[SDL] Non-API changes I'd like to see in SDL 2.0

[Edward Cullen]

I initially wrote to Eric directly, but have been thinking more on it
and my view can be best summed up as this:

The Make manual is more than a reference for Make - it is a guide on how
to create and manage a build system as a whole. If one understands how
to use Make, it should automatically make one better at
defining/managing build systems, no matter what tool(s) you use.

The *danger* of a front-end like CMake, is that it promotes ignorance;
there is a danger that users will not understand the underlying
principles of what they're trying to achieve, simply doing what appears
most expedient.

As I indicated, this is more a religious view than a hard-and-fast
complaint against CMake... I think the same would actually apply to
Automake, because, as far as I can tell, there is nothing that Automake
can do that can't be achieved by well-written Make files.

Autoconf is different, as this (ostensibly) only generates options,
which could be used *without* modifying the actual Makefiles.

<ramble>

This is related to my experience of learning to be a developer.

I have found that the best way to learn is to start with command-line
tools, building up one option/command at a time, in contrast to starting
with an IDE (like VS), which presents ALL the options/commands in one go.

Using the command line approach, I have found that I have a *much*
better *understanding* of what's going on, understanding that is
transferred to other IDEs, tool-chains etc. Understanding that makes me
a better developer in general.

Incidentally, I don't actually have anything against VS - I believe it's
one of the better IDEs about (not perfect like...) - except for it being
Windows-centric, that is ;)

</ramble>

Jitsu Love,

Eddy

E. Wing wrote:
> I would be interested in knowing, what specific things do people
> dislike (or 'hate' as some have put it) about CMake. This has been an
> on-and-off topic on the CMake list itself, but it would be nice to get
> some opinions from those who are already not self-selected enough to
> be on the CMake list.
> 
> Thanks,
> Eric
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