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Date:	Mon, 16 Oct 2000 18:01:32 -0400
Message-Id:	<200010162201.SAA13688@envy.delorie.com>
From:	DJ Delorie <dj AT delorie DOT com>
To:	cygwin AT sources DOT redhat DOT com
In-reply-to:	<39EB62B5.19316D02@cygnus.com> (message from Corinna Vinschen on
	Mon, 16 Oct 2000 22:19:01 +0200)
Subject:	Re: RFC: linux compatibility
References:	<000301c0378f$48859960$1d01a8c0 AT BRAEMARINC DOT COM> <200010161644 DOT MAA11125 AT envy DOT delorie DOT com> <39EB62B5 DOT 19316D02 AT cygnus DOT com>

> > > > One has timezone as a function, one has timezone as a variable.
> > > > The DLL can export only one symbol called "timezone".
> > >
> > > Oh, come on, this one's EASY! ;-):
> > 
> > OK, drop a new DLL into a machine with 100 existing applications which
> > are expecting the old API.  What happens?
> 
> DJ, let's get serious. Of course all 100 applications are
> sensible enough to feel what has changed. Why do people
> always think that programms are dumb? 

Programs *are* dumb.  They will blindly use the new timezone export as
if it were still a function, and crash.  There is no way to migrate
those programs to a new export API without rebuilding them, and until
every such program is rebuilt, we're going to have a FAQ.

There is no easy migration path for *changing* DLL APIs, only for
*adding* them.

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