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Then some central library has a security hole and half your system has to get updated, instead of just one thing. Also, you might like http://sta.li/ http://st

Then some central library has a security hole and half your system has to get updated, instead of just one thing. Also, you might like http://sta.li/ http://sta.li/ ;)

Gormo 16y ago
True enough, if the security hole is in a library that half of the software on my system is using. But most applications have fairly frequent update cycles for their own codebase anyway, and it's just as likely that an update to a central dynamically-linked library might introduce a new security hole that instantly compromises half of my system at once. Thanks for the link to sta.li, I'll check it out. What I'd really like to see is a Linux distro that managed applications the way OSX does - every program is contained in its own directory.
- pyre 16y ago
  IIRC, they still dynamically link against system libraries. It's just that OSX isn't a moving target with respect to what is expected to be in the system in it's 'base' state of a specific version. So you dynamically link against everything that should be in the system in the 'base' state, and then all other libraries need to be self-contained in the .app directory. The problem with this on Linux is that: 1) the 'base' configuration is a moving target that varies across vendors and 2) most of the libraries/etc that would make up that 'base state' are things that people would want to upgrade/modify/whatever (thereby messing up your 'base state' that you were supposed to be able to rely on) (You don't have this on OSX because Apple is the one that controls most of the things in the 'base state').
- astine 16y ago
  "What I'd really like to see is a Linux distro that managed applications the way OSX does - every program is contained in its own directory." That exists, it's called Gobo Linux. I've never touched it, but you can give it a try: http://www.gobolinux.org/ http://www.gobolinux.org/
Symmetry 16y ago
Generally speaking, two vulnerable apps is less than twice as bad as one vulnerable app - and if a centralized repository means that all of your apps are fixed sooner they its a big win.

Then some central library has a security hole and half your system has to get updated, instead of just one thing. Also, you might like http://sta.li/ http://sta.li/ ;)

Gormo 16y ago

True enough, if the security hole is in a library that half of the software on my system is using. But most applications have fairly frequent update cycles for their own codebase anyway, and it's just as likely that an update to a central dynamically-linked library might introduce a new security hole that instantly compromises half of my system at once. Thanks for the link to sta.li, I'll check it out. What I'd really like to see is a Linux distro that managed applications the way OSX does - every program is contained in its own directory.

pyre 16y ago
IIRC, they still dynamically link against system libraries. It's just that OSX isn't a moving target with respect to what is expected to be in the system in it's 'base' state of a specific version. So you dynamically link against everything that should be in the system in the 'base' state, and then all other libraries need to be self-contained in the .app directory. The problem with this on Linux is that: 1) the 'base' configuration is a moving target that varies across vendors and 2) most of the libraries/etc that would make up that 'base state' are things that people would want to upgrade/modify/whatever (thereby messing up your 'base state' that you were supposed to be able to rely on) (You don't have this on OSX because Apple is the one that controls most of the things in the 'base state').
astine 16y ago
"What I'd really like to see is a Linux distro that managed applications the way OSX does - every program is contained in its own directory." That exists, it's called Gobo Linux. I've never touched it, but you can give it a try: http://www.gobolinux.org/ http://www.gobolinux.org/

Symmetry 16y ago

Generally speaking, two vulnerable apps is less than twice as bad as one vulnerable app - and if a centralized repository means that all of your apps are fixed sooner they its a big win.