> "Francois LE COAT" <lec### [at] atariorg> wrote in message
news:43e8ea5d$1@news.povray.org...
> Hi,
>
> Lance Birch wrote :
> > "Warp" wrote :
> >> Lance Birch wrote:
> >>> POV-Ray is well-known for its multiple platform support.  The overhead
involved
> >>> in producing a compile for each platform that POV-Ray supports for each
beta
> >>> release would be extreme, and is unnecessary for the testing process.
> >>   It's not just a question of compilation: Frontends need to be created
> >> for each platform. Not a trivial task.
> >
> > Definitely.  I'm simplifying things greatly - there is so much to do to
create
> > each platform's release.  I was just noting the time overhead involved for
each
> > revision of the beta if you were to create one for each platform...
compiling
> > for each platform (as it is, there are three compiles; 32-bit/32-bit
> > SSE2/64-bit), compressing the various platform compiles with their
documentation
> > into separate archives, updating the website with the multiple platform
compiles
> > and no doubt writing notes for each, and so on.  It would probably take 5
times
> > as long just to organise the compiles for the revisions and get them on the
> > website, let alone the actual development involved.  One release is complex
> > enough, and for the purposes of testing and debugging the new internals one
> > platform is all that is required (and choosing the platform with the largest
> > beta tester user base is common sense).
> >
> > 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 ?

I have already answered this, but as Chambers has pointed out you have also
answered it:

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

Exactly.  There are more beta testers on Windows, therefore it makes sense to
release the beta compile for Windows.  That is the end of the story.

> because this system has a commercial dominant position. But this system
> is also non compatible with every others !
>
> If another system had been chosen, it would have been the best way to
> port to others, and to have a representative implementation. You know

There is no source released for the beta, so it can't be ported to anything.

> that POSIX threads are common to really a great amount of systems, if
> it was the point ... Computing farms are running Unix systems ...

What does that have to do with this test release?

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

That is incorrect.  As you said, "there's much more beta testers under Windows".

> personally ported POV starting from Linux sources anyway.

There is no source available for the beta, so this is irrelevant.

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

You are mistaken.  There is no "promotion" of Windows.  The simple fact is that
it has the largest tester user base and therefore is the platform of choice for
the beta test compiles.  There is no point releasing a test version on a
platform where there are fewer testers.  To choose to release a test compile for
a platform that doesn't have as many testers as another platform makes
absolutely no sense.

Lance.

thezone - thezone.firewave.com.au

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