Re: [PROPOSAL] New Virtual Packages and way to handle Classpath
--- Jan Schulz <jasc.usenet@gmx.de> wrote:
> Hallo Matt,
>
[snip]
> This interface is not for the free ones but only for the sun complient
> ones (Sun, BD, IBM). The rest will be handled independently.
[snip]
> With this interfaces you can install a package and know that it will
> run, even if you have a non complient VM installed. Therefor this
> packages will get more attention: currently, you have to do some work
> to get java working. Together with kaffe in main and the packages
> using it, most people will not bother to get a unfree one.
I sense a contradiction here. Either the interface is meant for non-compliant
free VMs as well, then the first paragraph is weird, or the free VMs will be
handled separately, but then there is no interface, so the second paragraph is,
huh, weird ;)
[snip]
> Debian has a reputation, that it works. Not that the users are the beta
> testers.
Then tell me, how does having an interface that noone implemented make things
magically work? I'm sorry, but I don't see how that will help free java in
debian. It may get more bug reports submitted to kaffe & co, and make releases
take longer because all of that has to be sifted through, bit it won't really
help.
Here's another one: you'll have to keep updating that interface with every new
release of Sun's VM, because they add things here, and break things there. If
you feel like having the next discussion on the virtues of adding a way to
select a compiler that supports the assert keyword for packages that may use
that, then why stop there? You may also want to consider adding a switch to the
interface to make sure compilers generate the code in a compatible byte code
format with the VM the code is supposed to run on. Sun has changed the byte
code format as well between releases, so code built with jikes 1.18, for
example, may not run on some VMs. And so on: next year, when java 1.5 somes
out, sun will be adding a few more changes to the language, like generics.
You'll need to take care of that, too ...
I think that codifying a status quo is such a good idea. It makes the policy
obsolete quite quickly. I'd prefer a policy that tells maintainers to
explicitely tells maintainers to test their packages with free VMs and mark
those that work.
cheers,
dalibor topic
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