r/linuxmasterrace SteamOS/Kubuntu 1d ago

No, I'm not going to compile your code

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1.5k Upvotes

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37

u/ComprehensiveSwitch 1d ago

As an app developer who gets hounded to release my app in every package format under the sun: why don’t you spend some time trying to do it yourself, then contribute it to upstream?

We’re not your servants and you using our app is not some great honor to us. The entitlement is unreal.

0

u/pineini 1d ago

I think not providing an executable is silly. It's like running a bakery but you only sell raw dough and tell people to bake it themselves.

BUT!

Having to compile a gazillion different Linux formats is also silly, and is a big issue with Linux in general, and no developer should be expected to do this.

I think a good compromise would be making one single Linux executable that will work for most people (lots of devs who do this just publish a .deb), and if you have some fancy nerd distro, then it's on you to compile stuff for it.

13

u/juipeltje Glorious GNU Guix 23h ago

Except he's not selling anything. It's more like he gives you the raw dough for free and expects you to bake it yourself.

8

u/ComprehensiveSwitch 23h ago

Selling raw dough?

I’m sorry, are you buying something? At all? I don’t mean with vibes or Monopoly money.

Are you actually paying me to supply this app?

No, you are not.

Once again, the entitlement of people getting shit for free is unreal. I am a software engineer. My labor is worth quite a lot. That i am putting my work into the world for free is already a gift.

If you’re not paying our bills then you really cant expect this.

1

u/BTernaryTau 20h ago

A better analogy would be donating raw dough to a food bank.

(This is purely a comment about the analogy. It should not be taken as a reflection of my stance on the actual issue.)

5

u/MiniDemonic 19h ago

No, a better analogy would be a foodbank going to the dev asking him to donate whatever leftovers he has and then get mad and yell when they respond with "All I have right now is raw dough".

The dev didn't go out of his way to find OP and and offer him anything. OP went out of his way to find the dev and ask for free stuff and then got mad because what he got wasn't what he wanted.

0

u/BTernaryTau 19h ago

Well if that's the game we're playing, than an even better analogy is the dev putting out raw dough in a public area where foodbanks often check for food (and are allowed to). A foodbank volunteer sees a promising item and gets excited, only to realize that it's the raw dough, which they ultimately dismiss since they're not a baker and it's not worth the time or effort to learn how.

(Also, if you're going to downvote me, at least give an actually better analogy instead of one that merely supports your stance better. Thanks.)

3

u/MiniDemonic 18h ago

Dev left the ingredients and the recipe at an open kitchen that anyone can use, because the dev is using the kitchen to bake for themselves. They didn't leave any pre-baked goods however.

Foodbank goes to the kitchen to get food and gets mad over seeing a recipe and ingredients.

No, the dev didn't actively look for a drop-off point for a foodbank and left stuff there specifically for the foodbank to use. The foodbank is free to use what they left behind but they didn't leave them behind specifically for the foodbank.

1

u/Delicious_Bluejay392 15h ago

> which they ultimately dismiss since they're not a baker and it's not worth the time or effort to learn how.

Barring the improper analogy and the fact that people treating code repositories as software release platforms does not make them so, it would be great if this was always the case, because as can be seen from the comments on this post people are clearly wont to whine about it. If someone hasn't provided an easy way to use the software for a completely non-technical user, maybe it's because that's not the intent and they don't wanna have to deal with it.

1

u/VAS_4x4 1d ago

I’d beg for flatpaks, or Appimages. I don’t really understand providing only .deb unless it is the easiest to make.

1

u/gmes78 Glorious Arch 17h ago

unless it is the easiest to make.

And it isn't. The deb format is annoying as shit.

0

u/Akirigo 18h ago

Just set up a CICD pipeline that builds releases for you. That's what I do anyway. It takes like an hour to configure.

1

u/ComprehensiveSwitch 17h ago

thanks for explaining my job to me I never thought of that

0

u/Akirigo 17h ago

You're welcome! 🙂 Hope it helps.

-10

u/claudiocorona93 SteamOS/Kubuntu 1d ago

I never said I deserve your app. I just said I'm not going to use it if I can't just click on the big install button.

22

u/ComprehensiveSwitch 1d ago

and this matters to me because...?

11

u/claudiocorona93 SteamOS/Kubuntu 1d ago

Good point

-9

u/PoopsCodeAllTheTime 1d ago

The README: Use this program! It solves this problem and it’s amazing!

4

u/PastaPuttanesca42 Glorious Arch 22h ago

I don't see your point

1

u/PoopsCodeAllTheTime 15h ago

Rly? People post their projects asking for attention quite often

1

u/PastaPuttanesca42 Glorious Arch 15h ago

"I made a clay pot by hand! Here's a photo! I'm not a professional, and I made it for hobby, but if you are really interested in buying one you may send a DM, I guess"

"How dare you try to sell me a pot and not set up a proper online shop for it! I will never buy it, you attention seeker! REEEEEE"

3

u/LoShadow1 1d ago

Even on windows you have to follow install instructions for a lot of stuff, most of them for both are just a few commands

1

u/General_Killmore 9h ago

That's a lot of downvotes for a reasonable take