Christopher Brown wrote:
>
> I think perhaps that Windows users are simply unclear as to why a binary
> version has not been released for this platform, and most importantly, why
> there's no idea about when this might be available.
This is a volunteer operation. The person who normally does the Win32 build is
busy, and no one else has managed to get it done. If it were easy to do,
someone would have done it. Although Subversion /can/ be built under Win32, it
is still a primarily *nix application and there are significantly different
requirements (and dependencies).
>
> The Windows installer issue is a little different, as it does require an
> expensive software package (VC++) to build, so not everyone who would like
> to build it can build it.
Both the base package and the installer require VC++, so this argument is
specious. Once the Win32 binary package is available, it is actually pretty
easy to do the installer (in the grand scheme).
> Perhaps if it's so easy to build, some users are confused as to why the
> appointed release manager has taken over a week to do so.
It's not easy to build _on Win32_, that's the problem.
> After all, 1.0.1 is supposed to add features and fix bugs, so
> perhaps lots of people aren't wanting to waste their time installing
> something only to reinstall the upgrade shortly after.
1.0.1 does not add any features; it is strictly a bugfix (those are the project
rules). My suggestion is that unless one of the fixes in 1.0.1 is specific to
your needs, 1.0.0 is fine to install. The upgrade is trivial (it doesn't
involve anything except replacing the binaries).
Perhaps the undercurrent of resentment/hostility that you are seeing is
reflected by the fact that there have been a number of postings from Win32 user
which have been, shall we say, demanding. There is always a tension between
Win32 users, who appear (to me at least) to believe that if it isn't available
for Windows it is a _serious problem_, and the fact that the majority of
developers of Subversion use *nix primarily. So the number of people who are
capable of building for a foreign platform (Win32) is already much smaller; if
one of those is out of action for a while, that is a very significant percentage
of the available talent.
John
--
John Peacock
Director of Information Research and Technology
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Boulevard
Suite H
Lanham, MD 20706
301-459-3366 x.5010
fax 301-429-5748
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Received on Wed Mar 24 15:03:35 2004