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Ok but what purpose do stub commands serve? What user is smart enough to be running command line tools but also too stupid to figure out how to install Python?
by knolax 6y ago
Ok but what purpose do stub commands serve? What user is smart enough to be running command line tools but also too stupid to figure out how to install Python? Even if you did want to tell users how to install it you could just do it the Ubuntu way and make it a part of the error the shell throws when it can't find the program. If a program is not installed the expected behavior is that trying to run it leads to some sort error, not a fake program that engages in completely different behavior. If I see /usr/bin/python on my system then I'm going to assume that Python is installed. There's no point in subverting that expectation.
- oefrha 6y agoA lot of non-technical users are told to run this, run that in the console to solve random problems all the time. When they get an error they don’t try to interpret it, they get all confused and send you a screenshot (that behavior isn’t even non-technical user specific). Popping up an actual solution where they could install in a few clicks is actually welcome. I would also think that people who are smart enough to complain about this are smart enough to understand path resolution and no fuck up their PATH, but here we are. Who would have guessed.
- knolax 6y agoThis isn't about PATH resolution, this is about pretending to have a program installed when it isn't. As other comments have pointed out, this "actual solution" also fucks up any Python script you try to run because nobody writes scripts thinking "what if python isn't actually python". What's next, selling a car that looks like it has an engine, but on closer inspection actually only has a flyer for the closest mechanic under the hood? Should I check if my plane actually has wings instead of cardboard cutouts made to look like wings every time I take a flight too?