[Portland] Consistent messaging

[Ian Murdock]

Jeremy White wrote:
>> The Portland Project is working in concert with the Linux Standards Base
>> (LSB) to document and standardize the application programming
>> interfaces. The Portland Project interfaces will not break any existing
>> applications interfaces supported by desktop environments. In other
>> words, existing applications will continue to work even if they do not
>> employ the new Portland Project interfaces.
> 
> I continue to think it is really important to keep the vision
> of "The MSDN of Linux"(*).
> 
> That is, while I think the new library (and hopefully command line
> tools <grin>) are very promising, I continue to think that a key
> reachable goal is to create the one stop guide for an ISV.  Admittedly
> the library is a fantastic way to start that, because you can then
> clearly document what is or is not possible.
> 
> I recognize that may be a dead horse, and I'll shut up about it
> if the clear vision is two things - an API focused "Portland Project"
> and a separate "Desktop ISV portal".  But if the vision is at all
> still muddy, I think they should be one and the same, and I think
> that the message around the portal should not be lost.

Agree completely. And I'd argue the specification/implementation
of the interfaces and the documentation of those interfaces should
be inextricably linked. I'd also argue we need a one stop guide
for ISVs that's not solely limited to the
desktop interfaces either but to the Linux platform as a whole.

Indeed, part of the LSB roadmap for the coming year involves extending
the LSB database to include documentation for the interfaces the
LSB specifies, and we're planning to build out a developer portal
for those interfaces at the LSB site, though the plans there
are still coming together (we're focused primarily on LSB 3.1 now).

If OSDL has a nascent initiative in this space, we should be working
closely together here as well, as with the interfaces themselves. I'll
have a look at the OSDL mailing list and will report back after I've
had a look with more thoughts.

> (*) Forgive me, I forget whose idea that was, but I thought it
> was a good phrase, so I'm stealing it shamelessly.  Of course,
> if we actually use the words 'MSDN of Linux' publicly, we'll
> likely get roasted as copy cats, but I still like the basic idea.

That may have been me (I described the LSB's plans using similar
language at the Portland meeting). (Generally, I despise descriptions
along the lines of "the X of Y", but "the MSDN of Linux"
does convey the message in a short and immediately understandable way.)

-ian
-- 
Ian Murdock
317-863-2590
http://ianmurdock.com/

"Don't look back--something might be gaining on you." --Satchel Paige