RE: [AD] Possible new features for Allegro?

["Vincent Penquerc'h" <Vincent.Penquerch@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Title: RE: [AD] Possible new features for Allegro?

In reply to the thread in general:

I'm sounding like the devil's advocate, but I don't see the
problem with what some call the "Allegro bloat". The trouble
I have with bloat is when stuff is interdependant, or slows
down the main stuff. You shouldn't pay for what you don't
use, but that's no reason to put everything aside because
you think the number of things you already have in the lib
is too high. It would matter only if these things were so
entangled that changing one would require changing the others.

Sure, there is quite a bit of interdependant stuff at the
moment, but it doesn't mean adding, say, networking, would
add more. Networking would get dependant on some of Allegro's
stuff, but not vice versa. De-entangling stuff would be nice,
but, as long as candidates for addition are not too esoteric
or non-standard or similar "qualities", and that they are
useful for game programming, I see no reason to deny them
without another reason.
Let's tell me, people who complain about "Allegro bloat",
what does having a module you don't use in Allegro changes
for you: the lib is a bit bigger ? Ouch, take a hard drive,
360 KB floppies are not used anymore. That's pretty much
the only drawback, because you don't have to use it just
because it's here. It just means you *could* use it if you
ever needed it. And others might need it. OK, are there any
other drawbacks ? It doesn't slow your game down, it doesn't
make Allegro harder to use, it doesn't make it crash more,
so I'd like to know your reasons for complaining about this
non-existant "bloat".

The plugin stuff would solve most of that, if it was viable.
It isn't. It has shown it. Be it in Allegro or whatever
else. But I nonetheless agree it may be worth another harder
try :)

--
Vincent Penquerc'h