Re: Nil-remove Re: [sc-users] bug related to recent Buffer changes

[James Harkins <jamshark70@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Friday, Dec 31, 2004, at 13:09 US/Eastern, sdwilson@xxxxxxxxxxxx 
wrote:

> I have to remember to pull out crucial and JIT when testing things.

Couple of remarks on this:

1. Has anyone rigorously tested the crucial library under Linux? I'm 
not in a position to do so, but I expect that only the GUI classes 
would break. I can't see any reason why the patching system would not 
work under Linux. That would, of course, have retained Nil-remove.

2. I still wonder why crucial and JITlib are even in the main library. 
I vaguely remember asking about this once before, and I don't recall 
getting a good answer.

It seems pretty clear that extensions to SuperCollider's core 
functionality are generally to be add-ons. It's not clear exactly what 
these two extension libraries are, however. They're extensions, because 
they can be thrown out wholesale on other platforms, but they also 
implement some things that could be regarded as core features (which 
Mac users might depend on, as here, without thinking about it).

In my own programming, I use parts of both libraries so it doesn't 
particularly bother me that they're there. Things like this, though, 
make me think some decisions need to be made. If they are 
indispensable, they should be reviewed and better integrated into the 
rest of the library. If they're extensions, maybe they should be 
treated as such and moved to a different source.

On that last point, the presence of these libraries in the main 
distribution weakens the argument that SuperCollider is supposed to 
provide a certain streamlined base functionality.

hjh
____________________________________

H. James Harkins /// dewdrop_world
http://www.dewdrop-world.net

"If attacked by a lion, thrust your arm down his throat.
This takes some practice."  -- Cyril Connolly