[freeciv-data] Re: State of the data patches

["Eric S. Raymond" <esr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jason Dorje Short <jdorje@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> You had about 4 patches, of which some got applied.  But I said "all but 
> the Barsoom one", which clearly isn't true.

This could be good or bad, depending on which one you applied.  One of
those 4 was a rollup patch that included all the other stuff minus Barsoom.

I just updated CVS.  It looks like what you have is my leader enhancements, 
without my class/legend stuff, and without a needed correction to the 
Catalan file.
 
> Raimar - I guess the status now is that new fictional nations shouldn't 
> be added until the class/legend stuff is in place.  But we're not going 
> to have support for the class/legend stuff for all GUI's...so perhaps we 
> should push that patch through without GUI support, thus unblocking 
> further nation development?

Please do that.  There are more good things I'd like to do with improving
the nation data, but I can't until I know my new patches won't collide with
older ones still in the queue

I've already got a problem that I want to test Raimer's version 3 patch for 
the new nation dialog, but I know that's going to step on the Catalan fix
I want to put in, and restoring the ten or so patch bands that Raimer said
didn't fly when he tried to apply my patch.  Also my wife has thought of
a couple of queens we can add.  

There's a lesson here.  Tying the data patch to the GUI stuff complicated
my life way too much.  The data files are designed so they can be enriched
without breaking the server's startup parse; we should bear that in mind 
and decouple the two.

Here's how I would prefer to handle it, if Raimer doesn't object:

1. Raimer, please drop the data-file stuff out of your nation-classification 
patch entirely so we won't step on each other.  I think it would be better
if I maintained the class/legend stuff.  I wrote it, after all.

2. I will take the responsibility to do a rollup patch that will bring 
the data files fully up to date, *with* class/legend, and *with* Barsoom.

3. From now on, the GUI maintainers get to play catchup with the data
files at their own pace.

4. Informally, I'm willing to 'own' the nation files.  Good role for
me, as improving them is something fun that I can fit into a busy schedule,
doing lots of small steps, with little risk that I'll break anything.
-- 
                <a href="http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/";>Eric S. Raymond</a>