OpenJDK build system might need to be adapted for Sun Solaris Sparc/SmartOS

[David Holmes]

Hi Adrian,

The original thread has been hijacked by this discussion.

On 31/05/2017 10:26 PM, John Paul Adrian Glaubitz wrote:
> On Wed, May 31, 2017 at 02:12:16PM +0200, Mario Torre wrote:
>> I can't check the patches in detail now, but I see that the discussion
>> on those threads doesn't go much on the technical side but rather
>> focus on whether Oracle should support or not their own products :)
> 
> Well, I wish we could focus on the technical side.

The initial problem is not a technical one but a process one.

>> I think David's reply was highlighting the actual points instead:
>>
>> * The status of linux-sparc as a port in OpenJDK 9 (or 8u) is unclear
>> * There is no way you will get them JDK 9 at this stage, this work
>> needs to be done on 10
> 
> I just want the changes to get merged into what would be HEAD in git
> terms, just to get them off my plate.
> 
>> * Hotspot group leads should have a say on this
>>
>> I think it makes sense to seek the hotspot leads approval for that
>> work before anything else.
> 
> For one-liner patches?

It isn't the size or nature of these specific patches that is in 
question but the whole status of the linux/sparc port in OpenJDK. The 
leads may say "lets just take these now and defer the bigger question to 
later" - or they may say something else. That's their call.

David
-----

>>>> In the meantime perhaps I would suggest to get in touch with the
>>>> distro-pkg-dev people since they may help you, even if this is not
>>>> Linux specific.
>>>
>>> I am one of the maintainers of the Debian/sparc64 port and we have the
>>> possibility to add distro-specific patches. However, I don't want to
>>> carry these patches around forever but rather get them merged upstream
>>> and make them available to all downstreams, not just Debian.
>>>
>>
>> The way we have done that in the past is exactly this, slowly merge
>> upstream all the downstream specific changes, it's a process that
>> takes a lot of time, especially at the beginning when you need to
>> build trust and experience with the upstream developers.
> 
> That's sound very slow and painful. I don't think this way you will be
> able to attract contributors in the future. If such minor changes
> already involve so much discussion, most contributors will refrain
> from sending in patches which is sad because it means lots of good
> patches and ideas will never get merged.
> 
> Adrian
>