Re: HEADS DOWN (was Re: HEADS UP: putenv, setenv, unsetenv, getenv changes)

From: Brooks Davis <brooks_at_freebsd.org>
Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 10:44:17 -0500
On Tue, May 01, 2007 at 08:06:45PM +0400, Andrey Chernov wrote:
> All backed out.
> 
> Not because I admit they are technically wrong and not because of bug
> reports (I receive nothing). But because I surprisingly meets so
> strong opposition and resistance so lost any desire to continue that.
> 
> Anyone who interested in POSIX can dig out what changes and how
> through cvs diffs.

FreeBSD does care about standards and your change probably makes sense,
but the way you went about it was all wrong.

First, you committed an API/ABI change to libc without even performing
a buildworld.  You should be commended for fixing the problems quickly,
but the breakage rightfully made people nervous.

Second and more importantly, you committed an API/ABI change to libc
without any discussion beforehand.  Had you done so, this almost
certainly would have gone smootly.

Third, your waving of the POSIX flag when people responded negativly did
not help.  While following POSIX is generally a good idea, blindly doing
so is not.  Given that *env() is a lousy API by any reasonable measure,
sounder arguments such as those raised by jhb were needed.

I hope you will engage in productive disussion of this change and should
it be accepted (and I think it will) commit it again.

-- Brooks

Received on Wed May 02 2007 - 13:57:32 UTC

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