From: Alan W. I. <ai...@us...> - 2003-10-13 21:04:22
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On 2003-10-13 21:33+0200 Rafael Laboissiere wrote: > * Alan W. Irwin <ai...@us...> [2003-10-13 12:08]: > > > On 2003-10-13 16:13+0200 Rafael Laboissiere wrote: > > > > > I would be opposed to any such dramatic change in the API. Actually, I am > > > opposed to any change that makes the API backward incompatible, even the > > > smallest one. Backward incompatibility is a headache for everybody and > > > should be avoided at any price. > > > > That "at any price" remark sticks in my craw. I am sure glad Linus does not > > have this attitude toward new developments of the Linux kernel, and I am > > also glad historically we have also not had this attitude. You would end up > > with dead kernel development and dead PLplot development, and that is not a > > price I am willing to pay. > > > > [...] > > You misunderstood me. I was talking about *_backward incompatibility_*, not > about improvements in the API. Of course, improvements or additions (which > imply changes) should and must be done, otherwise the project would die as > you pointed out. However, we have to try hard to avoid *_breaking_* the API > in a backward way. In almost all the cases it is possible to find a way to > improve the API but keeping the backward compatibility. > > Is it clear now? "try hard" is fine with me as was already clear from my remarks. OTOH "no backwards incompatibility ever allowed under any circumstances" would be a disaster in my opinion. Each case has to be decided on its merits rather than on some blanket prohibition. Alan __________________________ Alan W. Irwin email: ir...@be... phone: 250-727-2902 Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca). Programming affiliations with the PLplot scientific plotting software package (plplot.org), the Yorick front-end to PLplot (yplot.sf.net), the Loads of Linux Links project (loll.sf.net), and the Linux Brochure Project (lbproject.sf.net). __________________________ Linux-powered Science __________________________ |