[BioRuby] Ruby installation

[Iain Barnett]

My aversion to Reply All catches me again… (o.O)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Iain Barnett <iainspeed at gmail.com>
Date: 2 May 2014 01:16
Subject: Re: [BioRuby] Ruby installation
To: Pjotr Prins <pjotr.public14 at thebird.nl>


So how do you get your data files onto the VM? Yes, that requires more
> instructions. Next you need to explain how a container works inside a
> computer. Then they use 2 editors on 2 accounts to work with data?
> Come on guys, it is not that straightforward. I also use VMs all the
> time (I am writing this E-mail on one) and I contributed quite a bit
> to CloudBioLinux.


You *provide* the VM. You *provide* the files. You *provide* the tools you
used to build the VM. You *provide* the process you used. Then anyone can
jump in at any level, either just load a file, or load a file and
reconfigure, or tweak your process and dump whatever isn't wanted.

Either you want things configurable and bespoke, or you want them simple
and straightforward. You can't have your cake and eat it.

I don't understand this fascination with GUIX. What does it get me that the
other 70 build tools don't have? Each one has its own sweetspot, and none
of them have "won" the battle, which suggests this is an *incredibly* hard
problem.

Most of all, until everyone on this list moves to http://semver.org/ for
versioning, this is a moot point for me anyway. There's no point talking
about build tools until you've fixed your version numbers.

Regards,
Iain



On 1 May 2014 20:12, Gianluca Della Vedova <gianluca at dellavedova.org> wrote:

> On 01/05/2014 at 09:39, Pjotr Prins wrote:
>
>  On Thu, May 01, 2014 at 08:21:03AM +0100, Iain Barnett wrote:
>>
>> I simply care about others using my software. What they experience is
>> that it is too HARD to use my software. The HARD part is deployment.
>> Which sucks because I write great software ;). I am not targeting Ruby
>> programmers here, my first audience is people who want to run a Ruby
>> tool on the command line without everythink exploding in their face.
>>
>> But even a newbie should be able to simply install a tool and program
>>
>>  require 'bio'.
>>
>> It is amazing how many fail around me. I can only guess to extrapolate
>> what that means on a mondial scale. Ruby is going to lose out. Better
>> have them learn some easier to deploy language if we remain in this
>> mind set - that is what I am thinking.
>>
>
> Not sure that is only (or mainly) a Ruby problem. What language leads to
> easier deployment? Besides php, I can't find any.
>
>
>
>> When you actually read
>>
>>  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6891214
>>
>> Ruby is mentioned specifically. Yesterday, on Slashdot the same
>>
>>  'Ruby makes sysadmins cry. I tried updating a legacy server yesterday
>> that is running a ruby app. After two hours of trying to make it work, I
>> gave up.'
>>
>> in
>>
>>  http://ask.slashdot.org/story/14/04/30/1344224/c-and-the-
>> stl-12-years-later-what-do-you-think-now?utm_source=rss1.
>> 0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
>>
>> I am not making this up. These are both non-Ruby threads! We have a real
>> and
>> acute problem if you start reading up on this shit and see people
>> struggle.
>>
> That's true. But in this case we are not talking about newbies. The
> solution could be different.
>
> Anyway, I am interested in finding a better way to setup a teaching
> environment for students/newbies.
>
>>
>> rvm's and VM are actually the problem, not the solution. We are happy
>> in our own little boxes ignoring the outside world. Remember some
>> facts about evolution?
>>
>> We need to come up with a sensible protocol that I can give to any
>> student for his laptop and any system adminstrator on a compute
>> cluster.
>>
>> Software is software. We can solve it. The only reason we are not
>> solving it is that *we* do not really care about other users. We are
>> ignoring them.
>>
>> Pj.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BioRuby Project - http://www.bioruby.org/
>> BioRuby mailing list
>> BioRuby at lists.open-bio.org
>> http://lists.open-bio.org/mailman/listinfo/bioruby
>>
> _______________________________________________
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> BioRuby mailing list
> BioRuby at lists.open-bio.org
> http://lists.open-bio.org/mailman/listinfo/bioruby
>