[cc65] News for 2013

I wish everybody on the list a happy new year!

Most of you may already have noticed, that I have been lazy and not very
responsive in 2012. It seems I have lost a lot of the motivation and the fun
of working on cc65. There have been times in my cc65 "career", with almost no
output, but it has never been as it was in the last half year. I was even
unresposive in answering emails, and I might have frustrated several people.
This is bad and I'm sorry for it.

I don't know enough about the causes and therefore I cannot offer a final
solution. But it would be a pity to start 2013 as 2012 has ended. A maintainer
who doesn't maintain is worse for a project than no maintainer at all.

I'm not at the point to give up completely, but something needs to change so I
can gain back motivation and fun.

One of the things I perceive as wearisome is design and implementation of the
library. Yes, I've brought it all on the way, made sure we have portable
libraries and standards complying where possible. But since the old times,
more and more platforms have been added. Today, I need to discuss color
management differences between Atari and the Oric Atmos, and similar things.
Oliver has made really great library extensions with me playing mostly
brakeman. This is not the way it should be.

So I think, one of the first and most important things I should do is to cease
control over the libraries. This won't work completely, since for example the
runtime and startup codes are tightly coupled to the compiler proper. But it
will work for large parts. I know I will have a hard time doing so, but I
think it is necessary and it will enable me (hopefully) to put more work into
the compiler and other tools. If it won't work, I will have to think about
other measures.

Which means, the job of a library architect is open. Since I've also been the
developer for the CBM libraries (C16, Plus4, C64, C128, CBM510&610 and PET),
this place would also be vacant.

Anybody willing to step in? Oliver, you have been responsible for most of the
library changes in the last time. I have been really appreciating the great
job you have done. Would you be willing to go a step further and take over as
the principal architect?

As described above, I'm not really sure if this is the final solution. It's an
attempt to improve the situation, which may work or not. If anybody has
suggestions for further improvements, please go ahead and let me know.

Regards


        Uz


-- 
Ullrich von Bassewitz                                  uz@musoftware.de
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