From kde-core-devel  Tue Jul 29 18:59:43 2003
From: Maksim Orlovich <mo002j () mail ! rochester ! edu>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:59:43 +0000
To: kde-core-devel
Subject: Re: Qt 3.2 requirement
X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=kde-core-devel&m=105950535403605

> > "Fixing the source of the problem 
> > and not symptoms" is another. None withstand the test of reality.
> 
> Do you really want to use these as an argument for a Qt 3.2 requirement? 
> B/c 50% of all software project fail, we are not allowed to learn from 
> that fact? Tztztz...
> 
> Let's review the facts:
> 
> Supporting more than one version of a library (be it Qt or kdelibs) 
> leads to
> 1. better layering of the code, since there is pressure to find code
>    that works with both versions to reduce #ifdefs and enable switching
>    to the later library version _without_ recompiling (what do we need
>    BC for if we don't support this?)

... Unless getting completely perfect behavior requires having 2
absolutely separate implementations of some code.

Further, it can sometimes lead to gratious code duplication/bloat, when
the code is forced to reimplement a feature of the old Qt version instead
of using the code the new version provides for free.

> Whereas the only arguments against supporting multiple versions are
> 1. It's a pain (unspecified up to now)
> 2. Less testing with the later lib.

3. Some things are just plain impossible to do with the older version.
Note that those I care about don't matter /that/ much.