Attila Lendvai attila.lendvai@gmail.com writes:
regarding the recent discussions i'm generally baffled why it is at
all a question whether to make a build software deterministic or not. in my view if there's anything in the global state that has an effect on the building of a software, anything, then it's a bug.
I think one question is whether it's worth taking a path to this goal that breaks programs that currently work. I don't think all such programs are bitrotted junk that can be fixed up in a day.
those programs that currently work will keep on working if ASDF is not upgraded.
no upgrade, no breakage.
to me it's a very strange argument that the right way to avoid breaking unmaintained old code is by hindering change that makes new things better in the future.
Indeed, it would be strange to discuss such things. I'm not talking about unmaintained old code, I'm talking about code that works by design and as designed within the features and behaviors of the current system that will no longer work.
I am receptive to "Some things will break, but change is necessary and this approach minimizes breakage" but less receptive to "Nothing will break" and "Things that break deserve it" and "People who do not want any breakage are braindead losers" and "I will personally fix anything that breaks."
Zach