``When a feature [...] is done poorly in Unix, feel free to replace it completely with something totally different and better. (For example, `vi' is replaced with Emacs.)''

That is what I also do with dmd. I replace System V Init (which is indeed comparable with vi in some sense) with something completely different and better. [As a sidenote: Yes, dmd does not replace all of System V Init, but the remaining part can be replaced without to much work and actually is already replaced on the GNU system.] I don't want to say that people developing a Free Software implementation of System V Init are doing a bad job. It may be important to provide that as well, like the GNU Coding Standards suggest:

``But it is nice to offer a compatible feature as well. (There is a free `vi' clone, so we offer it.)''

However, System V Init sucks. Everybody knows it. There are several project out there to replace it. Maybe more than there are projects which try to replace X11, and having more haters among programmers than X11 is a priviledge not many programs enjoy. The System V Init mechanism has various defects, both conceptually and from the users perspective, and it seems necessary to replace it with something more seasonable.

However, isn't it unrealistic to replace a package that widespread? Of course it is unrealistic to replace it everywhere. I do not expect Red Hat to adopt dmd (at least not within the next few years). But that does not mean that we cannot use something better in the GNU system. I hope that the ``something better'' in this case actually will end up being dmd. Additionally, dmd might eventually have a couple of happy users even on GNU/Linux or other operating systems. I think that the latter might happen if I get dmd to a point where one can easiely create packages for a GNU/Linux distribution that take advantage of the features of dmd, but will also work with System V Init. That should not be too hard, but is rather low on my priority list.

Ok, at this point it should be clear why I think dmd can, in a sense, be successful eventually. Now let us look at the second question, why is this project important?

I can think of two major reasons. The first one is obvious and was already mentioned: We do not only want GNU to be free (though this is the most important aspect), but also to be good, which is why we need something better than we have today, and that does not only mean better than System V Init, but actually better than all its current alternatives as well. Some might be good, but a key component of the GNU system should be more than merely ``good''. This brings us to the second point: The service manager is a key component, since basically every installation of GNU will have it (assuming we will use dmd in GNU). Now remember that dmd is written in Guile Scheme, and while it has some support for external scripts written in any language, the best thing is to write all service-specific code in Guile Scheme. If dmd will be a mandatory piece on GNU, this will automatically promote the use of Guile.

Why do I find this so important? Well, Scheme is a programming language that does not cramp the mind of its users in any way, which makes it a very feasable language for doing creative, unusual things. The possibility of interactive development with an interpreter is also a productivity-boosting feature. Having a language like this well integrated and widely-used is an absolute requirement for an operating system that a hacker can love. I think it is for this reason that the GNU manifesto mentions that LISP will be a system programming language in addition to C. Guile Scheme, as a dialect of LISP, can and should become the system scripting language (a term invented by me, as far as I know) of the GNU OS.

The last of the questions I promised to answer intially is why you should be interested. To be honest, I don't know, since the only thing I know about you is that you are reading this text. But I can mention a few possibilities of why one might be interested: Maybe you have been waiting for a good service manager for a long time? Maybe you like (or love) the Scheme programming language, or LISP in general? Maybe you are in search for something really cool to hack (though I currently would suggest that you hack the GNU Hurd or Guile instead)? Maybe you even know me and like to see what I'm doing? If none of these applies, sorry for wasting your time. ;-)