[Fedora-packaging] paragraph on shipping static numerical libs updated

[Ralf Corsepius]

On Sat, 2007-06-02 at 19:58 +0200, Patrice Dumas wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Here is an updated version of the paragraph about shipping static
> numerical libs taking into account the comments on the first version.
> 
> The objective is to have this included in
> 
> http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/PackagingDrafts/StaticLibraryChanges
> 
> at the end of 'Packaging Static Libraries'.
> 
> 
> * in the case of user compiled programs doing numerical computations or
>   data analysis, using static libraries may be useful. Indeed it allows
>   to build static executables that have more chance to be run on other
>   platforms than the box they were compiled in, that have different
>   dynamic library versions or even that don't have the library installed
>   at all. At the same time those applications, in general, don't need
>   the features brought in by shared libraries (no need for nss, no
>   security issue, no need for iconv...). Therefore it may be acceptable
>   or even desirable to ship static libraries for numerical and data
>   processing libraries to help users needing to link statically their
>   locally compiled executables. The static libraries still need to be
>   in separate sub-packages and this doesn't means that the executables
>   packaged in Fedora should be link statically, this is only for users 
>   linking locally their own programs.
> 
>   Some packagers feel that this is not the right solution for locally 
>   compiled programs portability, since it is not general (doesn't work
>   with nss, iconv...). However a general solution doesn't seems to exist
>   yet.

-1

1. This proposal is not in the distro's interest, because it causes
additional bloat.

2. This proposal's focus on "numerical libs" is silly. 
It tries to implement a special exception into the FPC based on an
application domain, while the problem actually is application domain
independent.

The real problem is: Cross-distro packaging of local packages, which
some people (bogusly) try to approach static linkage.

Ralf