gEDA-dev: Gschem and Cairo graphics library

[Russell Shaw]

DJ Delorie wrote:
>>I still maintain that if someone can work out how to use a graphical
>>package manager to install regular software, it's not overly
>>optimistic to assume that the can use the same graphical package
>>manager to install the relevant -devel, -dev or [whatever else they
>>happen to be called] packages.
> 
> 
> Ok, I'm an engineer at Red Hat Inc.  I work on the development tools
> that end up in Linux.  Our group designs custom embedded linux
> distros.  I've been a computer programmer for decades.  When I install
> Fedora, I answer mostly defaults in a program designed for dumb users.
> I install pretty much everything (I skip some obscure utilities that
> just get in my way).  Still, the development libraries aren't
> installed.  In order to install them, I've first got to figure out
> which ones I need (no help from the GUI there), figure out where they
> came from (yum helps, but you need to know the right name), and
> install them (watch out for dependencies).  Repeat until the build
> works.
> 
> *I* find the process difficult, and I know what I'm doing.  I feel
> sorry for the non-programmers trying to do this.
> 
>>Using Cairo's (transparent) hardware acceleration would be
>>fantastic.
> 
> If/when the hardware acceleration is so ubiquitous that we don't have
> to worry about the poor user with the slow machine that doesn't have
> hardware support (they're most likely to be bitten by the now-slower
> rendering), let's revisit this option.
> 
>>an 'extras' repository (it's in core on FC5 and Ubuntu, at least. I
>>haven't checked other distros).
> 
> The devel rpms are in core too, they're just not installable from
> anaconda.
> 
>><flame>Having said all that, telling developers who've worked hard
>>on something of genuine use to go take their patches and shove it
>>because it'll make your life slightly more difficult is really poor
>>form.</flame>
> 
> It's not our life, it's the life of our users.  Your plan makes life
> more difficult for most users, while benefiting only some of them.

It's not a problem specific to geda. All that's needed for noobees is
for their linux distro or whatever to have a decent gui tool that tells
them what dependencies are needed as well, and click Ok to install them.
All the right information is there in existing command-line tools, and
only a gui frontend is needed. Then it wouldn't matter how many
dependencies there are, only a matter of how long to download it and
will it fit on the disk. Faster and smaller downloads are always better.