On Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:11:27 -0500
Homer Parker <hparker@gentoo.org> wrote:
> On Thu, 2012-06-21 at 08:00 +0100, Ciaran McCreesh wrote:
> > In case you're not aware, the first time Gentoo did multilib, it was
> > done as a series of random changes to Portage that no-one really
> > thought through or understood. As you can see, that didn't work... 
> 
> 	No, but paved the way for other distros as they had nothing
> even close. I'm sure you remember back then. Don't be an ass.

And what did Gentoo get out of it?

What I remember is Gentoo putting in lots of work randomly changing
things until things worked, and ending up not knowing what most of
those changes were or why they were done. The end result is that
there's still a random smattering of multilib-related mess cluttering
up ebuild internals that doesn't actually do anything except cause
intermittent breakages. Doing experiments is great as a way of
understanding the problem, but it isn't how you deliver a solution.
That takes a lot more work, and someone has to be prepared to do it.

-- 
Ciaran McCreesh