On 8/30/2013 12:04 AM, Chris Bannister wrote:
On Thu, Aug 29, 2013 at 09:25:31AM -0400, Jerry Stuckle wrote:
The problem with changing upstream code is it is not a one-shot
deal. Changes must be investigated and applied every time a new
version comes out, which means someone has to keep track of the
changes which were done, and see how they fit into the new code. It
can be a very time-consuming job.
Doesn't Quilt alleviate a lot of the trouble?
Not really. It can manage the source code changes - but it is very
superficial. It cannot determine the effects of those changes. What
happens, for instance, when a routine is changed such that the code
being executed is now conditional? Or it was conditional but no longer
is? What happens if a function being called is no longer there (this
one, at least, will give a compile error). Or even a variable changing
from unsigned int to int (or vice versa)?
When working with production systems, you need to carefully examine how
your patch affects the code, any time a new release comes out. It is
time consuming and no one has yet invented a machine which can do it -
not even "Watson" :).
Jerry
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