On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 12:57:37PM +0000, Kevin Wells wrote: > >Absolutely. Just because we're dropping it now doesn't mean we'll > >refuse it later. Although the longer it is left, the more work will be > >required. > How much work is involved for some one who knows no C at all.
That entirely depends on the person. When I learned C, it took me about a week of evenings to become reasonably competent. However I know people who picked it up in days and people who took months. Simply knowing C is insufficient however; since then you need to understand a non-trivial codebase (NetSurf) and all the libraries it uses (libcss, hubbub, curl, openssl etc) to a sufficient level that you will be able to trace and debug issues and implement new features. Learning the codebase enough to be able to hack on NetSurf took me a few days to begin with; but months to be really productive. I don't expect a non-committed programmer to be able to take over the RO frontend effectively. By 'committed' I mean someone who 1. writes code as part of their job (in whatever language) and 2. writes code for their own edification. A casual coder is unlikely to have the kind of mind which can cope with the job. I'm not trying to put people off; just to make it clear that it's not the sort of job for someone who was a casual BASIC programmer and has now read a C book. Regards, Daniel -- Daniel Silverstone http://www.netsurf-browser.org/ PGP mail accepted and encouraged. Key Id: 3CCE BABE 206C 3B69
