Gervase Markham wrote:
> Matthew Thomas wrote:
> > It is quite possible, for example, that the Mozilla base (networking,
> > layout engine, XP Toolkit, etc) will be turned into a number of
> > libraries which individual Mozilla applications can then link to.
>
> Indeed. Absolutely. But all these parts are already under /projects, which
> is designed for this sort of thing. My objection was to [her] justification
> for the existence of the /software directory (see the comments at the
> bottom of the file).
No, no. /projects is designed to hold the sort of information needed by a
developer to _understand and modify the code_. /software is for the release
of the software. Libraries are software, are they not?
> > Having a /projects hierarchy makes about as much sense as having a /docs
> > hierarchy. Given enough mindless advocacy, anything could be considered
> > a `project'.
>
> Again, true.
That's the point. Then every initiative (since you don't like the word
project) can have a directory to arrange and display their files.
>
> I'm now leaning more towards having a single top-level directory for each
> "project". But then we need to decide what additional top-level
> directories we need for information which applies to the whole
> organisation (such as hacking docs etc.)
You'll wind up with more top-level directories than you can count,
and a poor organization to go with it.
>
> <sigh> Why is this stuff never easy?
My inadequate explanations? I don't thing I'm getting the point across.
Let me try again.
/softWARE - holds everything relating to the distribution of
mozilla.org's _wares_
Software is not a project. Development of software is a project. The
end result of the /project/ is a released /product/. The product is
software, not the project.
Word games aside, I think there's a valid distinction between using
the software--for whatever purpose, be it end user or middleman--and
the development of the software. There is no reason for users to sift
through project docs aimed at developers. Likewise, there is no reason
for developers to have to deal with instructions for downloading and
installing the software when they're studying the architecture.
Remember, _HyperText_ Markup Language /can/ link across directories.
>From the developer's main page for the Mozilla project (/projects/mozilla)
you can link to instructions for downloading and installing the latest
release (/software/mozilla). And from the download page for mozilla,
you can link to the project's "Get Involved" page. The website is a web,
the filesystem, a hierarchy.
