Re: Feasibility/Requirements/Wishes of xAL (was: Standard Library Interest?)

["Robert I. Eachus" <rieachus@comcast.net>]

Marin David Condic wrote:
> Well, O.K. If what you're saying is that there would be some 
> organization producing a "Common" Ada library (or whatever it is 
> ultimately called) and you expect that there are people who would want 
> to contribute pieces - such as bindings, etc. - then yes, I can see a 
> need to manage the names. But I'd think that we'd want to first see some 
> notion of general acceptance of the concept of a CAL (or insert name 
> here) and how it would be produced. Whoever is doing the publishing 
> could worry about name allocation.

I don't want the (possibly volunteer) developers spending all their time 
dealing with naming issues--which as I pointed out can include trademark 
and copyright issues.  That is the stuff that formal standards 
committees can be good at.  Look at all the chaos caused by AdaPower 
once the site was no longer maintained.  Having an authority to resolve 
naming disputes is very helpful when it comes time to clear the underbrush.

But again, as I said, it is useless without a group of developers who 
want to do things right.  With active developers using it, it becomes 
one of those committees where the chair does several hours of work a 
week.  Everyone else on the committee does a couple hours of work every 
three or four months, when the chairperson actually needs the committee 
to make an official decision.

-- 
                                                     Robert I. Eachus

"Quality is the Buddha. Quality is scientific reality. Quality is the 
goal of Art. It remains to work these concepts into a practical, 
down-to-earth context, and for this there is nothing more practical or 
down-to-earth than what I have been talking about all along...the repair 
of an old motorcycle."  -- from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle 
Maintenance by Robert Pirsig