Re: [AD] Prefixing

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On Tuesday 20 July 2004 17:38, Peter Wang wrote:
> If I was to go back in time, my advice would be:
> 
> 1. Prefixing is overrated, get over it.  Really.

My personal opinion is that I can do without. I prefer a coding style where 
code reads as much as natural language as possible, hence I prefer 
if (is_video_bitmap(...))
over something rreminiscent of
if (al_get_bitmap_property(...) & AL_VIDEOBITMAP)

However, prefixing (because of possible name collisions with other 
libraries) is something a lot of people seem to want.

> 2. Improve the API incrementally.  Maintain compatibility wherever 
> reasonable.

Agreed. I don't think it makes sense to do it in a different way.

> 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.

This is a good point. 

> Ok, no one asked for my advice. 

Actually, I did.

> Just promise me you guys will break out of the loop before step 3.

Personally, I think deciding to start from scratch is not going to work too 
well. Gradual evolution is the way to go IMO.

Evert





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