We need to enhance the standard library!

[Jonathan M Davis via Digitalmars-d]

On Wednesday, September 07, 2016 15:22:01 Jack Stouffer via Digitalmars-d 
wrote:
> On Wednesday, 7 September 2016 at 05:58:37 UTC, Brian wrote:
> > Standard library thin! The lack of a lot of commonly used
> > functions! For example, HTTP client, database abstraction
> > layer, mail delivery, Mathematical calculation standard library.
> >
> > We can refer to the implementation of some of the standard
> > library golang/java/rust, so that the whole language active up:
> >
> > Https://golang.org/pkg/
> > Https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/
> > Https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/
>
> 1. When you say "We need to", I assume that means you have some
> open pull requests or are working on some, right?
>
> 2. Everything but the math library is extremely prone to change
> within a couple of years and is therefore not really a good
> candidate for standardization. There's a reason that there are
> three different ways to connect to a MySQL database within the
> PHP standard library: they tried to standardize something that
> shouldn't really be standardized.

There are definitely things that function better as 3rd party libraries than
as part of the standard library, but the big thing here - regardless of the
exact functionality in question - is that someone needs to actually do the
work. And that's where we generally fall flat.  Once someone has actually
implemented something, _then_ we can discuss whether it makes sense to put
it in Phobos, but there isn't necessarily much point in debating that point
when there isn't even software to debate over. Regardless of whether the
functionality should be in Phobos, it still needs to be implemented, and it
can start on code.dlang.org. Whether it gets into the standard library or
not is very much a secondary issue to whether it's available in the first
place. So, as usual, the question comes down to manpower. We don't have as
many appropriately skilled programmers involved as we'd like, and many of
the ones that we do have are short on time.

- Jonathan M Davis