[openbeos]
- From: Mathew Hounsell <mat.geek@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 23:32:02 -0700 (PDT)
All,
I have been thinking about development methodology.
Firstly, I think we should aim first for __working__ source
compatability. Well written programs should not take advantage of
undocumented features. Complete binary compatability will not be
possible. This leads me to my main point.
We are here to try. We all want total success, but it is not an
accomplishable goal. To achieve source compatibility will be an
incredible achievement and a boon for the Open OS world.
Secondly, we are behind. In hindsight we should have started a
year ago. To keep up with Windows, MacOS X and Linux as they advance,
with access to our code, we must aim for improvements over Release 5.
It is will not always be essential to duplicate BeOS. A stream system
to handle, files, devices and the network, with the required power for
All three will save us time & effort and reduce bugs.
Thirdly, to ease and speed our development we should aim to
provide better developer support. Those who are writing a graphic
device driver should have a code & document template, library,
documentation and test suites available before they get the hardware
specifications.
Fourthly, automation will save us more time and effort.
Fifthly, a common platform with all useful tools specified and
clear documentation available will be easier for us to develop with.
It will also allow new coders to get up to speed earlier.
So I suggest we determine the development, management and
documentation tools to package. We then gain support from their
developers and we advance togethor. For example if one of us develops
a perl script for turning classes into stub code, it should be
available to all. The same goes for the documentation tool.
With a realistic goal and developer support we will attract
developers as the code becomes more interesting.
P.S. I will work on the kits as needed. However a support role may
be more productive.
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