[M3devel] Rants about an improbable release

[Wolfgang Keller]

I welcome your initiative and send you some of the thoughts for it.

Modula-3 Release Endeavour

= Desirables =

-- Documentation
- overview of public executables and what they can do
- compiler application guide
- module package guide
- setup guide
- up-to-date language definition (text)
- implementation status report
- license, legal and project reference material

-- Structuring
- add a "doc" folder and populate it with documents
- does it make sense to structure the "lib" module library?
- package categories: core, io, nearer, further, services

= Progressing =

- think about what goes into the release and what it should do
- define a structure for the release
- define a set of files that go into the release
- define the configuration context and make a document for it
- create a "digest all = complete+verifying" configuration program (if 
feasible)
- make all release content also available in the CM3 git
- define an automated translation from CM3 repository to release build
   (perhaps Ant is sufficient for this, perhaps you need a program
   in particular if some files need transformation for the transition)
- live happy ever after

= Policy =

- only include into release what provenly is working

[wk - 01.11.2016]

Am 28.10.2016 um 16:42 schrieb Rodney M. Bates:
> I agree, we very much need to make a new release.  There has been a lot
> of development since the last one, especially for having a small 
> developer
> community.
>
> I have often thought I would be willing to do the work to do it, but 
> every
> time, I get stuck not having any idea what needs to be done.  For one
> thing, I presume it entails verifying that things build and work on all
> the various targets, which would further entail having access to one
> of each of them.
>
> Are such machines available?  Any advice on how to proceed?
>
> On a related topic, we need to make some changes to the compiler IR, 
> as defined
> in M3CG.i3 and M3CG_Ops.i3.  I have been collecting a list of my own for
> some time.  This is a lot of (mostly rather mundane) work, and it creates
> front/back end compatibility issues.  It would be best to do as many
> as possible at one time and get them in before a release, so those not
> doing compiler development could just use the release without being
> bothered.
>
> Anybody have any changes to propose?
>
> On 10/21/2016 12:56 PM, dirk muysers wrote:
>> If you want to improve your home you go to the builders market and 
>> acquire a drill, a hammer and so on. I you have taken a fancy to a 
>> programming language, you download and install --or pay for--  a 
>> compiler and start to program in it. Not so for Modula-3. Its source 
>> code is in the hands of a small community of dedicated people for 
>> which its maintenance has become an endeavour by itself. This is 
>> laudable and great, but what about the simple potential Modula 3 USER 
>> ? One cannot hope that he (or she, let's remain PC) will clone the 
>> whole shebang from Github and begin to dabble in configuration files, 
>> Python and Shell scripts to build his version of what represents only 
>> a tool after all. All he wants is to have a compiler and begin to 
>> work on his apps and favorite software projects. So keeping alive a 
>> language is not enough, it  has also to be made easily available to 
>> those wanting to use it as their tool and who are not interested in 
>> compiler building or simply have more urgent
>> things to do. So when will there be the next Modula 3 release?
>>
>>
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>