Re: [abcusers] dynamics (was)

[Bryancreer]

Richard Robinson said -

>You have the source so you can see exactly what's going on, know
>just how that code is interacting with your own, be able to discuss the
>situation with the library maintainers and find the best solution.

No I can't because I don't know C.  I can't participate in this process fully without learning another programming language and that's not my top priority at the moment.

>Open documentation _is_ useful, yes. Very. That's how ABC has got to where
>it is; people are free to read how it's supposed to work, so they can go
>off and write code to make it happen like that. Code's useful too. In
>theory, someone could just read the documentation, and then write their
>abc in pencil on the back of an envelope, but in practice most of us do
>use some software from time to time.

And in practice people are writing code in C, Visual Basic, Perl, Java and who knows what else.  The one thing they need in common is the documentation.

>We could all do with a standard. This is an attempt to reach one. Laura's
>trying to help that. It seems unfair and wrong and counterproductive to
>put people down for trying to do things for us.

Despite appearances, I do have considerable admiration for Laura who appears to be one of the few people on the committee who actually believe in the concept of a standard.  She has tried her best, but the experiment has failed.  The committee was formed about eight months ago and has achieved absolutely nothing.  By Laura's own account they started by looking at the non-controversial topics and failed to reach a concensus!  Her recent postings suggest that she is highly exasperated by the whole process.  It's time for a new approach, preferably one involving as much of the abc community as possible not just a self chosen clique.

Bryan Creer