Re: [avr-libc-dev] libsupc++ work

[David Brown]

On 24/03/14 19:56, Jeremy Bennett wrote:
> On 21/03/14 14:47, Joerg Wunsch wrote:
> > As Jeremy Bennett wrote:
> >
> > > We're working on the AVR GNU tool chain for Atmel - you may have seen
> > > the various patches submitted to the FSF by my colleague Joern
> > > Rennecke over the last year.
> >
> > I'm very happy to hear there's finally people interested in getting
> > all this to work (you, Joern, Ahmed)!
> >
> > > Once this work is complete, we'll submit it as a patch to AVR LibC.
> >
> > Why wait?  There won't be anyone other than you who could finally
> > integrate it into the avr-libc tree.  My time budget simply doesn't
> > allow me to take over even more responsibilities, and frankly, you
> > appear to be the experts in that field already anyway.
> >
> >  From my point of view, just join the project, and start integrating
> > the required changes into the avr-libc tree right now, rather than
> > waiting any longer, and the offering a large megapatch.  It's not
> > necessary that it be complete in any way straight from the beginning.
> Hi Joerg,
>
> That is good to know. I'll make sure Joern knows to contribute as soon
> as he has changes ready.
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
> Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

I can't answer for avr-libc in particular, but many open source projects 
prefer to have multiple small patches, each fixing a particular issue, 
rather than a single large patch.  If it turns out that there is a 
mistake or disagreement about one of the fixes, it is then possible to 
omit (or unroll) the problem patch while leaving everything else fixed.

Another big benefit of patching often, early, and small is that it makes 
it easier to collaborate with others - there are few enough people 
working on the AVR gcc toolchain as it is, so it is important that 
people don't secretly work independently on the same issues.  Open 
source is primarily about keeping the development work out in the open!

Anyway, thanks for working on this - it's good to see new people moving 
the project forward, and perhaps giving Joerg a well-earned rest.  In 
particular, I think it is exciting to see C++ support improving - with 
the release of C++11 and its support in gcc, I believe we now have a C++ 
that is a lot more suited to embedded development.

mvh.,

David