Why database modules are incomplete

[Dave Cole]

>>>>> "Paul" == Paul Boddie <paul at boddie.net> writes:

Paul> That's not to say that one doesn't have a certain feeling of
Paul> unease when evaluating Python modules for serious database use,
Paul> however. It does seem like a reflection of the open source
Paul> community at large when there are lots of seemingly incomplete
Paul> modules covering certain narrow, fashionable areas, and few
Paul> modules covering other areas.

Boy, would I ever like to be able to complete my modules...

The problem with producing free software is that you can only dedicate
so much time to it before the consulting business goes belly-up.  It
would make my year if someone who used one of my modules approached me
and said that they would sponsor some development on it.

In the absence of such a sponsor, I am limited to my spare time (such
as it is) - the rest of my time goes into making sure that I do not
lose my business, house, car, family, ...

Paul> I mean no offence to any database module author when I use the
Paul> term "incomplete"; my definition of "completeness" may differ
Paul> from that of any given developer in this case, and presumably
Paul> most database authors are satisfied with what they have
Paul> written. Moreover, I wouldn't like to make any criticism of the
Paul> reliablity of any module without having seen it first. I
Paul> sometimes get concerned that serious commercial users are likely
Paul> to have views on issues of functionality and reliability even
Paul> more extreme than my own, however.

If the module is almost good enough surely you should be entering a
discussion with the module author to work out how it can be made good
enough.

In my case, I can always dedicate spare time for development, so while
funding would be nice, it is not essential.  What is more important is
to be able to find people who are willing to exercise the module in
their environment and work with me to resolve problems.

In the entire history of the Sybase module(s) I have developed, I have
only been contacted by four people who experienced a usage problem
with the module.  There are two possible interpretations to that:

1- I write awesome code which has only the most obscure bugs.

2- People who experience problems do not bother contacting me.

Although it would be nice to think that option 1 is true, I suspect
that option 2 is closer to the truth.

Paul> However, if you are referring to a standard API for databases,
Paul> then one already exists. Unfortunately, most modules aren't
Paul> compliant with the most recent version of that API as far as I
Paul> can tell.

Time or money is the solution to this in my case.

- Dave

-- 
http://www.object-craft.com.au