[Tfug] "Linux is a forking mess."

[Claude Rubinson]

On Thu, Jul 19, 2007 at 08:25:41AM -0700, Angus Scott-Fleming wrote:
> Small Biz Resource - Too Many Linux Distros Makes For Open-Source Mess - Small 
> Business Business Analysis
> 
> Final paragraph says it all:
>     "Linux is a forking mess."
> http://www.smallbizresource.com/document.asp?doc_id=129421

Disagree, for a couple of reasons.  First, there are only a dozen or
so major distros.  The others serve extraordinarily small populations.
Second, the various GNU/Linux distros are largely compatible with one
another.  Third, forking GNU/Linux isn't the same thing as forking a
proprietary product.  (Primarily due to the source compatibility.)
See the "fear of forking" essay at
http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Licensing_and_Law/forking.html.

One of the points in the above essay is that the major BSD distros
continue to persist because there are compelling reasons for the
differentiation (i.e., stability vs portability vs security).

Similarly, this is what I've found in my preliminary analysis of the
dominant dozen or so GNU/Linux distros: that most occupy a unique
market niche serving a particular need.  Also, a quick look at any
list of distros shows that the majority of smaller derivatives occupy
language-specific niches.  (This research is currently on the back
burner, so these conclusions are tentative but, basically, it seems
that most distros are serving a specific, highly targeted,
population.)

To me, personally, it seems nuts to create a whole new derivative
distribution simply to default into your own language but that seems
to explain the majority of small distros out there.

So, yeah, from somebody who doesn't know any better it does seem as if
the GNU/Linux landscape is a mess.  But if you spend any time
examining it and your needs, you quickly realize that (a) there are
only a handful of distros targeted toward your particular niche and
(b) it doesn't really matter which one you use since, at some level,
all are compatible with one another.  Yeah, these are, in a sense,
largely contradictory but they combine such that not only don't we
need to worry about the proliferation of distros but can embrace and
welcome it.

Claude