DIB Engine : passing all tests

[Reece Dunn]

2009/5/28 John Klehm <xixsimplicityxix at gmail.com>:
> On Wed, May 27, 2009 at 8:47 PM, James McKenzie
> <jjmckenzie51 at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> So what say all, shall we try to make coding better and as Max stated,
>> fun.  Most of the folks here do not support this project for a living
>> and we should not restrict this project to those who do.  However, it
>> appears that a vast majority of the patches are coming from those who
>> either are long time Wine 'hackers' or those whose living depends on
>> this project's survival.
>>
>
> I'm not sure why it's a strange thing that the people that spend the
> most time with wine code have the most patches committed.  To try and
> make an accusation that the project is restricted to paid peoples is
> both false and pointlessly inflammatory.
>
> If there was a glut of manpower there'd be plenty of time to give full
> reviews of every patch.  As it is everyone gives the time they can.

It also depends where your experience lies. I am predominantly a UI
developer, and having spent a long time writing UI code that is where
I feel most comfortable working in. That does not mean that I know the
behaviour of every Windows control inside and out, just that this is
an area I feel capable of working on.

I am in awe of what the DirectX developers have done. I doubt I would
be able to work in that area. Especially as I don't understand either
DirectX or OpenGL. Same goes for the GDI/DIB engine code, the crypto
code or a hundred other areas of the Windows API that Wine implements.

To work on an area of Wine, you need to have a deep understanding of
how the Windows API works. For some areas (such as implementing the
different Windows controls), you can do that purely through the
Windows API. For other areas, you also need an understanding of how
Linux/BSD/Mac/OpenSolaris/others implement that domain.

Wine has some very talented developers working on it. The problem
comes when you have some functionality (like the DIB engine) that cuts
across a large number of areas and requires a very deep understanding
of both Windows and Linux/etc to grasp what needs to be done. And yes,
that requires a lot of time and effort.

- Reece