Re: Configuration options [was: Policy question - to PM3D or not to PM3D?]

[Daniel J S. <dan...@ie...>]

Ethan Merritt wrote:
> On Wednesday 13 July 2005 02:25 pm, Daniel J Sebald wrote:
> 
>>After that, I'd propose making the BINARY_DATA_FILE permanent too.  
>>It would unify the code flow for ASCII, binary, 2D, 3D.  
>>I can put together a patch for that down the road.  
> 
> 
> I am opposed to removing the EXPERIMENTAL warnings on that one.
> The binary data file code is still very messy, and having it set off
> by conditional flags is the only way anyone will ever be able to find
> pieces for cleanup.

What I am proposing is pulling out the mess.  I think what I have done (when the new binary data file is active) is just what you propose.  You suggested a while back that ASCII and binary be kept as separate functions.  I did that, yet retained the same "flow"... similar function calls; in fact, in the new setup the 2D/3D portions of the code don't even know what type of data file the data has come from.  That wasn't the case in the old code; limiting in 2D from what I recall.

In that patch, I've left all the old code for binary exactly as it was so that when BINARY_DATA_FILE is deactivated the code is just as it always was.  That means one would not only remove the BINARY_DATA_FILE flags, but all the extraneous old code.

Also, the "bin_hook.c" will get tossed.  That was only for the purpose of including or excluding the binary code that is compiled into a special test program.  The old routines could be dedicated to that program and not used in gnuplot anymore.

> 
> Which reminds me... I did some small amount of such cleanup recently.
> You might have a look and see how much of the special-casing of the
> BINARY code is not necessary.
> 
> What I really hope to see is gradual cleanup and consolidation of
> the binary and ascii code, to the point that there are hardly any
> special BINARY_DATA_FILE pieces remaining.  At that point removing
> the warning and the conditional coding would make sense.

I believe the new code is active by default in the CVS version and people have been using it for a year or more.  Once people are comfortable with the idea of discarding the old bits, it is easy cleanup.

#ifdef BINARY_DATA_FILE
  <keep this portion>
#else
  <all this code gets tossed along with the ifdef's>
#endif

Dan