[rescue] Has freshmeat.net disappeared forever?

Carl R. Friend crfriend at rcn.com
Tue Jun 24 17:13:10 CDT 2014


    On Tue, 24 Jun 2014, Andrew Jones wrote:

> In 2014 we have:
> - two extremely common UNIX-like platforms: Linux and OSX.
> - two extremely common CPU archs: x86_64 and ARM
> - two extremely common compilers: gcc and clang
>
> Given a thoughtlessly-written C codebase, the further away you are
> from a permutation of those six items, the less pleasant your day
> will be.

    That sums it up perfectly.  Few developers bother to think about
compatibility and portability any longer and prefer to code to their
own little world-view.  Over the years, I've found that the number
one way to increase the quality of one's code is to port it to other
platforms and architectures.  That is a splendid way to find bits of
cruft that would otherwise accumulate unchecked.

> It's certainly not a monoculture.  It's just not the same ecosystem
> we had twenty years ago.

    I stand corrected on the technicality, but the main thrust of my
argument remains valid:  Portability improves the overall quality of
the resultant code.

    Cheers!

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin)            | West Boylston       |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast            | Massachusetts, USA  |
| mailto:crfriend at rcn.com                        +---------------------+
| http://users.rcn.com/crfriend/museum           | ICBM: 42:22N 71:47W |
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