FreeBSD 9

Frank Shute frank at shute.org.uk
Thu Jan 19 20:01:17 UTC 2012


On Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 11:22:14AM -0800, Devin Teske wrote:
>
> 
> 
> > 
> > On Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 11:15:08AM +0100, Eduardo Morras wrote:
> > >
> > > I think that a full/complete update of the old installer to add
> > > it support GEOM, ZFS, scripting and more newer features will
> > > consume more manpower and resources than create a new one from
> > > scratch, where the devs aren't chained by old code, backwards
> > > compatibility, old restrictions and old point of views. This
> > > way, is easier correct bugs, new features, simplify the
> > > installation and even automate it to this new installer than try
> > > to add them to the old one.
> > 
> > I'm curious: Is this just speculation, or have you determined this
> > by reading
> the
> > source of the old installer?  Old code means *tested* code, and
> > when it is
> well-
> > maintained it often means easily extensible code.  Is that the
> > case for the
> old
> > installer, or is the older installer a crufty mess of "temporary"
> > fixes that
> became
> > permanent, as your statements seem to imply?
> > 
> 
> I believe the "difficulty in maintenance" stems primarily from the
> fact that the existing partition editor MAY have to be entirely
> rewritten to accommodate other root filesystem types (but even
> that's not entirely true -- if done right).
> 
> Other than that, it's most likely just FUD and misperception that
> sysinstall(8) is either (a) hard to maintain or (b) hard to extend.
> -- Devin

To quote the manpage for sysinstall:

BUGS

<snip>

     This utility is a prototype which lasted several years past its expira-
     tion date and is greatly in need of death.

     There are a (great) number of undocumented variables.  UTSL.


I welcome the new installer. sysinstall was a piece of buggy garbage
that gave a pretty poor first impression of FreeBSD.

The new installer will get better with time.


Regards,

-- 

 Frank

 Contact info: http://www.shute.org.uk/misc/contact.html


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