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Wasting space is a byproduct of having too much space. Just because it's bloated does not mean they didn't know it was bloated. They probably didn't care. As t

Wasting space is a byproduct of having too much space. Just because it's bloated does not mean they didn't know it was bloated. They probably didn't care. As time goes by, minimum hardware requirements for operating systems increase. This isn't because it is more difficult to write software, or the hardware stopped being capable of doing the same thing it used to do. It's because software design wastes more resources as those resources become increasingly available. Today, people ship statically compiled binaries of tens to hundreds of megabytes in size because it is convenient to do so. That would have been absolutely insane before increased bandwidth and storage space made it practical. I have an internet connection so fast my wifi card can't use all the bandwidth. What a time to be alive.

thanksgiving 9y ago
I don't know. I like static linking. I'd rather I like things that just work ™. I mean look at PHP for Windows. I can't run php --version because I don't have visual C++ installed. Why? Wouldn't it be easier to include everything you need with your binaries? How much extra stuff are we talking? To me, RAM and processor are much scarcer resources.
- colejohnson66 9y ago
  To me, that just speaks about Microsoft’s failure to make the C++ redistributible API compatible across versions. If it was, they could just bundle them with the OS.
Drdrdrq 9y ago
This is one of the reasons for Docker containers to be so popular. They are basically statically linked apps, carrying everything they need within themselves. But - I like that. Not having to worry about some library version because I know the obe that is supplied is the same one the developer put there. Nice.
- kiallmacinnes 9y ago
  I believe this is a myth! You still very much have to care - for security updates. However, more often than not, you've just lost visibility into what libraries and versions you're actually running..
  - peterwwillis 9y ago
    Yep. The production box no longer needs to have the exact same library packages installed as the dev box, but now it needs the same docker images installed. It's just moving the goal posts - with respect to "dependency problems". The actual benefit to containers is abstracted and unified software components in a complex system. But as we create new, different cloud computing tech, this becomes more difficult, and defeats the purpose somewhat.
  - Drdrdrq 9y ago
    Sure, but that should be part of updates. Even if developer doesn't take care of it, you can rebuild the image to update libraries. Of course app might stop working, but at least other apps/containers still work and you can revert the change easily.

thanksgiving 9y ago

I don't know. I like static linking. I'd rather I like things that just work ™. I mean look at PHP for Windows. I can't run php --version because I don't have visual C++ installed. Why? Wouldn't it be easier to include everything you need with your binaries? How much extra stuff are we talking? To me, RAM and processor are much scarcer resources.

colejohnson66 9y ago
To me, that just speaks about Microsoft’s failure to make the C++ redistributible API compatible across versions. If it was, they could just bundle them with the OS.

Drdrdrq 9y ago

This is one of the reasons for Docker containers to be so popular. They are basically statically linked apps, carrying everything they need within themselves. But - I like that. Not having to worry about some library version because I know the obe that is supplied is the same one the developer put there. Nice.

kiallmacinnes 9y ago
I believe this is a myth! You still very much have to care - for security updates. However, more often than not, you've just lost visibility into what libraries and versions you're actually running..
- peterwwillis 9y ago
  Yep. The production box no longer needs to have the exact same library packages installed as the dev box, but now it needs the same docker images installed. It's just moving the goal posts - with respect to "dependency problems". The actual benefit to containers is abstracted and unified software components in a complex system. But as we create new, different cloud computing tech, this becomes more difficult, and defeats the purpose somewhat.
- Drdrdrq 9y ago
  Sure, but that should be part of updates. Even if developer doesn't take care of it, you can rebuild the image to update libraries. Of course app might stop working, but at least other apps/containers still work and you can revert the change easily.