Re: LYNX-DEV Re: Lynx updates

[Drazen Kacar]

Foteos Macrides wrote:

>       More importantly, in all this time since Lynx was GPLed to be
> supported by the Lynx User Community, we've gotten good support for
> information, such as the Lynx Enhanced Pages, the Lynx-me services,
> etc., but we haven't developed into an effective group for actual
> code development.  That's in part a matter of more people needing to
> acquire a real understanding of how the Lynx code works, but it also
> requires a better meshing of "personalities" than we have, in some
> cases, right now.

Lynx sources are huge. And without enough documentation. Unless I missed
something, WWW Library part is poorly documented and all major additions
to code must be done there or with using library functions. File upload,
tables support, form like options page, new tags, you name it.
I ran Lynx through Purify and Purify found some memory leaks, but I don't
know where to patch the holes. There's enourmous number of functions that
nest very deep and I don't know where is the right spot to insert something.
Major structures are undocumented. I don't have the faintest idea why are
data structures organized in the way they are, or where to add (or delete)
something. I don't know which functions exist, which functions are safe
and which need improvement. I suppose I could learn all that, but it
would take very big effort and time I don't currently have. And anyone
else would have to pass through the same process. So, if possible,
documentation please.

Overview of all global structures and variables, and overview of existing
functions. What they take as arguments, what they return and what global
things they modify and how. And what are they supposed to do in the first
place, of course. For old functions whose behaviour is uncertain (or possibly
errorneous), a note about that.

This would take time and effort of those few who understand Lynx good
enough, but it should pay off very soon. I think it's impossible for
anyone new to jump in and start developing Lynx without a very big learning
period.

>       There's also the problem that HTML standarization has fallen
> apart, and a client like Lynx is left in the position of now always
> "reverse engineering" for what the "major vendors" have actually done,
> rather than being guided by truly open, publicly discussed drafts and
> RFCs.  For someone who works on Lynx purely as a hobby, that takes a
> lot of the fun out of it.

:)

-- 
Life is a sexually transmitted disease.

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