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Why Aren't More Distros Becoming LSB Certified?

Posted by Cliff on from the aren't-standards-a-good-thing? dept.

mydoghasworms asks: "I have done much thinking lately about Linux Standards Base. The idea makes lots of sense: Adopt a standard which will ensure that if some piece of software is compiled on one LSB-compliant system, it will run on any other LSB-compliant system. This would be great for members of the general public who are looking for an alternative to Windows, don't want to pay for Mac, but are looking for a platform where installing and running software is as easy as on the platform they are used to. Seen in that light, if LSB lives up to its promise, it could be the step in Linux's evolution that could see it adopted by the general public. That leaves the question: Why is LSB not seeing greater adoption?" "Is it because it is not marketed well enough? Is the certification process too difficult? Are there perhaps technical challenges to LSB certification not often discussed? If people agree that LSB is in fact what Linux needs right now to ensure widespread adoption, what should be done to create awareness of LSB? Should communities developing Open Source/Free Software projects be encouraged to provide LSB binaries? Your input would be most welcome here."

2 of 651 comments (clear)

  1. This 'coordinated platform' exists now by nurb432 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Its called FreeBSD, and you use the ports system..

    No dependency problem, no wondering if package X works with linux distro Y.

    It just works..

    And yes, i fully expectto be modded as a troll, as i wasnt blindly supporting linux... bad me..

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  2. pie in the sky by hikerhat · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Anything that requires everybody to manually play by the rules to work will not work. An app that requires files to be in a certain location on the file system is broken. An OS that requires (or makes it hard not to require) apps to know where on the file system files are is broken.

    Perhaps giving every file (or logical unit of information really. Doesn't have to be a "file") created a globably uniqe id would be a step in the right direction. Then, when an app needs a file (library or data file) to run, it doesn't need to know where the file is. It just tells the OS (or some layer on top of the OS) "Give me the file with ID foo". The filesystem finds it, no matter where it is because every file written to the file system has its globally uniqe id indexed.

    Doesn't .net do something like this?