diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/design/goals.xml')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/design/goals.xml | 216 |
1 files changed, 216 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/design/goals.xml b/doc/design/goals.xml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a7b69b --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/design/goals.xml @@ -0,0 +1,216 @@ +<!-- + + Copyright (c) 2001, 2002, 2003 Steven Knight + + Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining + a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the + "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including + without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, + distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to + permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to + the following conditions: + + The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included + in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. + + THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY + KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE + WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND + NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE + LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION + OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION + WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. + +--> + + <para> + + As a next-generation build tool, + &SCons should fundamentally + improve on its predecessors. + Rather than simply being driven by trying to + <emphasis>not</emphasis> be like previous tools, + &SCons; aims to satisfy the following goals: + + </para> + + <variablelist> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>Practicality</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + + The &SCons; design emphasizes + an implementable feature set + that lets users get practical, useful work done. + &SCons; is helped in this regard by its roots in &Cons;, + which has had its feature set honed by + several years of input + from a dedicated band of users. + + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>Portability</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + + &SCons; is intended as a portable build tool, + able to handle software construction tasks + on a variety of operating systems. + It should be possible (although not mandatory) + to use &SCons; so that the same configuration file + builds the same software correctly on, + for example, both Linux and Windows NT. + Consequently, &SCons; should hide from users + operating-system-dependent details + such as filename extensions + (for example, <filename>.o</filename> + vs. <filename>.obj</filename>). + + <!-- + XXX: enable writing portable builds without forcing it + --> + + <!-- + XXX: still write non-portably for quick-and-dirty + --> + + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>Usability</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + + Novice users should be able to grasp quickly + the rudiments of using &SCons; to build their software. + This extends to installing &SCons;, too. + Installation should be painless, + and the installed &SCons; + should work "out of the box" + to build most software. + + </para> + + <para> + + This goal should be kept in mind during implementation, + when there is always a tendency to try to optimize too early. + Speed is nice, but not as important as clarity + and ease of use. + + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>Utility</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + + &SCons; should also provide a rich enough set of features + to accommodate building more complicated software projects. + However, the features required for + building complicated software projects + should not get in the way of novice users. + (See the previous goal.) + In other words, complexity should be available + when it's needed + but not required to get work done. + Practically, this implies that &SCons; + shouldn't be dumbed down to the point it + excludes complicated software builds. + + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>Sharability</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + + As a key element in balancing the conflicting + needs of <literal>Usability</literal> and <literal>Utility</literal>, + &SCons; should provide mechanisms to + allow &SCons; users to share build rules, + dependency scanners, and other objects and recipes + for constructing software. + A good sharing mechanism should support + the model wherein most developers on a project + use rules and templates + that are created + and maintained by a local integrator or build-master, + + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>Extensibility</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + + &SCons; should provide mechanisms for + easily extending its capabilities, + including building new types of files, + adding new types of dependency scanning, + being able to accomodate dependencies + between objects other than files, + etc. + + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>Flexibility</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + + In addition to providing a useful command-line interface, + &SCons; should provide the right architectural + framework for embedding its dependency management + in other interfaces. + &SCons; would help strengthen other GUIs or IDEs + and the additional requirements of the + other interfaces would help broaden and solidify + the core &SCons; dependency management. + + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + </variablelist> + +<section id="sect-fix-make"> + <title>Fixing &Make;'s problems</title> + + <para> + +<!-- +To be written. +--> + + </para> + +</section> + +<section id="sect-fix-cons"> + <title>Fixing &Cons;'s problems</title> + + <para> + +<!-- +To be written. +--> + + </para> + +</section> |