[Hsqldb-user] Re: [Hsqldb-developers] RE: Hsqldb-user digest, Vol 1 #185 - 1 msg

[fredt <fr...@us...>]

Thanks Manfred,

In the next two or three days I will compile a todo list for the rest of the
development cycle of version 1.7.2 and post it publicly. I will certainly
include the areas where SQL tests are lacking or documentation needs
improving.

Tests and docs are fairly big areas so more volunteers are welcome.

Regards


Fred Toussi

------------------------------------------------
Manfred wrote:

Well, I'm willing to invest some time starting from January. Tell
Me where to hotspots are and what you want/need to be tested. And
Also where the docs are lacking etceteras ...

You name it.


-----Original Message-----

From: "fredt" <fr...@us...>
To: "hsqldb-user" <hsq...@li...>,
"hsqldb-developers" <hsq...@li...>
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 00:54:53 -0000
Subject: [Hsqldb-user] Seasnal Reports on the Development Effort

Season's greetings and best wishes!

"The next version of HSQLDB .... more features, enhancements, fixes,
etc.... ."

In 2002, something like the above statement could have been made each
month - the two releases were major milestones.

Like most users and developers, I would like HSQLDB to become more
resilient, run faster, use less resources, and have more features. The
goal has always been the same but I think the way to achieve it has
somewhat changed in the last twelve months.

Until ten months ago, improvements were submitted as patches to a
version that had been in circulation for a few months. Each developer
focused on one area and made improvements, avoiding any side-effects
that could impact other areas. This was the right thing to do at the
time, but its cumulative effect was turning the codebase into a
patchwork, even after the adjustments to make the patches work together.

I must emphasise though, that certain code areas are semi-independent
from the rest and an individual developer's focus on those areas can
bring excellent results. Blaines's work, both on scripts and on SSL
support is an example.

In the last three months I have focused on the core classes that are
responsible for indexing, persistence, recovery etc. These are the
classes that provide the functions of a DBMS with some R but no SQL. I
am not interested in buzzwords, but "cross-cutting concerns" came to
mind all the time. The code was complex for lots of reasons, some valid,
some not.

The code base works very well as it is, or was a year or two ago. The
issue at stake is managing its evolution. We need to refactor and apply
the very basic tenets of structured programming to the remaining parts
of the code so that we can see exactly what the actual "concerns" are.
Only then can we distinguish between the real and "pseudo" concerns and
group the real ones into functional groups that interact according to
clear patterns. Clear patterns that best reflect the flow and
consistency of data, not gratuitous use of "factory", "observer",
"singleton" and suchlike.

So I am asking for more developer participation. Do not assume that I or
anyone else on their own can do everything. The initial focus is code
clarity - analysis, clarification and modularization are needed. The
next step will come naturally. There are lots of request for
improvements from the user community which have to be fulfilled.

I am also asking for more user participation. Have you ever looked at
the Test*.txt files that come with the code distribution? Did you know
that you can add your own DDL and other queries to those files and run
the TestSelf application? What about the rest of the org.hsqldb.test
classes? Has anyone used those frameworks to demonstrate the speed
implications of a particular use-case? Anyone interested in compiling
parts of a How To?

Someone mentioned in the users mailing list that a database engine is
now provided freely as part of the Windows platforms and so on. Free in
this context means getting something extra for what we have paid - and
most people welcome it. Free in our context means something more: that
we are free to collaborate and change something to do what we want.

Fred Toussi







For the core areas




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