Introduction and RFC

[Peter Ahé]

Ted,

I don't see how you ever reached the conclusion that this list was for
discussion of language features.  Both Jon and I have been clear about
this from the start.  We open sourced javac (and the JDK
implementation), not its specification.

Unfortunately, most people who propose a language feature take no time
to get themselves up to speed on the history, or the computer science
behind language design.  As a former Sun employee, I have experienced
the inflow of, to put it mildly, below par language feature proposals.
 Sun receives a lot of these, and they are a huge distraction.

When we decided to open the our mailing lists, one of our primary
concerns was that it would drown in language feature proposals,
counter proposals, and endless discussions about those proposals.  If
that were to happen, this list would be useless.

You are free to setup a mailing list for discussions of language
features; I would not be interested in subscribing, and I suspect many
of my former colleagues feel the same way.  Eventually, I hope that
Sun will be able to open their bug database, in which case you should
be able to subscribe directly to the java/specification category.  For
now you will have to make a Google Alert on "java/specification
site:bugs.sun.com".

Cheers,
Peter

On 10/25/07, Ted Neward <ted at tedneward.com> wrote:
> Interesting--which list *would* be the proper place to discuss language
> proposals? Is there one? (Personally, I thought it was this one.)
>
> Along those same lines, is there a reason for the segregation? Is there
> really that much of a semantic difference between the two topics that we
> would want to keep those two topics distinct and apart? (I'm not
> criticizing, just trying to understand the thought process.)
>
> Ted Neward
> Java, .NET, XML Services
> Consulting, Teaching, Speaking, Writing
> http://www.tedneward.com
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: compiler-dev-bounces at openjdk.java.net [mailto:compiler-dev-
> > bounces at openjdk.java.net] On Behalf Of Peter Ahé
> > Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 12:47 PM
> > To: Andras Gerlits
> > Cc: compiler-dev at openjdk.java.net
> > Subject: Re: Introduction and RFC
> >
> > On 10/13/07, Andras Gerlits <andras.gerlits at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > The reason I joined this list is that I would like some opinions on
> > > the following proposal (some first-level review by folks much
> > > knowledgable about the java compiler than myself):
> >
> > Unfortunately, that is not the purpose of this list.  If you
> > *implement* your feature as an extension of javac, then your message
> > could be relevant for this list.
> >
> > In order for me not to be a complete bozo about your off-topic
> > message, allow me to redirect your attention to this:
> > http://blogs.sun.com/ahe/entry/selftypes
> > The page includes a link to an RFE for this, and the comment section
> > of that particular bug is an appropriate forum for discussing this
> > subject further.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Peter
> >
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