Incompatible Linux Distributions
We aim to support as broad a variety of platforms as we can with our software. It is good for customers and good for our software quality - we tend to design software better knowing that it has to run on multiple platforms.
But the Linux distribution situation drives us up a wall. I remember that 7-8 years ago, we were fighting libc incompatibilies. 2005, and the situation looks just as bad. I am not sure anyone wins (OK, I know one company that wins if Linux loses ;-)). I don’t understand the “differentiation” here. Wouldn’t a less popular distribution benefit by making sure all the software that runs on a more popular distribution will work without modification on theirs too? Won’t that be a force for compatibility and standardization?
Does anyone know a good way to support the top 3-4 Linux distributions with a minimum of pain? It looks like we need to create at least 2-3 packages for Linux, tailored to different distributions (and versions, that is another horror!).