JEP 175: Integrate PowerPC/AIX Port into JDK 8

[mark.reinhold at oracle.com]

2013/2/2 13:42 +0100, david.holmes at oracle.com:
> ...
> 
> I think the "risks" are a little under-stated. You have changed shared code and
> that potentially impacts all platforms (unless you have only added new
> functions unused on existing platforms?). There is also the matter of the
> "elephant in the room" - the existing proprietary PPC port that Oracle has for
> Java SE Embedded. Someone (from Oracle of course) will have to see how the
> proposed structure of the new port will impact the existing closed port. It
> might be a non-issue, or  a major issue - most likely somewhere in between.

Either way, issues with a proprietary port that's downstream of OpenJDK
are for the maintainers of that port to solve, regardless of whether the
maintainers work for Oracle.  The existence of a proprietary port cannot
hold back the contribution of an open port.

> I am also hoping that this will not simply be a copy'n'modify port as we have
> seen in the past. The proliferation of platform ifdefs in shared code is truly
> horrendous; as is the duplication across the purportedly platform-specific
> code. This problem wasn't addressed for the Mac port but in my opinion (and
> that is all it is) it needs to be before the community accepts any further
> ports.

I think it'd be a fine thing for that code to be refactored and cleaned
up, but I don't see that as a prerequisite for a new port coming in.

> I'd also like to understand the proposed maintenance model going forward. We
> (in Oracle) already have to accommodate our closed ports when they are affected
> by changes to common code that requires per-platform changes as well. Who will
> be providing the changes needed for aix-ppc? And how will that happen?

Every port needs a documented set of maintainers, and it's up to the
maintainers to track changes in shared code.  If a port stops being
maintained and rots for a significant period of time then it's likely to
be removed.  This is how similar long-lived projects (e.g., GCC) work.

Now that a port that's to be maintained by non-Oracle developers is being
proposed, I will soon propose a formal policy along these lines.

- Mark