From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,2e91a32061bde112 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: dvdeug@x8b4e53cd.dhcp.okstate.edu (David Starner) Subject: Re: JAVA and ADA JGNAT Date: 2000/01/26 Message-ID: <86lgjf$aik2@news.cis.okstate.edu>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 577661496 References: <862sv5$sug$1@pirates.Armstrong.EDU> <862t3o$9aa1@news.cis.okstate.edu> <86k8r6$alp$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <86kpbu$aik1@news.cis.okstate.edu> <86la8r$519$1@nnrp1.deja.com> Organization: Oklahoma State University User-Agent: slrn/0.9.6.2 (Linux) Reply-To: dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 2000-01-26T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: On Tue, 25 Jan 2000 23:06:06 GMT, Robert Dewar wrote: >Actually I think part of what goes on here is that ACT is >*more* open than a lot of the Linux and GCC development. No. ACT never releases beta versions to the general public, and does not have development lists open to the public, or even readable to the public. I, as a developer, wouldn't work on GNAT because of this. I, as a developer, have found and fixed a few minor bugs in GCC, because I could. >Take GCC, it is no secret that Cygnus does a LOT of GCC >development that is closely held before being made public >and often closely held for a long time. The same is true >of course for Linux developments at Redhat. The way I heard it, any Cygnus-only developments have to be specially marked in the internal tree, and they try to get new stuff in the public distribution as soon as it's paid for. Be that as it may, Cygnus is not GCC's maintainer, and Red Hat not Linux's. For GCC, a steering commitee is in charge of it, and Cygnus' developments get looked at the same way as anyone else's. No matter what they do inside the company, the public GCC developments are public, and show no signs of being a facade. Mark Mitchell, of CodeSourcery, is a prime example that GCC is not controlled by Cygnus. >It's never helpful to have testing jump too far ahead of >development. In the case of JGNAT, the appropriate stage >for the last couple of months has been to have a selected >small number of beta testers kicking the tires. "With enough eyes, all bugs become shallow." (Linus Torvald) It's not improbable that the applet bug would have been fixed, had the right person checked out JGNAT. >The next step will be a general beta release, that corresponds >to the sort of thing David Starner is talking about. No, I'm talking about development snapshots and stuff. >If David is saying that ALL developments should be made >completely open day by day, all I can say is that I don't know >of many open source or free software development projects that >work that way, with the possible exception of GNOME (and a >number of small scale projects). Ironically, I think most small scale projects don't, because they don't have the resources and interest to mount a CVS server and mailing list. But the mainstream of many projects work that way, GCC and Linux especially. The main development source is out there to study - sure, someone may have been developing this over here, and someone else this that hasn't been merged in yet, but the main flow is there. And the head developers usually aren't happy with this side developments, because they make merging in terrible. >I definitely think that would >not be helpful to GNAT users. Yes, it might be fun for a few >enthusiasts and hobbyists, but the confusion of having lots >and lots of versions of GNAT around, most of them being works >in progress that were non-functional Why is this a worry? It doesn't seem to have been a major problem for Linux and GCC. ACT also has the advantage of a smaller community that isn't as likely to abuse the privilage. I'm not espoucing anything that radical, just basically the whole Cathedral and Bazaar stuff. -- David Starner - dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org If you wish to strive for peace of soul then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire. -- Friedrich Nietzsche