--- Cameron Schlehuber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Greg, it all depends on how much re-factoring is done in a "patch". > There's > nothing to prevent a "patch" from replacing entire packages with > entirely > new packages. In VistA, we've stretched the definition of "patch" to > no > longer be anything at all like a traditional patch. > > The "case now" all depends on what gets approved by management. Make > the > case and it will be done. > > There are two reasons that "patches" are used so extensively over > releasing > "new versions". > > 1. The perceived notion by management that "new versions" require > much more > documentation overhead than "patches". > > 2. The accurate recognition that "patches" in VistA are easier to > distribute > than "new versions" due to the semi-automated process of > configuration > management and release management. > You're right of course. I'm not using (or at least intending to use) the word "patch" in the sense of a specific mechanism for distributing software, but rather as a stopgap or an ad hoc fix. Refactoring is another matter. The problem here is that there is no immediate return on the time and effort you put into refactoring, so it doesn't happen as often as it ought to, IMO. My basic objection to releasing so much functionality through patches (in the VistA sense) is that there is no such thing as a current snapshot. Installing hundreds of patches to bring a system up to date is awfully tedious (and maybe someone can find a better solution). But that's peripheral to my main point. === Gregory Woodhouse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Einstein was a giant. He had his head in the clouds and his feet on the ground." -- Richard P. Feynman ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: Power Architecture Resource Center: Free content, downloads, discussions, and more. http://solutions.newsforge.com/ibmarch.tmpl _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
