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Getting Software Added to Unix Distributions?

suso asks: "I've been working on a set of programs called num-utils that I would eventually like to be considered for inclusion in some of the many free Un*x distributions (on the install CDs, etc). So my question is, how does one put their applications on the track to be included in the main distribution of Red Hat, Debian, SuSE, *BSD, and so on? Is this just something that is up to the maintainers or are there submission forms of some kind?"

19 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. Linux is not Unix by Flounder · · Score: 4, Funny

    unless, of course, SCO wins their lawsuit.

    --

    No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova

    1. Re:Linux is not Unix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      GNU is also not Unix. :P

    2. Re:Linux is not Unix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      Try:
      ^*n[iu]x
      If you're going to nitpick, nitpick properly!!!
    3. Re:Linux is not Unix by MesiahTaz · · Score: 2, Funny

      No. Gnu's Not Unix.

      --
      Are you an open source warrior?
    4. Re:Linux is not Unix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      Did I just notice a recursive acronym here?
      Linux Is Not UniX

      Prepare to be modded down.

  2. Write a text editor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Write another text editor app, then it will be sure to be included in the distro. Distros dont have enough text editors in them.

  3. Re:Make noiseb about it by DrWhizBang · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now, the main question is does it do ogg ?

    It doesn't matter about ogg. Once it reads mail, then it is feature complete.

    --
    Schrodinger's cat is either dead or really pissed off...
  4. Is your app a virus by any chance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    If so it will add itself eventually.

  5. THIS IS THE TROLL U WERE LOOKING FOR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny
    OPEN SOURCE? MORE LIKE OPENLY RACIST

    The Open Source movement, otherwise known as 'Free Software', has been a topic of considerable debate on the Internet's most controversial site. The majority of this debate has centered around the technical merits of the software, with the esteemed editors argueing against adopting Linux by employing the full depth of their considerable intellects, and the other side hurling death threats and similar invective. This has allowed many who would not otherwise receive quality information about Open Source software to be made aware of many of its ramifications, but one issue has been left alone: The overt racism that is deeply embedded in the movement.

    Allow me to explain.

    Alan Cox; Richard Stallman; Bruce Perens; Wichert Akkerman; Miguel DeIcaza.

    What do you see in this list of names? Are there any African-Americans on it? Absolutely not, none of those names sound like one a self-respecting black person would have! No Maurice, no Luther, no Lil' Kim. There are many other lists such as this, you can see one here. Flip through each page, do you see anything other than white faces? Of course you don't, because Open Source and its adherents are ardent racists and they absolutely forbid access to the sacred 'kernel' by any person of color.

    Lets look at another list, this time a compendium of the companies using Linux. Are there any black owned companies on that list? Nooooooo. How about these companies? They all have something to do with Open Source software, any of them owned by an African-American? No again. Here is an extensive collection of photographs from a LUG (Linux User Gathering) meeting, more can be viewed at that link. What is odd about these pictures, and every other photograph I have ever seen of a LUG meeting, is that there is not one single black person to be seen, and probably none for miles.

    More racist overtones can be found by examining the language of Open Source. They often refer to 'white hat' hackers. These 'white hats' scurry about the Internet doing good, but illegal, acts for their fellow man. In stark contrast we find the 'black hat' hackers. They destroy the good works of others by breaking into systems, stealing data, and generally causing havoc. These two terms reflect the mindset of most Linux developers. White means good, black means bad. Anywhere there is black, there is uncontrollable destruction and lawlessness. Looking further we see black lists that inform other users of 'bad' hardware, Samba, an obvious play on the much hated Little Black Sambo book, Mandrake, which I won't explain except to say that the French are notorious racists. This type is linguistic discrimination is widespread throughout the Open Source culture, lampooned by many of its more popular sites.

    It is also a fact that all Unix 'distros' contain a plethora of racist commands with not so hidden symbolism.

    It can hardly be coincidence that the prime operating system of choice of the 'open source supremacists' - Linux, features commands which are poorly disguised racist acronyms. For example: 'awk' (All White Klan) , 'sed' (shoot nEgroes dead), 'ln' (lynch negroes), 'rpm' (raical purity mandatory), 'bash' (bring a slave home), 'ps' (persecute sambo), 'mount' (murder or unseat nubians today), 'fsck' (favored supreme Christian klan). I could go on and on about the latent racist symbolism in Linux, but I fear it would take weeks to enumerate every incidence.

    Is there a single unix command out there that does not have some hidden racist connotation ? Suffice it to say that the racism pervades Linux like a particularly bad smell. Can you imagine the effect of running such a racist operating system on the impressionable mind ? I don't have to remind you that transmitting subliminal messages is banned in the USA, and yet here we have an operating system that appears to be one enormous submliminal ad for the Klan!

    One of the few selling points of Open Source software is that it is available in many differ

  6. Re:Simple by trikberg · · Score: 4, Funny

    2. get the werd out. If people know about your package, it could solve a problem somewhere that would get it installed.

    Somehow I get a feeling that he has that one covered. :)

    --
    This post is free (as in cheese in a mousetrap).
  7. Simply send it to SCO by Advocadus+Diaboli · · Score: 5, Funny

    They will take care of it and will find evidences that your code is already illegally included in all major distributions, the kernel and the rest of the world. And they will offer a license for using it.

  8. e-mail by jpmorgan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Make sure it can check your e-mail. No software is complete until it can check your e-mail.

  9. GNU Development Model by isa-kuruption · · Score: 1, Funny

    1) Code
    2) Mention on /. you've written some C code to do what 2 lines of shell could do
    3) ????
    4) Profit?!

  10. HE's from SCO! by servicepack158 · · Score: 4, Funny

    He's trying to sour the batch! Don't let him near it! :) j/k

  11. Meanwhile for Windows developers... by Flashpoint+X · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thankfully in the Windows world I don't have to concern myself about getting included in "official" distributions... I prefer to distribute my software via self-propagating emails. ;)

  12. Re:Publish first to website. by BetterThanCaesar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Savannah (the GNU equivalent of Sourceforge) also carries a lot of near-dead projects.

    Savannah, where GNUs go to die...?

    --
    "Stop failing the Turing test!" -- Dilbert
  13. It's in Gentoo... by dotgod · · Score: 2, Funny
    alexscomp alex # emerge -s num-utils
    Searching...
    [ Results for search key : num-utils ]
    [ Applications found : 1 ]

    * sys-apps/num-utils
    Latest version available: 0.3
    Latest version installed: 0.3
    Size of downloaded files: 28 kB
    Homepage: http://suso.suso.org/programs/num-utils/
    Description: Set of programs for dealing with numbers from the command line

    HAHA don't get so excited...just pulling your leg.

  14. easy by hexix · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just put a blatant plug for it in the form of a question on Slashdot.

    Oh, wait. Nevermind.

    For real though, just post it on freshmeat and if people have an interest it'll get popular quick.

  15. To be included in Solaris... by Chris_Keene · · Score: 4, Funny

    For Solaris, once your util becomes an essential application used everyday by 99.9% of Solaris users, Sun and your good self can follow this procedure:

    - Use the Solaris package tools to create a package for your program, make the default install directory somethig sensible such as /opt/SUNWats/sun4u/bin/thiswillneverbeinyourPATH/p kg1921u9238/

    - make sure the package requires a few libraries that will take a least a day of pain to install on to any Solaris box.

    - Ensure to include a man page, avoid using words with less 5 syllables, refer to everything as n.

    - now do nothing for roughly six years (more if the program is required for other popular applications).

    - Once that is done, send the package to sunfreeware (because downloading endless packages from the designed-by-satan website is by far the quickest way of installing essential programs via a text based console).

    - It can sometimes only take a few years from this point for Sun to include it on the Solaris CDs!

    - Of course, they will first need to put it through the flag-randomiser to ensure no command line switch is the same as what it is for every other OS in known universe. It will also remove --help and -h, to avoid you having to do this yourself.

    - Just think, by Solaris 27 (aka SunOS 2.9.1) you can see your package installed by default from a Solaris CD!

    cjk
    PS remember, if your program involves text editing, ensure it implicitly uses ed, lord knows what confusion it will course otherwise.

    --
    You will forget this sig before you next see it