Subject: Re: [dtn-users] Windows Build - Status Update
From: "Michael Demmer" <[email-masked]>
To: "Andy Scott" <[email-masked]>
Cc: dtn-users <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:06:41 -0800
List-Id: dtn-users mailing list <dtn-users.maillists.intel-research.net>

>  The coding standards are what's in the code -- I don't know of a
>  separate document.

Actually there's a CONTRIBUTING file in the DTN2 source repository that lays
out the coding conventions. That should probably be copied back to the oasys
directory as well. Also the part that names me as the maintainer of the
software should also probably be updated :)

re:apache branch - fair enough I will give this a go. If this offers a
> more portable approach to getting the exisintg code running on Win32
> then that is good. I have come to the realisation that the current
> code in the repository is likely not a good base at all; it looks to
> be far too fixed to the capabilities of non-Win32 platforms. And it is
> likely that a new implementation specifically for Win32 would likely
> be the best way forward. But I really do not like giving up easily
> which is why I completed the curent patch.

That's the reason I went down the apr-port route -- to get rid of the
specific UNIX-isms from the code and instead program to the apr
abstractions, and thereby make it easier for someone (like you) to go
through the next step of getting things working on Win32 native.

So a further two questions, if I may, about development of the code:
>
> 1. Is there a roadmap detailing supported platforms, bug fixes etc?

Not really.

> 2. Is there any more information regarding the Apache "port"
> available? (I did a quick search of the main site using the search but
> nothing - am looking through the mail archives now)

Not really :)

My intent was to complete the port and then merge those changes back into
the mainline.
Unfortunately I ran out of time in grad school and never finished the
project, and now I'm onto other pursuits.

>From what I remember of the status, I did get things most of the way there,
including rewriting all the networking and file abstractions in oasys/io to
use the apr wrappers, and I went through and updated at least the base DTN2
functionality to work with that. I also added a whole new mechanism for
block caching of bundle payload data that makes things run much faster
(since bundle data can be sent from memory without requiring it to be
serialized to / from the disk).

There were certainly some things still unfinished, and I never even
attempted building on Win32, but I agree strongly with Chris that going the
apr-port route would be a much better approach than trying to maintain Win32
compatibility with the existing tip of the tree.

-m