EXT4 heads up...

[Roger Oberholtzer]

On Thu, 2009-12-17 at 15:12 -0700, Collins Richey wrote:
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 11:22 AM, Bill Campbell <linux-sxs at celestial.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> > While I can do it, I don't want to spend time digging out working device
> > drivers, codecs, etc. or have to redo things because somebody thought it's
> > OK to change the API of a program because it's ``better that way'' without
> > regard for existing systems.
> >
> 
> An off-topic rant. IMO, that's the biggest flaw in open software. From
> the top (kernel developers) to the bottom (most any software you can
> think of), the developers change the API at the drop of a hat. Of
> course, they're not alone. Apple chooses to drop support for their
> older stuff as well.


Then you have the MS approach, where they continually add new API
layers, keeping the old ones. So it is a real challenge to choose the
API scheme to use for any given task.

Or the Unix SVR4 approach, where the kernel has personalities. The old
ABI does not go away. Apps (I guess via libc) select a kernel ABI at
runtime. It is amazing how many ABIs the SVR4 kernel supports. Which is
why you can run some very old apps. New apps, BTW, only get the current
API.

Life is all changes. Only in death does change stop.

-- 
Roger Oberholtzer

OPQ Systems / Ramböll RST

Ramböll Sverige AB
Krukmakargatan 21
P.O. Box 17009
SE-104 62 Stockholm, Sweden

Office: Int +46 10-615 60 20
Mobile: Int +46 70-815 1696