[Ffmpeg-devel] Using ffmpeg libs in an OSS project is a nightmare

Kenneth Lavrsen kenneth
Sun Aug 7 13:39:32 CEST 2005


>I think then you really didn't get how Fmpeg and MPlayer development
>works. All CVS snapshots are supposed to be in that state, and at
>least 90% of the time they actually are.

90%.

So 10% of users downloading the "latest CVS" gets something not fully 
working. That is many. I actually think you are doing better than that - 
but even 1% is many 1000s of users per year getting into trouble.

>It really looks to me like you didn't really try to find a solution to
>your problem yourself and instead expect the people here to implement
>your ideas.

What is there to implement? We are not asking for new features or new 
codecs or a lot of work. We are just asking for a tar.gz to be ftp'ed to 
Sourceforge 3 times per year.
I am not an expert in CVS but if all the CVS text entries can be compiled 
in one file then we may not even need a release note. I will figure out how 
to do that. Then I could just read it through and summarize it the best I 
can and post that on SF. Maybe post a short note here first for review.

You make it sound like a big burden and I have already said that I can 
upload it for you. I release on SF all the time. I can do it in my sleep now.

>I'm sorry, I prefer Micheal and all the others working on better codec
>support instead of caring about API stability and documentation - if
>that is important to enough people, IMHO it should be possible to find
>somebody who does it.

API stability and documentation cost a lot of work. That cannot be argued. 
You are 100% right about that. And to get that done you either have to work 
less on the codec or get someone to volunteer. That is why I suggest the 
not so ideal but very simple solution of releasing 3 times per year at 
fixed dates.

So let us just start with 3 releases per year.
Then at least the API only changes 3 times per year seen from the point of 
view of developers outside the ffmpeg/Mplayer circles.
Nothing prevents Mplayer to continue using latest CVS. The CVS is still 
there. The daily CVS snaps are still there. Noone looses anything. It is a 
win win.
What it brings is stability 4 months at a time and RPMs/debs that are 
baselines the rest of us can trust and know the state of incl bugs etc.

Why do you resist such a simple solution? You have nothing to loose. Why 
not give it a try?

Next date could be October 1st following my suggested February 1st, June 
1st, October 1st scheme.
On October 1st I pick the tar.gz of the day and upload it to Sourceforge as 
0.4.10.
The release note will be my intrepretation of the CVS entries since 0.4.9pre1.
All the developers have to do is warn me if the October 1st tar.gz is 
rotten so I can pick one a week earlier or wait a week.
That is simple. No valuable codec coding time lost for anyone.

Kenneth



-- 
Kenneth Lavrsen,
Glostrup, Denmark
kenneth at lavrsen.dk
Home Page - http://www.lavrsen.dk 






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