Re: [f-cpu] Taking decision on the project

[Michael Riepe <michael@stud.uni-hannover.de>]

On Mon, Dec 09, 2002 at 02:22:27PM +0000, Nicolas Boulay wrote:

> I don't have time as Michael to go deep regularly inside the manual. But
> i don't like so much to change the manual depending on what is
> implemented ! That is not the goal of a manual.

What *is* the goal of a manual, then?
It's not a wish list, is it?

[...]
> Our main document is the Manual, so Cedric find this way to speed up
> decision : if nobody are against, it's adopted. During almost 2 year,
> the manual did not change !
[...]

I guess `speed up' is an euphemism for `force'?

The manual must not change every day/week/month/year. It's THE reference
for everybody who is going to implement something - VHDL, C or assembler,
that doesn't matter. It should only change if it's wrong, or there is an
implementation problem - and in either case, changes should be minimal.
Everything else belongs into a wish list - but not into the manual.

If I can't rely on the manual, I can't do anything. I can't implement a
feature (such as a new instruction) as long as its design is changing.
Neither can I finish my assembler as long as the instruction set is
modified again and again (therefore it's still at version 0.0), or
start working on its emulator companion :(

The manual wasn't `not changing', it was *stable*, and that definitely
was a Good Thing (tm). This point of view probably doesn't matter for
you, but it does for me, and probably for everybody else who wants to
contribute code to the F-CPU project - whether it's VHDL or supporting
software like compilers, tools, operating system ports and so on. Frequent
design changes will just annoy and discourage active developers as well
as developers `in spe'.

Look, I want this project to be successful. But if you don't stop changing
the specs, FC0 will still not be up and running in 2022 :( So please let
the manual stabilize again, and keep all your great ideas in a separate
document, for FC1 or later versions of the F-CPU core.

-- 
 Michael "Tired" Riepe <Michael.Riepe@stud.uni-hannover.de>
 "All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die"
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