[Rpm-maint] Re: [packaging] [lsb-discuss] RFC: Berlin Packaging API

[Edward Welbourne]

>> >  ISVs MUST have the option to let their customers
>> >  install an application without root access.

> ISV's do not give a rats ass about root access. They want more items
> being sold than their competitor.

This is hopelessly inaccurate.  First, remember that "ISV", for our
purposes, means anyone supplying software that the distro isn't
providing from its repositories: that includes plenty of Free
Software.  Second, even among proprietary ISVs, the software may be
given away rather than sold.  So ISS (independent software supplier)
would be more apt; but we're stuck with existing nomenclature.

In any case, actually we do care about root access or the lack
thereof.  We want individual users to be able to install our software
in their own user-space (and, in fact, there are ways to let them do
so using relocatable packages).  We don't want to force you to be root
(in which case any mistakes we've made in our {pre,post}-{un,}install
scripts are very much more dangerous).  Any ISV who *does* want to
force you to be root should make you nervous (think: Sony root-kit).

	Eddy.