[fetter-devel] GCCXML -> UFFI tool

[Rayiner Hashem]

>  Take a look, contact the developer to see how active they are, and
> figure out as efficiently as possible how much added value another
> project brings, ask the community for its input (cll, PlanetLisp, Lisp
> #IRC, etc).

I've taken a look at the code (I'll get in contact with the developer
later this weekend), and it doesn't seem _that_ far along. It's
actually a very straightforward translation of GCC-XML to UFFI, only
handling C, along the lines of the prototype I built last year. I
don't think it would save us a massive amount of time to start with it
as the base instead of just building our own.

> Usually I can write something from scratch as fast as I can figure out
> some one else's system, which probably will need modification or
> extension, but now I am working on someone else's code, which may not be
> as good and which I definitely need to learn before I even know if it is
> any good. We could spend the whole summer looking at OPC (Other People's
> Code).
> 
> It is great if we discover a gem of open source, but let's not spend the
> summer chasing OPC in the hope of somehow saving time in spite of the
> search and learning curve and probably repair/extension curve of OPC.

I agree. The idea of using GCC-XML isn't new (I've seen it before on
c.l.l), though this is the first implementation of it I've seen. So
I'll take a look at what's available, however, my schedule for fetter
is tight and my priority is getting done the things I promised to do
in my proposal within the time available.