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Why Linux is like pizza

Evan Leibovitch | March 12, 2001 12:00 AM PST

Summary

Would you like anchovies with your open-source code?

Topics

Evan Leibovitch, Technology News
Not many people anywhere, let alone in the open-source world, have heardof the Mettle distribution of Linux. You won't find it in ZDNet'slist of downloadable distributions, or even the huge list maintainedbyLinux Weekly News. Indeed, it has not generated a sentence's worth ofpublic mention until now.

Why? Because it's the distribution used internally by only oneorganization, my company, Starnix, as the foundation of its variousservers, firewalls, and special-purpose systems. Mettle, based looselyonRed Hat 6.2 but with significant modifications, serves an importantfunction for Starnix, but the nature of its many customizations arelikelyof little use to folks on the outside.

That's part of the beauty of open source in general and Linux's approachspecifically. When you have the source, you can tailor your computer'soperating environment to do just about anything you want. This level ofcustomization is unthinkable and unattainable in the closed-sourceworld.

It was with Mettle in mind that I read the reaction to a recentcolumn by my colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. In that piece, theauthor offered a bet that Caldera and Red Hat would be the last majorLinux distributions standing once the rest inevitably died off.

I'll take that bet in a heartbeat. And I'll win it, too, for no otherreason than my confidence that Debian willoutlast any commercial distribution; Debian doesn't need to appeaseshareholders, just the communitythat builds it.

Steven reiterates the idea that massive consolidation -- or the dying outof "lesser" distributions -- is a necessary part of Linux's growing up.That idea was repeated in anotherrecent commentary by Stephen Shankland. But I disagree strongly. Awide range of Linux distributions is good for Linux's growth, and thediversity itself is a part of that growth. While the Linux world hasn'tseen its last consolidation, takeover, or outright abandonment, thatdoesn't mean that the smaller players don't have a role to play in thesuccess of Linux.

With Red Hat and Caldera's well-funded worldwide organizations at oneendof the scale and small distros such as Mettle at the other, we have averybroad spectrum out there. The best analogy I could find came out of one of the Linux Today replies to Steven's piece: Linux is likepizza.

Pizza is a known product with a widely available recipe that's subjecttomodifications by everyone who makes it. Everyone has access to the toolsto make or customize their own, yet most folks choose to have theirpizzamade for them.

So who does the pizza making? Does anyone ever fret about pizza recipes"forking" because some new restaurant does it a little differently? Doesthe existence of well-known national brands like Pizza Hut and Domino'saffect the popularity of Pizzeria Uno -- or of my personal favorite,Pendeli's in Montreal? Of course not.

Same with Linux. You have your choice of

  • International "brands" that have widespread recognition, are capableof dealing with large multi-national projects, as well as their ownnetwork of partners and franchises
  • Regional favorites that may not be known everywhere, but arestaggeringly popular in their own area. They may be more sensitive tolocal needs or preferences, or simply the beneficiaries of a desire tosupport one's neighbors
  • Special-interest variations that serve discrete niches, such asdistributions for the blind, or very old computers, or palm units
  • Special combinations that you or your favorite software chef hasconcocted
Indeed, it takes all kinds. If tomorrow one of the international pizzaconglomerates were to go out of business, would anyone fret about thelong-term popularity or viability of the food? Not likely.

Same with Linux. We can argue about whose recipe is best, or complainabout the speed and quality of delivery, but underlying all thediscussionis the quiet confidence that vendors may come and go, but the productwillalways be with us.

Of course, pizza doesn't need support after you get it -- unless youneedsomething for indigestion. But never mind that -- I'm getting hungryjustwriting this.

Do you think the diversity of distributions good or bad for Linux'sgrowth? Let me know in the TalkBack below.

The discussion hasn’t started yet. Why don’t you begin it?

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