Lee -
As I understand it, Windows shared libraries are not versioned, in the
sense that you can only have one version of a given library installed
at a time. If you have two programs that require different versions
of a library, then one of them will be broken. In Linux, you can have
several versions of a library installed, and the loader will link each
program with the appropriate one.
Of course, a programmer can still make an incompatible change to a
library and neglect to update the version number, but at least the
system does provide the mechanisms to "do the right thing".
- Jim Van Zandt
>From: Lee Maschmeyer <lee_maschmeyer@wayne.edu>
>Date: Sun, 08 Dec 2002 21:15:37 -0500
>
>Hello!
>
>Facing reality, folks:
>
>If you ask this group to compare Windows and Linux at any time for any
>purpose in any version whatsoever, guess who's gonna win!
>
>This isn't surprising since the members of this group generally know Linux
>better than Windows. People feel better about and are more comfortable with
>things they know well. Moreover, since Linux is an inherently simpler system
>and tries to do less for you, things are likely to be more straightforward.
>
>However:
>
>Uninstall _programs_ are _programs_. Just like any other programs they can
>have bugs, and the emotional investment of programmers being what it is,
>it's highly likely uninstall programs receive relatively little testing.
>Further, anyone who doesn't know an operating system very well is likely to
>attribute to it ills that people more familiar with it will wish to correct.
>I, for example, know Windows much better than Linux at this point, so I may
>have erred here. On the other hand, someone said people will replace Windows
>libraries with their own versions because the standard ones are deemed not
>good enough. While it's possible to program just about anything if you try
>hard enough (and I can think of at least one instance where this has been
>alleged though not pin-pointed the last I heard), I can't see why Linux
>would prohibit people from doing the same thing.
>
>Personally, I've always liked the Windows model of putting the whole
>component (aside from shared system libraries) in one tree; executable,
>libraries, help files, manuals, DLLs etc. are more than likely all in the
>same place. Delete that tree, you delete everything. In Unix, though (and I
>assume Linux), you've got binaries under some flavor of /bin or /usr/bin or
>/usr/local/bin, manuals under /usr/man or related (or unrelated) entities,
>libraries under /lib or /lib/share or whatever ... An uninstall package that
>remembers to grab all of these will uninstall everything; a package that
>forgets something, or a user who forgets something, will leave stuff behind.
>
>Bottom line: The uninstall is as good as the uninstaller, not as good as the
>operating system.
>
>--
>
>Lee Maschmeyer
>lee_maschmeyer@wayne.edu
>
>"Now I've reached the awkward age of man:
>Too old for Castoria and too young for Serutan."
> --Homer & Jethro
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