D : Not for me anymore

Jari-Matti Mäkelä jmjmak at utu.fi.invalid
Sun Oct 15 10:41:59 PDT 2006


rm wrote:
> So back to libraries for D in D :-)
> What could be the reasons the Senior Darch is *ignoring* this?
> - he doesn't see a need for it (right now)
>    => so it's low on his priority list
> - he doesn't have the resources to coordinate such an effort
> - he's planning to release D 1.0 before starting to think on libraries
>    => are we talking about specifications for libraries
>    => are we talking about a specific implementation (license?)
> - building libraries when important features are still being added
>    => that might be regrettable in the not to distant future
>    => when do you start with "standard" libraries, when do you stop
> evolving the language
> - are we talking about minimal batteries, or full blown batteries?

The biggest problem with writing libraries now is that they may need to
be partly rewritten after every big change in the language in order to
take advantage of all the new possibilities.

Walter is a true compiler expert, but I think he wants to leave the
development of libraries to those who are more experienced with
different kinds of frameworks. Besides, he already has more than enough
work in extending the language and maintaining the compiler.

I've been here since 2003. What bugs me the most is that D (the
language) still does not have an up-to-date roadmap anywhere. Ok, many
of us know what features are postponed to 2.0, but for a newcomer things
look pretty confusing. http://digitalmars.com/d/future.html is always a
bit out of date. Something like http://trac.edgewall.org/roadmap would
be bit more illustrative.. :)

There has also been a lot of talk about 1.0. It feels frustrating that
even Walter doesn't know when to release it. It's not like the end of
world if 1.0 is going to be buggy or fundamentally broken - there's
always room for maintenance releases (1.x). A stable release means
feature freeze - there's no such thing as a 100% bug free program.

But seriously, I think D has never been as good as it is now. Keep up
the good work, Walter!



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