Re: [boost] Breaking existing libraries

Subject: Re: [boost] Breaking existing libraries
From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-11-24 09:28:18

on Sun Nov 23 2008, "vicente.botet" <vicente.botet-AT-wanadoo.fr> wrote:

> Daniel Walker has expresed this better
> "Once accepted, the tests
> should be a verification that the library does what the community
> voted on. The tests are a verification of quality. At that point, I
> think it might be a good idea to quarantine the tests, take them out
> of the authors hands, and put them under the stewardship of a
> benevolent dictator of boost as a whole so that they can be used to
> assure that the library does what the community voted on.
> "

> If we need to change while we make evolulion on a library this is a
> symptom the interface has changed and the same way the test is broken,
> the user code canbe broken. If we forbid this test changes, we are
> able to identify breaking changes.

I'm sorry, but I just don't think anything like this is going to work.
Among other things, I think it will be a huge pain for existing library
authors (suppose I want to _add_ something to a test?) and will deter
people from contributing to Boost, and I don't think you're going to get
a positive consensus on it among existing contributors.  This seems like
an overreaction to one person's failure at disciplined management of
library evolution.

Rather than set up systems that will decrease agility, increase
coupling, and give contriutors the sense that the Boost community
doesn't trust them to do what's right, suppose we set up a mailing list
to which all the test checkins are posted?  Then anyone who wants to
monitor the evolution of a library's tests can subscribe to that list.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
BoostPro Computing
http://www.boostpro.com