07 next previous up

Phase 3: author does the work

- no duplication of effort; benefit is shared by all
- effort is heavily concentrated; use automated tools
- no portability problems, as long as distros/admins don't make changes
  - add layers for normalization, don't replace/modify
- packages installed as part of the distro look just like manually-installed
  packages
- easy uninstallation of manually installed packages
  - lower barrier to try new things
- simple, portable format eliminates a layer and allows alternate high-level
  tools