Hotspot Express (HSX)

[Claes Redestad]

On 2020-02-19 22:50, Hohensee, Paul wrote:
> Given your stance on backports and JSX adoption, I can see your point and even agree with it. The problem is that the vast majority of users don’t want to use JSX. That's definitely the case inside Amazon.

And why is that, Paul?

> 
> HSX does complicate the code base a bit, but is that worse than doing 600+ backports and counting? 

Yes. :-)

Or rather: Even if a vast majority of users only skip from LTS to LTS, I
believe only a small fraction of those backports have been *strictly
necessary*.

There are definitely resources that can be diverted from backporting
(which helps users stuck on some old release) to maintaining and
improving the tip (which brings *everyone* value sooner or later, be it
next quarter or in three years).

Granted, I've backported a few things that weren't strictly necessary,
too, such as various startup optimizations, but always with the
motivation that without a fix there would have been regressions caused
by other, more critical changes. I'm not religiously against backports.
:-)

But even if you don't agree the virtues of focusing engineering
resources on maintaining and working on the tip, we should stay well
clear of things that make maintaining the tip harder than it already is.

Because it is already really hard.

And HSX is one of the worse things you can do to make that maintenance
harder.

> Also, I'm curious about how removing HSX remnants has improved performance. Can anyone point me at specifics?

No. It's an accumulation of small improvements over time, including a
reduction in static footprint, many small startup improvements and
some overall performance improvements.

But what's really at stake here are all the future features, cleanups
and larger improvements that will be just that little bit *harder* to do
*right* if hsx was still a thing.

I won't go so far as to say it'd make any of the cool stuff happening at
or near the tip now impossible. But it would without a doubt slow down
progress to the detriment of everyone. Perhaps even enough to make some
throw their hands in the air and pick up ranching. Just sayin'.

/Claes