Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 16:51:39 -0700 (MST) From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org> To: hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Code maintenance Message-ID: <199704012351.QAA12448@phaeton.artisoft.com> In-Reply-To: <19970401225410.UY37092@uriah.heep.sax.de> from "J Wunsch" at Apr 1, 97 10:54:10 pm
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> > > Then adding the code into the tree is a 'bad thing', since it becomes > > > unsupported. If no-one is willing to incorporate/support the code, then > > > it shouldn't be incorporated. > > > > Better that it be lost forever? > > Yes, see the ft(4) and aic(4) drivers for two good examples. Both > sorely lack a maintainer, and nobody seems to be interested in doing > this job. Has this code suddenly mutated into unusability? Doesn't someone out there have a CDROM of the original, "unmutated" bits so that we can recover them to usability? Or is the problem that someone has changed the kernel interfaces used by them, without living up to the responsibility of changing the software that depends on those interfaces? One does not need to know the driver to change the driver from using one kernel interface (which one must have started with to get the new interface) to using another interface (which one defined). Or, to put it another way: The code for ft(4) and aic(4) did not change, the code used to work, if the code no longer works, it is not the code's fault. If you are going to pee in the public pool (by changing kernel interfaces), have the decency to add some chlorine (by changing the code which depends on those interfaces). > p.s.: Please, avoid Cc'ing me in every followup. One message for the > mailing list is enough. This would be easier if you didn't attach a "Reply-To:" header that specified you instead of the list. 8-(. Regards, Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers.
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