[mythtv-users] modernizing mythtv - and now OT

[Michael T. Dean]

On 05/10/2014 10:56 PM, Hika van den Hoven wrote:
> Sunday, May 11, 2014, 4:16:24 AM, you wrote:
>> On 11 May 2014, at 2:53 am, someone wrote:
>>>> To come back to a more fundamental issue. No server/backend
>>>> application should depend on a graphical environment other then WEB.
>>>> Running X for those is a wast of resources. That is one of the main
>>>> reasons I find Windows unsuited for server applications. On my server
>>>> running mythbackend among others I have only the most basic graphical
>>>> card present, so I can if needed watch the boot process and implement
>>>> new kernels. The only reason X is even installed is Mythsetup, which I
>>>> only start at need. The rest I manage by ssh or more and more the web.
>>>> Originally a lot of people were running both back and frontend on the
>>>> same machine, but nowadays more and more people are splitting this up.
>>>> So I see mythsetup as an archaic inheritance of old times, that
>>>> should be replaced by a more modern web interface.
>>> I have completely headless BE, I upgrade the kernels and run setup
>>> remotely no problem. No X installed.
>> What resources are wasted? Do you understand how unix systems, swap
>> and LRU (least recently used) work?
>> The only waste is some disk space, and at the price of disks, some
>> $0.02 for once-upon-a-time great convenience.
>> You may do server-without-X for all manor of reasons, as you will,
>> but don’t sprout waste-of-resources as the justification!
> First Why are you starting a new threat by changing the subject!!!
> Secondly X takes up resources, both memory and processor!
>

The point is, running mythbackend does not require running an X server.  
Even using mythtv-setup on the backend system does not require running 
an X server on the backend system (using X forwarding, with or without 
ssh, to display mythtv-setup on a system--such as any mythfronend 
system--that does have an X server running).

And, if you're not running an X server on the backend system, X is not 
taking up either memory or processor resources.  So, the only resource 
that's "wasted" by MythTV's reliance upon the Qt C++ development 
framework (which requires X libraries) is hard drive space required for 
the X libraries--which is a tiny pittance of space (approximately 
10MB)--especially when compared to the ~1GB required for the Qt 
libraries themselves.

Note, too, that I recently bought a 3TB HDD for $99.99.  At that price, 
those 10MB of space used by installing the X libraries cost me 
approximately $0.00035 (and the 1GB of Qt cost me $0.035).  I'd argue 
that's not wasting too much.

Mike