Re: libXO-ification - Why - and is it a symptom of deeper issues?

On 16 November 2015 at 10:06, Dan Partelly <dan_partelly_at_rdsor.ro> wrote:
> Thanks for the details Allan,
>
> To be frank , Im not expecting any warm response. It wouldn't bother me if  you would all have answered me like rabid dogs, as long i would get answers to some questions I have.

Oh, I hope you don't think my responses weren't warm. I mean, I'd like
to see this fixed, and I'd like to see the libxo stuff morph into a
much bigger, more comprehensive solution. But we had to start
somewhere.

>
> Libxo is not horrible per se, but adoption made me painfully aware of a deep problem in BSDs, the aforementioned issue of binary code reuse. The problem is a very difficult one, indeed, Microsoft for example  worked for decades on it. Libraries, framework, ATL , COM technologies where all attempts to solve this issue on the Windows platform.  And i dare to say they didn't managed to solve it completely :P

Juniper open sourced an implementation of what they've done internally
and they've worked on it in github in a very open fashion. It's been a
bit rocky, but the libxo developers have been responsive and IMHO
pretty swell at being on top of things.

>
> What I wanted to see if there are developers who aknowledge that there is an issue with binary code reuse, and if there are any plans to solve this proper. (see the end of David Chisnall message )
>
> Also, you , the developers, are in much better position than outsiders to make the FreeBSD aware of those issue, and , start some projects sponsored by the foundation. You are the insiders, you are the ones which are closer to the decisional factors in the foundation of where the money will flow.

Hi,

So we in the freebsd development community know it's an issue and
would like it fixed. But the freebsd community developers aren't
exactly flush with money or time to go work on all the pieces we know
are broken and need working on. We all do what we can.

Now, companies and groups like the foundation can and do sponsor work.
The foundation would like to sponsor projects like this; someone just
has to write up a proposal and send it to the foundation. But the
proposal has to include actually doing the work.

If you'd like the foundation to be more active in this area then I
suggest talking to the foundation directly. We all know and agree it's
something that should be addressed.

I plan on attacking the binary code reuse a bit by turning the
net80211 bits of ifconfig into a library and starting to use it from
other places. I hope other people follow suit. If you'd like to
participate and aren't afraid of a bit of C code then this could be a
fun introduction project!



-adrian