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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: QT 3.0 and future KDR Road Map
From:       Corrin Lakeland <lakeland () freki ! otago ! ac ! nz>
Date:       2001-05-26 8:35:20
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All just my opinion

>  What type of binary compatibility exists right now between kde 1.x and
> kde 2.x? Is binary compatibility able to be preserved by having
> compatibility libraries between these versions?

>   In windows binary compatibility has only been broken once. When
> Microsoft moved from Win16 to Win32, and even after there was a
> compatibility layer which still enabled these applications to run.
>
> Is long term binary compatibility not a major goal for kde?

Windows software is distributed in binary form with the source rarely being 
available, so binary compatibility is essential.  Here the source is 
available so long term binary compatibility is pointless.  

Linux broke hardware compatability in shiftin to libc6 with almost nobody 
noticing, it simply isn't a major issue in a source based OS.  If you break 
binary compatibility then you force someone (usually the distributer and not 
the user) to do a recompile, hardly a arduous task.

Having said that, KDE 1 binaries can run run under KDE2 by installing QT1, 
kdesupport1 and kdelibs1.  Different library symbols make this relatively 
simple (libqt -> libqt2, but an application specifically linking libqt1 gets 
it).   Theoretically the same will apply with KDE3 vs KDE2, although it might 
be a little harder as more active IPC mechanisms become popular.

Corrin
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