[Special to Lucio: Email to proxima.alt.za from Google's SMTP servers
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On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 3:56 PM, Lucio De Re <lu...@proxima.alt.za> wrote:
>> But as I said, this is not to argument about Go developers' choices:
>> they do as they see fit
>
> I think their philosophy is sound, not just an arbitrary choice. The
> alternative is a commitment that can only be fulfilled by applying
> resources best utilised on the focal issue.
>
> For example, the kerTeX installation relies on an ftp client that
> accepts a URL on the command line. My UBUNTU installation has no such
> ftp command. That leaves you with the choice between driving the more
> conventional ftp program with a small script (not nice, but it can be
> done) or require (as you do for LEX and YACC) that wget be installed
> everywhere, not just where ftp isn't of the neat BSD variety.
>
> It's a choice you make on behalf of the user and you can be sure that
> a significant portion of your target market would prefer the opposite.
> A very small portion will also stand up and criticise you if you go
> the wget rule, whereas it is much harder to challenge the use of ftp
> with a script. However, of the two, wget is more robust.
>
> That's the way it is. Sometimes one has the luxury of doing things
> properly, sometimes it is more critical to arrive at a result first.
> A healthy ethos would encourage tidying up behind one, but the costs
> are seldom justified in the present development climate. Future
> conditions may be different and perhaps we can then all feel justified
> in chipping in to tidy up behind our less tidy pioneers.
Very well put.
- Dan C.
