KDE/kdelibs

[Ian Wadham]

On Friday 27 November 2009 2:53:02 am Friedrich W. H. Kossebau wrote:
> Just that new features need testing and feedback before they get stable.
>  But if all application developers just wait for the stable version it
>  simply will never get stable.
> 
I hope not too many KDE library developers think this way.  It has to be the
responsibility of library developers to test their work to the greatest extent
possible before releasing it, regardless of whether any application finds a
use for it.  That is what makes library writing so difficult and challenging.

> So new features and code using these features need to be developed in sync
>  for best feedback. I think so far this has worked very well for all the
>  modules which are part of the SC.
> 
It is nice when synergy between library and application developers occurs.
Often perhaps, library software is developed with a particular class of
applications in mind.  It is also nice if/when application writers are invited
to help test new library code.

It is not so nice when an application does not work properly and the writer
is unexpectedly left having to track down a problem that may lie somewhere
in his/her own code or in kdelibs or in Qt, especially if the writer's appeals
for help fall on deaf ears or the response is "try and fix it yourself".

Some application writers can and will fix things themselves.  Most will put
up with a little bug-hunting and involuntary testing when using new or
revised features --- and there have been plenty of both in KDE 4 and
Qt 4.  However it is unfair and unkind IMHO to presume upon the goodwill
of application developers as a way of life.

Cheers, Ian W.