kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Dick Hollenbeck <dick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 11/22/2011 08:12 AM, Brian F. G. Bidulock wrote:
>> Lorenzo,
:
>>
>> To do the least little thing, you have to get rid of the legacy
>> first.  It is obvious from the code.  So, my question, under
>> the current "managmement", why has this not happenned?  For so
>> many years.  My only conclusion is that the current "management"
>> is incapable of doing it for one reason or another.
>>
>> --brian
> One of the best ways to get started actually contributing to KiCad is to offer byte sized
> patches which concentrate on one or two public member fields, and provides accessors for
> these, making the fields protected or private.  I cannot tell you how many of these kinds
> of patches that Wayne and I have made.  I did scores of them in 2008.  Wayne has done more
> than that in the last two years.
>
> This procedure, if continued by enough man-hours, would transition KiCad more in the
> direction of an object oriented design.  We remember that KiCad was originally C code not
> C++.  So it has been in evolution for the last several years, all the while churning out
> boards that we all benefit from.
>
> Current "management" is incapable of doing this because current management is not paid
> enough to work on this project full time.  To help with this evolution, the door is open
> to more volunteers.  The product of the work should be reasonably sized patches,
> addressing one or two fields at a time.  Even doing this, these are sometimes thousand
> line patches.
>
> No disagreement on the need.  Just in attitude, and willingness to contribute in a way
> that is appropriate.
>
>
> Dick

After further consideration, I revise my position, and tend towards Brian's point of
view.  There is NEW code being written that is not being respectful or our goal towards
effective C++.

Specifically new code is adding public members, and not using accessors.  In fact, I would
say a considerable amount of new code.

I no longer have any answers to this problem.  We have to get more buy in from others in
the project, including Jean-Pierre.


Dick