I would like to open a discussion for 72 hours then call a vote. The
topic is "Should we remove Windows native build support?"
What is the Windows native build? Is is a build option that supports
building NuttX in a pure Windows environment such as from a Windows IDE
or from CMD/PowerShell command line. It differs primarily in that it
cannot use Bash features or Bash .sh scripts, but instead must use
commands from CMD.exe and .bat scripts.
Please see the discussion here that is leading to the vote:
https://github.com/apache/incubator-nuttx/pull/102
I think this needs a vote because (1) it is clear contradiction to the
Inviolables and (2) it could have significant, negative impact to NuttX
users down the road (although I don't think any current NuttX user would
be impacted). The cost vs the benefit is not entirely clear to me.
PRO Removal:
* The Windows native native support is seldom used and lags the POSIX
environment builds. As a consequence, it is usually broken.
Historically, people who need the native have to contribute fixes to
get the build back into working shape.
* Documentation current claims that NuttX supports the Windows native
build but that build is never verified and is probably not working
at any given time.
* The Windows native build adds a lot complexity to the build system.
ANTI Removal
* Although, the Windows native build is probably broken at any given
time, it has historically not been a huge effort to get it back into
shape. That might be different now since there has been a
significant re-write to the apps/ build, in particular.
* There are users whose customer base absolutely requires the Windows
native build. Good user oriented support would require that we
support the Windows the native build.
* Removing the Windows native build for reasons of convenience and
expediency and without regard to the needs of the NuttX user is very
much in contradiction to the OS principles (i.e., the Inviolables).
Please offer your opinion. You should not take the position of someone
who only cares about your personal use of Linux. Please think in terms
of the bigger picture of what is good for the project and for the users
of the project in the long run.
I will end the discussion and start the vote in the evening of January 18.
Greg
