|
[DPRG] Examination of Free Software vs Mass Market Requirements
Subject: [DPRG] Examination of Free Software vs Mass Market Requirements
From: Dave Hylands
dhylands at gmail.com
Date: Fri Sep 12 11:18:36 CDT 2008
Hi Dick,
> >> 4. Ease of use is essential.
> > GCC is no harder to use than any other compiler.
>
> I admit to unfamiliarity with GCC but I thought it was command line based.
> If so, this is not easier than many of the graphical IDEs. Yes. I understand
> there are graphical IDEs that make GCC easier to use but this is another
> topic.
Almost every commercial toolchain that I've used has command line
tools, and the IDEs are just "pretty frontends". Many people use
Eclipse.
As far as developing commercial software go, all of the companies I've
ever worked on always use makefiles (or something similar) and command
line tools. This is done so that the makefiles can be checked into a
version control system. They also typically did nightly builds of the
software to perform regression tests, and this is WAY easier to do
when using command line tools than when using GUI front ends.
> And who thinks the existing norm is acceptable? The ease of use of GCC and
> most compilers is beyond the skills of the new "mass market" that I'm
> talking about.
Well, using most computer software is beyond the skills of the "mass
market". Hell 25% of the population is illiterate.
> And, depending on opinion, there are compilers that are easier to use than
> GCC. GCC is designed for the professional programmer and development of
> large systems. The vast majority of mass market robotics hobbyist programs
> are a single file and less than 100 lines of code. The tool chain interface
> can be dramatically simplified if optimized for this volume application --
> single source file, no projects, no makefiles, etc, etc.
I promise you, that no mass produced robot that does anything beyond
following lines will have 100 lines of code. Take something like the
roomba. Just a lowly vaccum cleaner. I wouldn't be at all surprised if
there were 100,000 lines of code behind it. It doesn't take very long
to write 100,000 lines of code.
I have 30,000 lines of code sitting in my repository.
> With GCC, can you really take the average 13-year old with no robotics
> experience and no programming experience, have him attend a two hour
> workshop during Spring break at the Science museum, and by the end of the
> workshop he's programmed a line follower and some simple dead reckoning
> movements? And he actually understood what he was doing? By the way, he's
> writing the program not simply copying something from an example.
I don't see how GCC enters into the above discussion. Take any C
compiler and do the above and I'll be impressed.
--
Dave Hylands
Vancouver, BC, Canada
http://www.DaveHylands.com/
More information about the DPRG mailing list
|
