October 08, 2004

Subversion/Apache: Harder Than It Ought To Be

I hate stupid software. The Subversion installation program kindly offers to install the Apache modules needed to use Subversion through Apache. Sure, thanks, go right ahead! Uhhh, did we forget to mention we're going to stop the service, un-install it, re-configure it, and start it again? Sure. Wait. What happened to re-installing as a service? Uhhh. Did you really want it to work the way it did before? Silly me.

As for Apache. Sigh. When are they going to provide a solid, official GUI for this thing? Get over the *nix thing. Nobody that uses *nix sits in front of a command prompt 24x7 hacking away at text-based config files. And if they do, they're idiots. Come on in the water's great. Anyway, *nix has some great GUIs... so what gives? It's not like Apache doesn't get downloaded a bazillion times a year. Quit making shit harder than it needs to be! This doesn't make Apache 3L33T it just makes it stupid.

Update:
Proof of my point. Look at the length of the instructions to setup subversion to work with Apache. WTF? Nothing should take this many steps to install and configure. Say what you will about the Windows world, developers for that platform go the extra mile to get the software up and running so you can spend your time using it, not figuring out how to get it to run. This is why *nix will continue to be a second-rate desktop platform for a long time to come - never you mind about monopolies. It's not that the open source/linux software is inferior - it may be more stable, better designed etc - but if you want to grow acceptance, follow Sun Tzu's advice Build a Golden Bridge.

Posted by Christian at October 8, 2004 12:13 PM |
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