Subject: Re: Python extension commands in git - request for policy change

From: Andreas Ericsson <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:05:44 +0100

On 11/25/2012 11:44 PM, Eric S. Raymond wrote:
> Felipe Contreras <[email-masked]>:
>> According to the results of the last survey, our users do care about
>> performance, so I don't think there's anything excessive about it. Are
>> there any hidden costs in maintenance problems? I don't think so.
> 
> Then you're either pretending or very naive. Three decades of
> experience as a C programmer tells me that C code at any volume is a
> *serious* maintainance problem relative to almost any language with
> GC.  Prudent architects confine it is much as possible.
> 

Prudent architects also avoid rewrites as much as possible, since it's
inevitable that bugs will be introduced that have been fixed in the
"official" version.

Personally, I think if you'd left your suggestion on "It would be great
to have guidelines for python scripts. I propose 2.6 as the minimum
required python verison" and left it at that, there would have been
very little disagreement. The suggestion that things should be rewritten
in python for some spurious long-term savings seems mostly designed to
refuel everyone's favourite flamethrower, and you know as well as I do
that it just won't happen unless there's at least a chance of some
substantial technical benefits from doing so.

-- 
Andreas Ericsson                   [email-masked]
OP5 AB                             www.op5.se
Tel: +46 8-230225                  Fax: +46 8-230231

Considering the successes of the wars on alcohol, poverty, drugs and
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