Re: [Libssh] [PATCH 1/2] Add a generic way to handle sockets asynchronously.

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On Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:15:18 +0200, Aleksandar Kanchev
<aleksandar.kanchev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Why is glib so scary? :)
> 

glib changes way to often. I've thought about using glib for my file
synchronizer so I've talked to a lot of colleagues. They all said that you
have to often adapt to the new api. You run often into a problem and then
have to wait for a new version to get it fixed.

If I meat my friends they often blame about the new glib version. One of
them is a opensync developer.  

> The pros of using glib is that it offers some nice things, like lists, 
> arrays, main loop, io channels and multi-threaded support. Stuffs that 
> are needed by libssh and stuff you don't have to worry if they are 
> implemented right, since that's the idea of a library. People are using 
> libssh for the very same reason.

I have list functions, rbtree functions and more available and they are
well tested. I care about resources and fast algorithms I'm not sure if
glib developers do it the same way as I do.

> I hope that you're also interested in expanding libssh to support more 
> and more features. If that's true, then using external libraries will 
> definitively help. I'm not saying that every new library should be a 
> hard dependency, but since glib is a core library, then it should be.

It is a bad core library. They break to often the API and the ABI.

> You could of course dismiss new libraries and implement the stuff 
> yourself but really, what's the point of reinventing the wheel? Why not 
> concentrate in expanding the ssh functionality instead? Are really that 
> many (windows) users that require this effort? Can't those users 
> continue using the "old" libssh? Wouldn't there be even more users if 
> the library "plays well"?

I don't want to maintain two libssh libraries. It is enough to maintain a
stable and a development branch. It would be possible to integrate libssh
in the glib mainloop and create a file in libssh with a compile option to
enable that mode.

Just my 2 cents...


-- andreas