I think you're absolutely right : package management is a symptom of a developper-centric OS. I've packaged several hundreds of apps for Linux and have been using it almost exclusively since 1997. And the least I can say is that it's a bloody unholy mess. The latest joke/failure in Linux is the packaging of TeX on Fedora which uses (if my memory serves me right) over 3,000 packages!
Many developpers just do what they feel like doing and often disregard standards because a lot of them think they know better ( also known as the "not invented here" syndrome ). How many times did I send patches upstream to fix an standards issue ( such as a missing pkgconfig file ) and some arrogant developper who thinks he knows better rejects it. And when someone comes in and tries to consolidate the OS a bit (what the systemd guys are trying to do) a horde of reactionary users start trolling the hell out of them.
As far as Haiku, I think the plan with the package manager is to only use it to update the base OS. Apps would still be installed by unzipping them in an appropriate place. At least I hope so. If not it will be as you say yet another exotic UNIX variant. Unfortunately, there also have been talks of replacing the BeOS API with Qt.
Many developpers just do what they feel like doing and often disregard standards because a lot of them think they know better ( also known as the "not invented here" syndrome ). How many times did I send patches upstream to fix an standards issue ( such as a missing pkgconfig file ) and some arrogant developper who thinks he knows better rejects it. And when someone comes in and tries to consolidate the OS a bit (what the systemd guys are trying to do) a horde of reactionary users start trolling the hell out of them.
As far as Haiku, I think the plan with the package manager is to only use it to update the base OS. Apps would still be installed by unzipping them in an appropriate place. At least I hope so. If not it will be as you say yet another exotic UNIX variant. Unfortunately, there also have been talks of replacing the BeOS API with Qt.