Re: Questions To Answer

[jg pa dec com (Jim Gettys)]

> Sender: foundation-list-admin@gnome.org
> From: Maciej Stachowiak <mjs@eazel.com>
> Date: 12 Jul 2000 12:13:34 -0700
> To: jg@pa.dec.com (Jim Gettys)
> Cc: Frank Hecker <frank@collab.net>, foundation-list@gnome.org
> Subject: Re: Questions To Answer
> -----
> jg@pa.dec.com (Jim Gettys) writes:

material elided...

> One thing to note is that the IETF primarily generates standards and
> that GNOME (as it exists today) primarily generates code. Another
> difference is that many IETF standards are largely independent, while
> GNOME code is designed to interoperate.

Yes, the IETF is a standards body...  Gnome will/is becoming one, whether
it understands it or not, as the API's gell into more and more rapidly
hardening cement.  This is life for anything that succeeds.  What has
saved Gnome's a** so far are shared libraries, and underlying interoperable
systems (e.g. X itself): you aren't going to get to change much much longer
(add to, sure, replace by things when you have a transition strategy over
long periods, sure, but you aren't going to have the luxury much longer,
if you even have it today, of by fiat changing things).

And THE thing of the IETF is interoperability, and interoperability among
multiple real implementations: this is in fact harder than the Gnome case.
You have to make things interoperate even when you can't read the other
guys' code...

> 
> I think that's a very different situation.
> 
>
Nowhere as different as you think it is.  In fact, it is a very similar
situation.
				- Jim

--
Jim Gettys
Technology and Corporate Development
Compaq Computer Corporation
jg@pa.dec.com