On Wed, Jan 15, 2020 at 8:25 PM Gregory Nutt <spudan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I would like to open a discussion for 72 hours then call a vote. The > topic is "Should we remove Windows native build support?" > > What is the Windows native build? Is is a build option that supports > building NuttX in a pure Windows environment such as from a Windows IDE > or from CMD/PowerShell command line. It differs primarily in that it > cannot use Bash features or Bash .sh scripts, but instead must use > commands from CMD.exe and .bat scripts. > > Please see the discussion here that is leading to the vote: > https://github.com/apache/incubator-nuttx/pull/102 > > I think this needs a vote because (1) it is clear contradiction to the > Inviolables and (2) it could have significant, negative impact to NuttX > users down the road (although I don't think any current NuttX user would > be impacted). The cost vs the benefit is not entirely clear to me. > > PRO Removal: > > * The Windows native native support is seldom used and lags the POSIX > environment builds. As a consequence, it is usually broken. > Historically, people who need the native have to contribute fixes to > get the build back into working shape. > * Documentation current claims that NuttX supports the Windows native > build but that build is never verified and is probably not working > at any given time. > * The Windows native build adds a lot complexity to the build system. > > ANTI Removal > > * Although, the Windows native build is probably broken at any given > time, it has historically not been a huge effort to get it back into > shape. That might be different now since there has been a > significant re-write to the apps/ build, in particular. > * There are users whose customer base absolutely requires the Windows > native build. Good user oriented support would require that we > support the Windows the native build. > * Removing the Windows native build for reasons of convenience and > expediency and without regard to the needs of the NuttX user is very > much in contradiction to the OS principles (i.e., the Inviolables). > > Please offer your opinion. You should not take the position of someone > who only cares about your personal use of Linux. Please think in terms > of the bigger picture of what is good for the project and for the users > of the project in the long run. > > I will end the discussion and start the vote in the evening of January 18. I would prefer that we keep the ability to build on native Windows. That is still the most prolific OS and is used heavily in the embedded development world. Every microcontroller vendor I've worked with seems to support Windows based tools first and other platforms as an option. Sometimes other platforms are not supported at all. We already have the build system in place. If we could have a buildbot running nightly build tests then we'd be assured of its continued quality. Also we would keep in the spirit of the INVIOLABLES, which, as you've said before, we shouldn't violate for our own convenience or expediency. Nathan
