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Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!vixie!vixie From: vixie@vix.com (Paul A Vixie) Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.development Subject: Re: Request to ``ports'' developers Date: 29 May 94 19:31:43 Organization: Vixie Enterprises Lines: 20 Distribution: world Message-ID: <VIXIE.94May29193143@office.home.vix.com> References: <2s291q$pnl@meatball.rwwa.com> <2s37a4$mp9@pdq.coe.montana.edu> <VIXIE.94May27220527@office.home.vix.com> <hm.770154713@hcswork> <VIXIE.94May28221230@office.home.vix.com> <JKH.94May29085921@whisker.hubbard.ie> <VIXIE.94May29041924@office.home.vix.com> <JKH.94May29131135@whisker.hubbard.ie> NNTP-Posting-Host: office.home.vix.com In-reply-to: jkh@whisker.hubbard.ie's message of 29 May 1994 13:11:35 GMT Using date codes or versions is a matter of personal religion. I used to think version numbers were better when only C News used date stamps, but when BSD started using date stamps I for some reason saw the light. The main point is that there be some way to distinguish between the different editions of the system; whether it's a scaled integer of the version number, or a date code, or funky internal release names like NCD_GODZILLA is up to the development team, and rightly so. I'm already on record as preferring defined(HAVE_TERMIOS) to (BSD >= 199103), since this is absolutely clear and it's easy to add more system-type "clients" to that branch of the code by just editing the per-system Makefile variables. However, and I am repeating myself, I don't think the average person who ports software to .*BSD.* is going to change their fundamental approach. As long as I stop seeing "#ifdef __bsdi__" when folks mean "#if (BSD >= 199103)" or even "#ifdef POSIX", I'll be happy. Getting "#ifdef HAVE_TERMIOS" would be gravy. -- Paul Vixie Redwood City, CA decwrl!vixie!paul <paul@vix.com>