Re: A better ICQ client for Java

[Chris Chio <clchio@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey guys!

Could someone shed some light on this library situation?  I am (almost)
completely uninitiated in the world of programming (makes me wonder what
the hell I'm doing with linux!).  I just might be one of the consumers
targeted by the LSB editorials on the 'freshmeat' site
(http://news.freshmeat.net/1998/07/05/).  That is, someone that wants an
easy to install and use distribution, just to get things up and
running.  All of the other wonderful goodies should be there, to be
explored when the time is right (I consider the 'goodies' to be the
things that let a more knowledgable user take total control of the
system) .  Along those lines, I have visited the Caldera site, and I
like the look of the 'Base' package.  Does anyone have experience with
this distribution?  If so, care to share?

As far as the library discussions go, I have some pretty basic
questions:
Which libraries are being discussed here?
Why do different libraries exist?
How did the different libraries evolve?
Why don't they have the same functions in them?
If the same functions are present, are they called in different ways? 
If so, why?
Is it hard to just add to a library?  If someone wants a new function,
does it require the construction of a whole new library?

That's a lot to ask, I know, but those questions came to me as I was
reading the editorials.  I guess the big question is:  How did
developers convince themselves that it was a good idea to have different
libraries?  As I said before, I know next to nothing about this stuff,
and I'm assuming that the professionals must have had good reasons for
doing something at one time that now seems so incredibly wasteful and
counterproductive.  What were those reasons?  If they are truly good
reasons, how can the LSB prevent it from happening again?

Baffled as usual,
Chris Chio