Francois LE COAT wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Lance Birch wrote :
>> People seem to have forgotten this is a beta.
> 
> I understand that a platform must be chosen to propose a beta version.
> Otherwise it may be rather difficult to manage releases ... But why
> is Windows chosen, knowing that it is the only OS that is non Unix ?

Why do you worship Unix?

> I can understand that there's much more beta testers under Windows,

You just answered your above question.

> because this system has a commercial dominant position. But this system
> is also non compatible with every others !

Excuse me, but can you take a binary compiled for Mac OS X and run it 
under Linux?  Can you even run it under Yellow Dog Linux (compiled 
specifically for the G5)?  Can you run a Linux x86 binary and run it 
under Sparc Solaris?

All of these systems are incompatible with all the others.

> If another system had been chosen, it would have been the best way to
> port to others, and to have a representative implementation.

Nobody is porting the betas to other systems, so this is a moot point. 
Once the code base has stabilized, then the release of various ports 
will begin.

Besides, all that is needed for a "representative implementation", would 
be a representative sample of all POV users... the majority of which run 
Windows...

> You know
> that POSIX threads are common to really a great amount of systems, if
> it was the point ...

Irrelevant...


> Computing farms are running Unix systems ...

... also irrelevant...


> Windows is the worst choice to experiment a beta version.

Why?  The most users are on Windows.

> I always
> personally ported POV starting from Linux sources anyway.

What you do or do not do has no effect on the POV-Team.

> That's why I'm speaking of the way to "promote" Windows, which
> sounds me to be the worst choice.

They aren't "promoting" windows.  If they were to say, "POV-Ray only 
runs on Windows because it's the best OS out there!" then that would be 
promoting Windows.  Instead, they're saying, "We are releasing a buggy 
and incomplete version of POV-Ray for testing purposes only on the 
system which most POV-Ray users operate on."  Hardly promotional 
material, that.

> 
> Regards,

Salutations,

...Chambers

Post a reply to this message