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

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

Stephane Richard wrote:

> Another situation I wonder about.  Let's say GtkAda is registered already
> along with it's hiearchy of libraries that form the GtkAda Project.  Then I
> decide to add to that library (say a series of controls for a Music studio
> software, like knobs, led indicators, mixer slider controls, etc etc). and I
> want those registered in the library.  Who would be making the decision?
> GtkAda, the committee, would I need to put it elsewhere in the tree, would
> every big library like GtkAda need to have a "contributions" branch under it
> for this kind of addition?

Whoever "owned" the GtkAda root would be making the decisions.  That is 
in part what the registry does.  It establishes a mechanism for:

1) Easily determining whether or not a name has been used.
2) If it is not currently used/registered, who you have to talk to if 
you want to register it.
3) Removing from consideration any registered names that have expired or 
for some reason or other been overcome by events.  Since Ada allows you 
to put in a one-line library renaming if a library you use has moved, 
all you need is a map to tell you where it went. ;-)

> *** Are you saying that it would take 3 or 4 months to reach a decision for
> every issue?  or that every 3 or 4 months, the committee would take every in
> the past 3 or 4 months and resolve them?

Neither.  That every three or four months something would come along 
that required thought, and a committee decision.  Say both the X Windows 
consortium and Microsoft want to register a Windows tree.  Or someone 
other than Sun wants to create a Java tree.

Compare those to the much more normal cases, like ACT wanting to 
register GNAT, etc.

-- 
                                                     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