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On Wed, 2004-07-21 at 01:38 +1000, Peter Wang wrote:
> I think we're entering into an infinite loop.
>
> 1. Someone suggests prefixing the whole API.
> 2. Well, it's kinda pointless just to prefix the API. Since we're breaking
> compatibility anyway, let's fix up the uglier parts of the API at the
> same time.
> 3. Hey, we only get one shot at this, and it has to be 100% absolutely
> completely perfect! Let's restart from scratch... Allegro 5! Hurrah!
> 4. Development of Allegro 4 stagnates. Patches and improvements to
> Allegro 4 are delayed or forgotten. True believers urge "just wait until
> Allegro 5 is done, it will be AWESOME". Allegro 5 itself never gets any
> momentum. Months pass.
> 5. Some people finally get back to Allegro 4.
> 6. After not too long, go to 1.
>
I agree. The "do it only once" just is impractical. The point of 4.2,
4.4, and so on is just that - it will not be 100% compatible.
>
> If I was to go back in time, my advice would be:
>
> 1. Prefixing is overrated, get over it. Really.
So, you wouldn't do prefixing? To me, it just makes the API cleaner.
Immediately know which symbols belong to Allegro, and which are my own.
I agree that it is overrated though, we should just do it and not put
too much meaning into it.
> 2. Improve the API incrementally. Maintain compatibility wherever
> reasonable.
> 3. If you want design an API from scratch, DON'T CALL IT "ALLEGRO" and
> DON'T CLAIM TO BE A SUCCESSOR. Either it is a complete lie, or you risk
> starving necessary resources from the original. Build up your own
> community
> (this is the hard part, not the coding). Don't be a parasite.
>
> Ok, no one asked for my advice. Just promise me you guys will break out
> of the
> loop before step 3.
>
I completle agree, if I interpreted the overrating of the prefixing
right. It's just what I want to do for 4.2, it's an incremental
improvement of the API - no big changes (i see prefixing as similiar to
no chagne at all), just some of the most crying inconsistencies (and
some smaller ones) fixed.
--
Elias Pschernig