The author of debtree, a program that illustrates dependencies between .deb packages, has posted a brief rant about the size of Gnome desktop installations in recent Debian releases.
Specifically, he notes that a default Gnome install in Etch (4.0) was 1,360MB - but in the upcoming 6.0 release it'll be over 3,000MB.
Quote: "One of the main reasons I switched to Linux was because it gave me back control over my systems, but with KDE4 and pervasive stuff like hal and all the various "kits" Linux is on a fast track that's giving priority to flashiness over real functionality and eroding that control." He has also produced some graphs showing the vast dependency chain for HAL.
What do you think - is such complexity merely a by-product of an expanding and maturing OS? Or do we need to step back for a moment and simplify things before continuing the battle for the desktop?
Via TuxRadar.com
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dulac_pt
September 12th
1. As usual, a complexity change is a result of changing the conditions. That usually comes with expansion when the rules change.
Like in REAL life it marks the moment when an adaptation is in order, even a reformulation.
And, as usual, the best way to deal with complexity is the K.I.S.S rule, at that time with the meanning: redesign considering the emerging problem. the latter the worse... more painful the change.
Again, as in real life, the questions to be answered are: WHY do we need to move? WHAT is our goal? HOW to get there?
Or by a diferent perspective: What was forgotten? What is a result? What is new?
Factoring and redefining a structure is usually needed to get it simpler (and eficient) and to eliminate (or manage) complexity.
Cheers.
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