Comments on: I Don’t Get It http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/i-dont-get-it/ programming, politics, & other religious issues Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:16:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Michael Chermside http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/i-dont-get-it/#comment-37413 Michael Chermside Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:05:55 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2276#comment-37413 For projects in ALL languages, the difficulty in getting a patch accepted is a genuine issue (and is difficult to solve). There is a sweet-spot of small, recent projects that accept patches easily. Older projects are often neglected (or abandoned) by their original authors, which makes accepting patches difficult. Larger projects necessarily set standards (like requiring unit tests or moderately complicated review processes, or certain coding standards) which not every patch will meet. The problem is not easily solved because these are inherent problems rather than just projects being obstinate. Meanwhile, Java programmers are probably worse because (1) many well-known open-source Java projects are large and corporately sponsored which makes it difficult to get them to accept patches, and (2) many Java programmers work in corporate environments where it is difficult to get "permission" to contribute to an open source project. Simply not being in the habit of doing so makes the practice less likely than with other languages. For projects in ALL languages, the difficulty in getting a patch accepted is a genuine issue (and is difficult to solve). There is a sweet-spot of small, recent projects that accept patches easily. Older projects are often neglected (or abandoned) by their original authors, which makes accepting patches difficult. Larger projects necessarily set standards (like requiring unit tests or moderately complicated review processes, or certain coding standards) which not every patch will meet. The problem is not easily solved because these are inherent problems rather than just projects being obstinate.

Meanwhile, Java programmers are probably worse because (1) many well-known open-source Java projects are large and corporately sponsored which makes it difficult to get them to accept patches, and (2) many Java programmers work in corporate environments where it is difficult to get “permission” to contribute to an open source project. Simply not being in the habit of doing so makes the practice less likely than with other languages.

]]> By: James Carr http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/i-dont-get-it/#comment-37233 James Carr Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:47:32 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2276#comment-37233 Yeah... this has often surprised me as well. I've witnessed a team try to use some open source solution and give up because of a minor bug and go to a much more difficult to use proprietary solution (which amusingly had more critical bugs). I was also surprised when at my current client site they actually asked me spend a week working on fixing a bug in an open source project and submit a patch... that's definitely the best attitude to have. :) Yeah… this has often surprised me as well. I’ve witnessed a team try to use some open source solution and give up because of a minor bug and go to a much more difficult to use proprietary solution (which amusingly had more critical bugs).

I was also surprised when at my current client site they actually asked me spend a week working on fixing a bug in an open source project and submit a patch… that’s definitely the best attitude to have. :)

]]> By: Aristotle Pagaltzis http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/i-dont-get-it/#comment-37222 Aristotle Pagaltzis Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:55:54 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2276#comment-37222 I agree with Peter – I actually <a href="http://twitter.com/apag/status/7101875141" rel="nofollow">tweeted the same observation</a> just a few weeks ago. I got <a href="http://twitter.com/jrockway/status/7101912403" rel="nofollow">one response to that</a> that <a href="http://twitter.com/apag/status/7360563175" rel="nofollow">didn’t satisfy me either</a>. It’s not limited to Java either. I agree with Peter – I actually tweeted the same observation just a few weeks ago. I got one response to that that didn’t satisfy me either.

It’s not limited to Java either.

]]> By: Peter Niederwieser http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/i-dont-get-it/#comment-37220 Peter Niederwieser Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:31:54 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2276#comment-37220 From my experience, most developers aren't even willing to take the time to report a bug they encounter... From my experience, most developers aren’t even willing to take the time to report a bug they encounter…

]]> By: Robert Fischer http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/posts/i-dont-get-it/#comment-37219 Robert Fischer Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:10:27 +0000 http://enfranchisedmind.com/blog/?p=2276#comment-37219 Argh. I've totally forgotten about JConch 1.2. Just released it. It's now a Gradle-based build (I wanted to OSGi-ify the project and have a Maven repo). Argh. I’ve totally forgotten about JConch 1.2. Just released it. It’s now a Gradle-based build (I wanted to OSGi-ify the project and have a Maven repo).

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