[Info-vax] problem with 64-bit pointers in C

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2018-02-01 14:06:58 +0000, Scott Dorsey said:

> Stephen Hoffman  <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> wrote:
>> 
>> The existing backward-compatible 32-/64-bit environment is never going 
>> to be less than an utter and confusing and cryptic and arcane 
>> train-wreck.  Never.
> 
> This is true.  However, the same thing can be said of Windows and Linux too.
> 
> Solaris did it right.

macOS, too.

Learn from what worked.  Learn from what didn't.  Learn from your own 
and from the mistakes of others.

Doing what is right and necessary sometimes requires breaking app 
compatibility.   Sometimes doing the right thing requires app 
developers to rework their code.

There isn't a canonical right answer here, it's all trade-offs, and the 
right answer can and variously does change over time.  Sometimes 
substantially.

If you are going to force these breaking changes, then have the 
conviction of your new design and new implementation and make it the 
new default, and force folks to enable compatibility to use the older 
approaches.   Work toward better and simpler, and not more complex.  
Work toward removing code, too.

Software is "done" in the same way that lawns are "mowed".

But that's enough philosophy...


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