Greetings,
This question have already been raised a few times, both on the list and
in the bugtracker. I understand that the problem lies in incompatibility
of current git/master version with old configuration files. However the
gap between 3.4.x and git/master only grows bigger, and it becomes
reluctant to maintain different user-land code (like widgets etc.) for
both versions. Situation gets even worse knowing that most (wild guess)
advanced Awesome users use git/master while novices for sure stick to
stable release; in this way only small part of the things written by the
former can be put into use by the latter.
On the other hand, what will happen if Awesome gets a new release? An
installation script might back up user's rc.lua and replace it with the
default one. Then, for new Awesome users that haven't yet modified their
rc.lua much it won't be hard to rewrite the changes from the old config.
For experienced users who might employ complex configurations and
widgets it would be harder, but since they are experienced it's feasible
for them (and we can extend the awesome 3.4 to git master
<https://awesome.naquadah.org/wiki/Awesome_3.4_to_git_master> article to
help them).
What do you think? I have this feeling for a long while that all changes
made to Awesome are intended for a small group of chosen ones. If we
fear because of compatibility breaking and never release what we have
now in trunk, then all ongoing development efforts (no matter how few
there are) are pretty much useless.
Kind regards,
--
Alexander Yakushev
"There are only two things wrong with C++: The initial concept and the
implementation."
-- Bertrand Meyer
