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I've asked a question about packaging. I was compiling multiple depending libraries into one static, and was wondering if there was a smarter and systematic way to determine compatible versions rather than just trial & error.

My question was closed as unprofessional / off-topic here:

https://serverfault.com/questions/575263/when-compiling-how-can-i-find-out-which-dependency-versions-are-known-supposed

I left a comment saying that I'm doing packaging from my profession as sysadmin, and asked what would have been a better stack exchange site to post my question, but I never got a reply.

I'm certainly not impatient or looking to violate any stackexchange rules, I'm just genuinely looking for the right way/place to ask about this.

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  • I didn't originally see this question; if I had, I would have asked you why you were doing this at all.
    – Michael Hampton Mod
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 11:18
  • meta.serverfault.com/questions/3772/…
    – user9517
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 11:32
  • 2
    Imho it's a general question about how to resolve compiling issues in a smarter way. It's illustrated with exact errors of a real life example. As for why I'm packaging this static, I'm not sure if that's relevant, but I'm looking to offer a new version of Imagemagick to my customers and make it an opt-in. Otherwise I would break backwards compatibility for users of the current version. I figured creating all-in-one statics would allow me to do so, without introducing new servers or e.g. Docker.
    – kvz
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 11:44
  • You asked it on serverfault instead of stackoverflow. That's why it was off topic.
    – hookenz
    Commented Mar 8, 2014 at 0:12

2 Answers 2

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I'd like to put up another candidate.

Given these constraints:

  • SO doesn't accept it because it's not about solving a programming issue, but about using tools
  • SF doesn't accept it because it's about compiling software, not systems administration
  • The question is about how to do this on a Unix system

It would seem to me that there is a third option, namely unix/linux. Their help center lists the following among their on-topic list

  • Using or administering a *nix desktop or server
  • Applications packaged in *nix distributions (note: being cross-platform does not disqualify)

So the question would seem to be entirely appropriate there. Also, there are some brilliant unix people there from whom I've learned a lot, so I'd give it a reasonable chance of getting a good answer.

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  • Thank you for the suggestion. I think we've reached consensus on it. Can I get the question migrated to unix/linux or should I just repost it there?
    – kvz
    Commented Mar 11, 2014 at 11:02
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Your question is actually about compiling code and dependencies thereof, not packaging the results of the compilation. For me, this puts it firmly in SO's realm. The people there deal with compilation etc on a daily basis, as a sysadmin I might do it occasionally. They are more likely to be able to help than we are.

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  • Thanks. I'm solving a sysadmin problem, but I can also see how SO would make sense. However if that was the reason for moderation, shouldn't the question better be migrated as was done with e.g. this question vs locked & deleted?
    – kvz
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 11:49
  • 2
    @kvz: I'm only expressing my opinion, I don't recall how I voted on it but it was split 3 to 2 so the 3 won and they chose not to migrate it. It was deleted by the cleaning fairies because it was at -1 and not edited for several days - this happens to all closed and apparently abandoned questions.
    – user9517
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 11:58
  • @lain: Understood, I appreciate your thoughts on this
    – kvz
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 12:02
  • FWIW, @kvz, I don't think I voted on this, but if I had, I would have voted to migrate. Since it's compiling code and dependencies, I would have considered it more of a Stack Overflow question myself. That's also just my opinion.
    – Katherine Villyard
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 20:45
  • 1
    @KatherineVillyard you're correct you didm't vote on it.
    – user9517
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 20:47

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