and give up, right? Again, all due respect, no one would have the wonderful Csound we know without you, John, but the follow through to the end user experience has to be there if your hard and awesome work is to be at all appreciated. Right now, only those who brave the hurdles of an install get to see your gifts. No wonder most people who would be inclined, give up, and don't use Csound. I say it again, it's a terrible shame....it's either growing too big for it's own good, or the developers, brilliant though they be, are terribly myopic about the problems they are creating for the end user. I think it's a little of both. And let me say something else---I'm a hardcore Linux techie geek, since 1997, from the early days of Linux (Slackware)....I know my machine, I know compiling, I'm in love with the command line.....and even *I* hit my head against the wall with how baroque, messy and difficult a simple Csound compile or install is. It shouldn't be this hard. We need to fix it. Emergency emergency emergency! And c'mon, why can't we have a compiled in set of default opcode dirs? Why must we set environment variables? Poor design, that, plain and simple. You get it installed, your excited, you type "csound" and it stupidly complains of a non-set OPCODEDIR....it's really really poor design, I hate to say it. I've enjoyed the fact, however, that my speaking up has generated a flood of passionate Csound users speaking up, and maybe this will create some serious reflection on how we can create a really great quality package. I can tell you this much----there should NEVER be any non-standard options compiled in to a 'standard' distributed package. Who the %^&k uses a Wii with Csound? Seriously, man!!!! I beg you, turn that option off.....and at the very least, *distribute* the missing libraries from the Csound download page, or better yet, WITH THE PACKAGE!!!!!.....this is just really really sad to see such a band-aided together software project. Especially since more and more it's a tool I love, a main tool in my arsenal. For what it's worth, I'm a Linux user (Arch and Ubuntu). I'm happy to help create killer general packages and help oversee quality control for each release, from and end user perspective. It's bad enough that Csound itself, once running, is intimidating to folks. But c'mon, it SHOULD run out of the box......let's make that a goal. This is an emergency, as far as I'm concerned. We can make this an opportunity, as a community, to regroup, and redouble our efforts to make Csound great. Finally, to end on an up note---thank you developers, for the excellent work you *have* done that allows us to be here at all talking about this. I don't want to end negative...:) Aaron Krister Johnson http://www.untwelve.org http://www.akjmusic.com |