ggw@wolves.uucp (Gregory G. Woodbury) (05/03/91)
ron@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (Ron Van Schyndel) writes: >>ggw@wolves.uucp (Gregory G. Woodbury) writes: > >>>I appreciate the effort put into Zsh, but there is one small complaint >>>that I have. >>>The package is BSD/SUN specific! > >>>Another tool that I went and poked at only to discover that there are >>>critical non-portable dependencies not noted in the announcement. > >elliss@kira.egr.msu.edu (Stew Ellis) writes: >>I second the irritation, not with regard to zsh..... > >FLAME ON > >So are there document(s) which describes all the different UNIX versions >around (a standard ?? Just like RS232?). And while we're at it, does >someone have access to ALL the different UNIX platforms, so these programs >can be given a GOOD going over (for free, of course). > >I thought the idea was to fix any problems, if possible, and mail these to >the author (as well as post them - but DO mail, since the author could then >merge these patches and re-submit when there are enough of them). Ron, you sure have an ivory tower view of the world down there. Even without access to all of the different platforms, a UNIX programmer with much experience at all (especially if they do have access to more than one kind of UNIX) has a feeling (or should) for what kinds of things are more portable than others. It is difficult to know sometimes whether there are overly strong dependencies in some header file or not. Releasing the code to the net is one way to find out what is and is not portable. Reading "really portable" code (like C-news or RN or Perl) will also give one a good feel for what is and isn't portable and what sort of work arounds there are for each case. As for pure language issues, lint(1) and other tools will make some comments about portability. In my time, I have submitted quite a few changes to various packages to the authors for inclusion or fixes. Some are accepted, some are ignored, and some are fixed in an entirely different way (from the one I suggested). Working in a heterogenous environment at work also makes for a need to develop the feel for what is and isn't portable. In contrast to your flame, I made a "small" (you know, minor, tiny, minute, miniscule, minimal, insignificant, and other words that a thesaurus might suggest) complaint that there was not an indication in the announcement (of ftp availablity) that it had not been even tried on a System V platform (SunOS does not count as a real SysV platform when the BSD type facilities are used). Certainly, persuing the shar files and the complete sources makes it obvious that a System V port is possible, but will take more effort than I can spare for it at the moment. Even after 20 years of programming, I still learn something interesting from each package I examine. As for access to other machines, if you are on the internet, it can usually be arranged without much hassle to get an account on some example of almost any platform for a limited time to test a program or something. Or you can find an alpha tester who is on a different machine type and send it to them. A simple message posted to any one of several groups (comp.unix.questions, comp.unix.wizards, comp.sys.*.misc) will often get a response of an offer to test or provide resources. Additionally, at least one of the FAQ (frequently asked questions) lists comment on avoiding the "all the world's a VAX" syndrome in programming. This access is, in fact, one of the major benefits of the net -- access to resources beyond what you have locally. Its too bad that all you could see was the word "complaint" and not recognize that I FIRST complimented the author for the effort and the sharing of his work. As it turns out, the amount of effort to put some #ifdefs and new control variables might not be too hard, but my current load doesn't allow me to take on anything that I haven't already agreed to do for the next 2 months or so. After that, I will get the most current version (again) and see what I can do with it at that time. -- Gregory G. Woodbury @ The Wolves Den UNIX, Durham NC UUCP: ...dukcds!wolves!ggw ...mcnc!wolves!ggw [use the maps!] Domain: ggw@cds.duke.edu ggw%wolves@mcnc.mcnc.org [The line eater is a boojum snark! ] <standard disclaimers apply>
allbery@NCoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery KB8JRR/AA) (05/05/91)
As quoted from <1991May3.032432.5680@wolves.uucp> by ggw@wolves.uucp (Gregory G. Woodbury): +--------------- | Certainly, persuing the shar files and the complete sources makes it | obvious that a System V port is possible, but will take more effort than | I can spare for it at the moment. Even after 20 years of programming, I | still learn something interesting from each package I examine. +--------------- I'm working on it, both with and without job control. But with *my* schedule, it may be a year before I finish. :-( ++Brandon -- Me: Brandon S. Allbery Ham: KB8JRR/AA 10m,6m,2m,220,440,1.2 Internet: allbery@NCoast.ORG (restricted HF at present) Delphi: ALLBERY AMPR: kb8jrr.AmPR.ORG [44.70.4.88] uunet!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ncoast!allbery KB8JRR @ WA8BXN.OH