Programmers vs. Users (prerequisites)

Category: Venting

Programmers HATE the idea of prerequisite packages. That is when building a software package or an RPM, when a message pops up that says another package is required. This is wonderful. It keeps the bare minimum number of prerequisites for a given package. I'm just surprised how strongly programmers try to avoid them. That is a good thing too. It does help me understand why I have to do so much work to get things to work from a user point of view. On Windows, most packages include what they need. This leads to DLL hell.  In open source, you are not really aloud to include other folks stuff unless you comply with all kinds of rules so they don't. The user has to track shit down and make it work. Good for programmers. Bad for customers. Well, not so much bad as annoying.

Which is better? Well, It depends on who you are. They are both good and bad. Users buy software. If it is annoying, they will find alternatives. Programmers, well, are programmers. They want things to work. Every other decision we make is to eliminate users having to call us for support. that is a good thing for both users and programmers. Sacrifices are made in the design. Alternatives like etching your data on a clay tablet, start to look better.

You get the dilemma? I'm bad at explaining this stuff. I'll give up before I explain my way into a corner.