[core] Re: [darcs-users] darcs on MS Windows

Sean E. Russell ser at germane-software.com
Sat Dec 20 17:53:32 UTC 2003


On Saturday 20 December 2003 04:29, Emiliano Heyns wrote:
> darcs client. Some people (and that incidently includes me, and most
> certainly any of my colleagues that would ever be using this) would
> choose to use binaries to save time, even if we *could* build our own.

FWIW, you'll save more valuable time if you compile it yourself.  Compiling 
darcs (or anything else) can be done "offline" -- while you're off doing 
something else.  The performance gains for a tuned binary will show up when 
you're using darcs, which is more valuable.

I can see where Adam is coming from.  Maintaining binaries for every 
conceivable platform is tedious, and resource-intensive.  On top of that is 
the distaste one gets for people who start acting entitled about free 
software, as if the developer somehow owes them something.  Finally, the 
irony of a target group of developers -- developers, mind you, not Joe User 
-- who are unwilling to compile their own tools probably sent Adam over the 
edge.

What we privileged developers -- those of us who are fortunate to be able to 
use a decent operating system -- have to keep in mind that it is positively 
painful to compile things under Windows.  I'd guess that you have to first 
install gcc (and its dependencies), and then install ghc, before you can even 
begin compiling darcs.  That equates to several reboots and probably needing 
to re-install Windows once or twice.  ;-)

-- 
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