[matheusmoreira]

Superiority complex?

How many times have we been told that we're entitled freeloaders for expecting Linux compatibility work from others? Insulted by people who use dominant platforms that get all the commercial support while we get literally nothing? Reduced to reverse engineering stuff with no documentation and zero help?

Pretty wild to watch this unfold. Now that Linux is finally coming out ahead, as it should, because people are finally writing software for it... Suddenly we're the bullies.

[whizzter]

This isn't a new thing, like I mentioned in another comment it goes back to freshmeat.net days ("oh, cool a tool to manipulate fileformat-x", "oh ok too full of gcc-isms, linux-only headers to run on either windows or even bsd").

I worked in gamedev, consoles, etc. Linux support was often discussed but the whole mess of different libraries on various distros vs static library linkage legality, evolving audio api's,etc was real blockers (Valve just defaulting on Wine and Win32 binaries for steamdecks could be discussed at length).

Honestly, could even be posited that the rise of the Web as a delivery platform, Java and Node,etc is in large part DUE to the fragmented story of much of C/C++ code platform-tiedness, Linux just happened to move ahead due to it's momentum as the "free" option (quotation marks due to Android).

[matheusmoreira]

> oh ok too full of gcc-isms, linux-only headers to run on either windows or even bsd

You have the source code and it's literally free software. What else do you need?

It's honestly pretty incredible to hear complaints like "it didn't compile on my preferred platform unchanged".

> the whole mess of different libraries on various distros

All the various Berkeley Software Distributions out there don't have different systems and libraries of their own?

This is a user space problem anyway. Linux kernel is actually better here. Linux actually lets you bypass system libraries and talk to the kernel directly. You can write Linux applications in freestanding C and they will work. BSDs will eventually break ABI and your program if you do that.

> static library linkage legality

Nothing illegal about it. Just gotta follow the terms of the GPL. Whether you're willing to do it is a completely separate matter.

> Valve just defaulting on Wine and Win32 binaries for steamdecks could be discussed at length

Don't think there's any discussion to be had here. It's just the pragmatic choice that buys us access to vast amounts of existing software that will never be ported. Linux kernel is even gaining NT functionality now just to support this. Nothing wrong with it.

You can totally get Linux versions of games in the Steam Deck, it's just that they're often second class ports, outdated and generally forgotten by all including the developers. There is no reason whatsoever to sit around waiting for things that will never come.

[justin66]

> Now that Linux is finally coming out ahead

Where have you been for the last quarter century?

[matheusmoreira]

I was using Linux on my machines despite all the difficulties involved.