FOSS and Interface Taxonomy levels

[John Plocher]

Nicolas Williams wrote:
>> Volatile libraries that can be installed by the end user
>> that have an architecture that allows the user to build
>> self-contained silos of stuff?
>> 	Probably extremely valuable
> 
> Examples?
> 
> Also, if such a library is "core" to more than one third-party app or
> non-core FOSS, then how do we help prevent DLL hell?


The key here is "self-contained silos of stuff".

WSARC 2006/130 defined a mechanism to deal with
"Multi-Installation and Management of Layered Products"
where one could install multiple versions of components
in different places so as to avoid the multi-DLL hell
problem.

Think of
     "/usr/local-apache1webstack/",
     "/usr/local-apache22webstack" and
     "/usr/local-appserverwebstack"...

In effect, it says that, if you have multiple 3rd party apps
that have non-resolvable conflicts with each other (or with
stuff in the core), you install them into a silo of their own.

This trades "DLL-Hell because we need multiple versions
co-installed" for "uses more disk space".

   -John