[libc-alpha] Re: [open-source] Re: Wish for 2002

[Linus Torvalds]

On 9 Jan 2002, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:
> Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com> writes:
>
> > No, it's not.
> >
> > Technically simple, yes.
> >
> > But from a user perspective it is absolutely _useless_. Because you still
> > cannot depend on the functions being there in glibc, even if _BSD_SOURCE
> > is defined.
>
> Excuse me?  If you add the functions, conditional on _BSD_SOURCE, then
> how exactly would programs not be able to depend on them?

Let's see now, the upgrade cycle for glibc right now is on the order of 2
years or so, and we still have stragglers that haven't even upgraded to
glibc _at_all_.

> But that's an argument for *never* adding functions to glibc.  After
> all, any really useful function is already going to be carried around
> just in case its absent.

Agreed.

I think glibc is a bloated piece of software already. The more arguments
people can come up with for not making it even bigger and slower, the
better.

So the arguments _for_ adding to it have to be damn strong. I don't think
they have been so far.

		Linus