Re: Can we do it: variable scoping

[David Boyce]

I have only a meta-comment .... and since I've only contributed a
couple of minor patches/enhancements and don't know the code base
well, my opinion should be weighted accordingly.

However, from what I've seen of the code it's way overdue for some
cleanup[*] and IMHO trying to add and support new features on top of
the current code base is trouble. I think it would be better to burn a
(short) release cycle on a basic cleanup, uncomplicated by any
functional change, then think about features in the subsequent
release. This could be as simple as setting up a standard indent
profile and running indent on all .c files, then splitting porting
hacks out from ifdefs into platform-specific files. Plus adding a few
strategic abstractions and maybe a little naming convention work.
Comments, etc.

Because right now I think you have a vicious cycle: the code is so
impenetrable and fragile that people who might like to contribute a
fix or feature but have not spent years immersed in it are scared off,
which puts more burden on Paul et al, and so on.

-David Boyce

[*] Not the fault of anyone on the project of course, just the result
of 20 years of porting to every system since CP/M plus maintainers
with lives and day jobs.